Blue Dogs, Beer Summit, Hurt Obama's Message
Pollster John Zogby regularly updates our Obamameter. Each week, Zogby uses his polling, expert analysis and interaction with major players to come up with a rating of between 1 and 100. The Obamameter, however, is not a generic job approval number. Instead, the Washington Whispers Obamameter is his judgment on the performance of the president once multiple factors are considered.
"A bad week for President Obama, as reflected in our poll showing that his standing with voters continues to slip. His influence and message control over the healthcare debate were challenged by his own party and by his wading into a local police matter in Cambridge, Mass. Blue Dog Democrats in the House aren't going along with key healthcare bill provisions that Obama wants, but the president and the Blue Dogs did seem to agree on an independent oversight board with power to control Medicare costs. Overall, it's looking like the Blue Dogs and moderate Dems in the Senate, not Obama, are calling the shots on healthcare. As for his press conference comment about the cops acting "stupidly" by arresting Henry Louis Gates Jr., Obama stepped all over his healthcare messaging, and prolonged the story for at least another week."
This week: down to 72
Last week's rating: 79
John Zogby is president and CEO of Zogby International, a public opinion, research, and business solutions firm with experience working in more than 70 countries around the globe. Founded and led by Zogby since 1984, Zogby International specializes in telephone, Internet, and face-to-face survey research and analysis for corporate, political, nonprofit, and governmental clients. The firm is headquartered in Utica, N.Y. John Zogby is also the author of The Way Well Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream (Random House).
Check out our Whispers political caricatures.
View recent political cartoons.
Want your Whispers first? Check out U.S. News Weekly.
Tags: Barack Obama | John Zogby
Tools: 
Share
|
| Comments (6) | Print
Reader Comments
He Can't Win
I felt the President did his best to handle an awkward situation. Maybe he voiced his feelings a little too candidly in reacting to the question posed to him. Who has not overstated something or made a rash remark or two?
In the aftermath, he was gracious and concilatory. It appeared to be a satisfactory outcome to all directly concerned. Still, the knives are always out in the press, and the self righteous arbiters of behavior in the blogosphere have to have their pound of flesh. It is sickening, when we should be having a sane dialogue about things of tremendous consequence for all of us.
I don't envy President Obama in the least, the task of attempting to help and enlighten such an ignorant and ungrateful populace.
obama and police
if obama is white will it makes a difference...people stop critizicing try this president if not good there's an election..let it ride to his term and see the result...
different set of rules
now people, remember, minorities live by a different set of rules than the rest of america.
which is a sad statement, we are either american or non-american. We did this to ourselves, wake up!
advertisement
