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 poll-generated job approval number. Instead, the Washington Whispers ObamaMeter is Zogby's judgment on the performance of the president once multiple factors are considered. In this week's ObamaMeter, Zogby says that the president did well on Iran but is facing hurdles on healthcare.
"Obama raises the rhetoric on Iran by a notch but doesn't take the bait from Republicans and the press with language the mullahs can use against the dissidents. He shows a little prickly humor at press conference when asked if criticism from Senators McCain and Graham led him to use stronger words on Iran. 'What do you think?' asks Obama. He adds that McCain can be passionate, 'but only I'm the president of the United States.' At home, with GOP ratings in the tank, Obama's bigger problem is getting congressional Democrats to agree on healthcare legislation. Fallout from Congressional Budget Office's report on a Senate healthcare plan continues, as high cost gives fuel to GOP opponents of plan and cold feet to some of Obama's Democratic friends. New polling from Zogby International shows some slippage in Obama's job ratings, with just under half—49.8 percent—rating it excellent or good and 51 percent approving."
This week: down to 77
Last Week's Rating: 82
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. 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 We'll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream (Random House).
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