By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
By now you've noticed that we've made a big change in Whispers. Gone is the ObamaMeter, replaced by John Zogby's weekly report card. This week, Zogby gives the president a solid C for the reasons he spells out below.
We changed the feature to make it easier to understand and erase the confusion some readers found in the ObamaMeter. Each week, Zogby used to give a performance number from 1 to 100 to Obama. It was based on his polling, his review of the news and mood in Washington, and his frequent travels and interaction with people. But some thought the number was an Obama popularity or job approval rating, which it wasn't. So we've changed it to an A-to-F report card scale. Work better? Drop me a note at pbedard@usnews.com and let me know what you think. Now on to the Obama Report Card.
Pollster John Zogby updates our weekly Obama Report Card with a grade on the president's performance. Zogby uses his polling, expert analysis, and interaction with major players to come up with a grade and some comments that capture how he sees the president's week ending.
John Zogby on Week 35:
"Now that dust has settled after his healthcare speech, Obama is back in the game, but he may be caught in a rundown between second and third base. He clearly got to second base by taking over the message on healthcare, but as is always the case in baseball, the runner caught between bases is rarely safe unless the other side drops the ball. And it doesn't help when your teammates can't agree which way you should run. Then there are new questions about Afghanistan, which is now his war, as some in his party and even some conservatives are abandoning ship. And the economy is still stupid."
Last week, Zogby gave Obama the equivalent of a B-. This week, he slides back to a C.
John Zogby is president and CEO of Zogby International, a public opinion, research, and business solutions firm with experience 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 also is the author of The Way We'll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream (Random House).
Want your Whispers first? Check out U.S. News Weekly.
Reader Comments Read all comments (8)
Dr. Ruby L. Helton of MI 12:40PM December 03, 2009
MysticalArtist of CA 6:04PM October 11, 2009
Al in WI of WI 3:14PM September 21, 2009