Zogby: Kagan Is a Smart Choice for Obama

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 see's the president's week ending.

John Zogby on Week 69:

"Spring break is over at the White House. The president now must shepherd his Supreme Court nominee through the thickets of Senate confirmation, and hope that the Gulf oil spill is contained so the GOP will not be able to call this his Katrina. Obama's choice of Elena Kagan for the court was among the safest on his shortlist. However, short of choosing a clone of center-right Justice Antonin Scalia, any Obama nominee will be opposed by conservatives. That's why liberals felt he had nothing to lose by naming a more reliable progressive. But again, Obama disappointed the party base and went for someone with no judicial history the right could pick over. Given all his other problems and an election less than six months away, Kagan is a smart political choice. As for the spill, the public is blaming BP and still supports Obama's plans to expand offshore drilling. However, if this turns into an ecological and economic disaster for the star-crossed Gulf Coast, it could be bad news for the president."

This week's grade: B-

Last week's: B

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).

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