Unemployment Insurance, Financial Reform Boost 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 79:

"The president notched two legislative victories this week with passage of a financial regulation bill and an extension of benefits for the long-term unemployed. Both measures needed the votes of moderate New England Republicans to reach the 60 needed in the Senate. Those GOP defections showed the political potency of both bills for Democrats, especially the unemployment extension, which Obama used effectively to paint Republicans as callous and out-of-touch. It appears BP may finally have the oil spill in the Gulf under control, and that too should be helpful to the president. No one comes out unblemished by the controversy over the statements made by an African-American Department of Agriculture official at an NAACP event, but the administration's willingness to reconsider the knee-jerk decision of forcing her resignation may turn a bad situation into a better one for the president."

This week's grade: B

Last week's: C

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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