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: 112
"Unemployment went down, but gas prices rose in the president's good news/bad news week. The United States added 192,000 jobs in February, three times more than in January. That may give President Obama a bit of leverage to claim that GOP budget cutting may also kill job growth. Oil prices put more pressure on the administration to help force Qadhafi out of Libya, but that alone may not drop prices at the pump. Obama may need to tap the oil reserve, and will hear 'drill baby, drill' again from people on the right. The surprise vote by the Wisconsin Republican Senate to strip state workers of collective bargaining rights could be a blow to Obama's union allies or a giant motivator for the Democratic base. On all these issues, it could be a problem that Obama looks to some more like a bystander than leader."
This week's grade: C+
Last week's: B-
John Zogby is Chairman of the Board and Chief Insights Officer for IBOPE Zogby International, a non-partisan public opinion, research, and business solutions firm with experience working in more than 70 countries around the globe. IBOPE 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).
- See photos of the Obamas behind the scenes.
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Lola Coleman of FL 4:48PM March 16, 2011
Tim B of WA 5:53PM March 14, 2011
TomW of WA 12:00PM March 14, 2011