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: 135
"Both the stock market and President Obama's poll numbers are tanking. So Obama has gone into campaign mode, and even threw some light jabs at the Republicans. Meanwhile, the new GOP candidate to beat, Rick Perry, opened his campaign with wild haymakers that draw cheers from the Republican right, but not from mainstream voters who may have qualms about electing another governor from Texas. Rep. Michele Bachmann won the high visibility, low impact Ames, Iowa Straw Poll, thus providing another welcome diversion from the pickle Obama is in. Obama promises a speech on jobs next month, but one wonders if his words are losing their power with voters. At least he is getting ahead of the curve, as elite and popular opinion now seem to realize that spending cuts and deficit reduction should not be our highest priorities with jobs scarce and demand stagnant. Obama was elected as a new FDR. Now he must answer whether his role model will be Harry Truman in 1948 or Jimmy Carter in 1980." [See political cartoons about President Obama.]
This week's grade: D
Last week's: D
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.
- See editorial cartoons about President Obama.
- See who's been visiting the White House.
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