New ABC/WaPo poll: Obama at 50% job approval, 50% say he deserves re-election, 51-45% over Romney!

[highplainsdem]

Great news!

Including the poll finding that 52% say that the more they hear about Romney, the less they like him.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=15519812

Questions on Romney Give Obama Boost
Gary Langer
February 6, 2012

Mitt Romney has solidified his position for the Republican nomination but lost ground in the main event, with improved economic indicators and questions about Romney's wealth and taxes lifting Barack Obama to a head-to-head advantage for the first time this cycle.

Fifty percent of Americans in this new ABC News/Washington Post poll approve of Obama's job performance, the most since spring. Fifty percent say he deserves re-election, better than Bill Clinton at the start of his re-election year and as good as George W. Bush a month before he won a second term. And Obama now leads Romney among registered voters by a slight 51-45 percent, the first time either has cracked 50 percent in a series of matchups since spring.

Two chief factors are at play. One is the economy's gradual but unmistakable improvement, marked by the newly reported January unemployment rate of 8.3 percent, the lowest since a month after Obama took office. The president's approval rating on handling the economy, while just 44 percent, is its best in 13 months.

The other: questions focused on Romney's wealth, his low tax burden and, relatedly, his ability to connect with average Americans. Notably, 52 percent in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates, say the more they hear about Romney the less they like him - double the number who like him more.

-snip-

[groundloop]

1. And President Obama hasn't even started campaigning yet

Those numbers are bound to get better.

HOWEVER, I won't be satisfied until we have a full fledged landslide in November. The Publicans swift-boated a good Democrat once, they sure the hell can do it again.

[karynnj]

3. Agreed that they certainly will try

But Obama has a major advantage over Senator Kerry. He has been President for 3 years and people have come to know him and his family to a very real degree. Kerry was hit before he was well known to the public. Although it might have been expected that the Republicans would attack Kerry's protests in the 1970s, I suspect that the reason they hit a completely documented service record that showed Kerry really was a war hero, was that although what he did as a 25 year old had little to do with what he would do as a President, the accounts showed an intelligent, courageous man, who was loved by his crews. They powerfully defined him as a man of character.

The swiftboating was a despicable way to change the emerging positive definition of Senator Kerry. President Obama is already clearly defined.

[jonthebru]

26. Kerry's war record was a strength, they attacked his strength.

[still_one]

12. First of all these polls may not take into consideration actual electoral college votes. Second,

since the supreme court ruled that corporations are people you can bet your bottom dollar that wall street, and the coke(sic) brothes are going to be pouring a lot of bucks to misrepresent and lie about the President

It will be like a constant propaganda message, doesn't have to be true, and if it is said enough the idiots in this country may believe it. Remember the swift boat ads? This will be far worse, because more money is involved

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

14. The Republican debates have been the best Obama re-election ad.

[GOTV]

16. But also, the big guns haven't been turned on Obama yet ...

... There's huge piles of money ready to smear his record and character. Attacks will ratchet up after there are no other GOP contenders and it will ratchet up even more after the conventions.

[JDPriestly]

31. Obama is likable and has good character.

If you surveyed people you would find that is the way he is perceived by a lot of people. They see him as relatively honest -- a good person. That is one of his major strengths.

So, I expect the Republicans to go after his record. They will try to implicate him in shady deals. It is going to go on ad nauseam. I hope that he prepares for that. They can pick on any tiny little deal, any remote association, any supporter who is not so likable.

It is going to be a nasty campaign. I believe that Obama will turn the tables on that well known Republican strategy and win big in the end.

[treestar]

21. GMTA!

Exactly!

[karynnj]

2. Great news

In some ways, the fact that Romney is losing support as the Republican primaries continue seems a really bad sign for the Republicans. Think back to 2004, during the time the Democratic primaries were occurring, the polling of Bush vs Kerry actually shifted in Kerry's favor - even though Bush had favorable ratings and approval ratings above 50. (Bush in November/December 2003 was better positioned than any incumbent President since Eisenhower.)

This SHOULD be a good time for the Republicans as the media follows the circus - and with all the contests, there is huge coverage of the debates, the CW of who should win and why, the contest itself and then the victory speech. Who looks bad giving a victory speech? Yet the victory speeches and the media calling the nomination for him with more alacrity than I have ever seen after he tied in Iowa and won NH, have not succeeded in making Romney more likable.

I may be very wrong, but I really do not think that negative ads work as effectively against a sitting President as they do the lesser known challenger. Not to mention, the RW fringe really thinks that Reverend Wright, Bill Ayres and the rest of their almost mythic panoply of Obama baggage will work. This ignores that a landslide voted for Obama even after they used them last time - and now Obama himself is very known to everyone. Even if there were something real in his past that could have hurt an incumbent, it has less strength now. As an example, it was very clear that were very real gaps in Bush's national guard service and that he lost flying privileges, which is pretty significant when you are in the Texas AIR National guard. Yet, before the Rathers show, the NYT asked those who chose Bush in the who will you vote for question whether it would change their vote if were proven that there were problems with his long ago national guard service - the result was almost NO impact. The reason is obvious - it was not the test of character or ability to be President that his actual first term was - and it was already baked in that he was not responsible until he was 40. In Obama's case, his first term defines him more than any connections that he might have had as a young man. (Not to mention, Obama's past is something he is and should be proud of - not an extended, dysfunctional adolescence extending to age 40.)

Not to mention - for the non-political, which many in the middle are - which catches the imagination more and is more immediate - Obama attending a church where the pastor often veered into controversy or someone putting a dog in a carrier on the roof for a 12 hour highway drive? Seriously, in the current day of cell phones, if you were a passenger in a car on the same highway, would you have tried to call the police/ASPCA if you saw that? Have you ever stopped at a rest stop and seen a dog on the roof of a car or seen people putting their dog back on the roof of the car? I am in my 60s and have driven on many a highway and I have NEVER seen a dog on a roof - never - and, if my husband and I would not have noticed, my three dog obsessed kids would have. (Not to mention, he spoke of having his 5 kids and wife and all their luggage in the car. No matter how light they were traveling, it is pretty likely that they could have put the luggage on the top and the dog in the car - like any normal person would have done.)

My first inclination was that this story had nothing to do with how he would run the country, but it actually combines well with being able to be the CEO of a company that creates wealth for its stockholders at the expense of bankrupting companies. So, far, noone has questioned his brains, just his heart - but I think America likely wants a President with a heart. Not to mention, as anyone could easily find a better solution for Seamus (leave him home in a kennel, put him, not the luggage in the car, rent a bigger vehicle that amply holds everything etc), could it suggest that a different man in charge of Bain might have found a different way to make profits - maybe by making the underlying companies profitable? What do BOTH of these things say of what he will prioritize as president?

[Pirate Smile]

9. That's the part that seems so insane.

You put the luggage in the car and the living creature on the roof. Whaaaatttt?

Who would even think of that as an OPTION?

So bizarre.

[karynnj]

10. It still sounds like something someone very creative on the onion would make up

I KNOW that my kids would have demanded that we call the police or the ASPCA to report this had we been driving along side him on the highway. We have traveled a lot and I have never seen a dog on the top of the car. I wonder if ANYONE here ever saw an unlucky dog on the top of the car.

In fact, this story veers as much off one end of what you would do for a pet as Kerry's rescue of his young daughter's hamster did on the other end.

In both cases, it shows how much the candidate really cares for those around him.

[Ebadlun]

13. Not to mention

that someone worth $250 million could possibly get a bigger car.

[FrenchieCat]

36. Or a small bus......

[Jennicut]

4. People clearly see that Romney does not care about the "little people".

He is so out of touch with ordinary people that it is hurting him against Obama.

[highplainsdem]

5. kick

[ananda]

6. Woo hoo!

Good!

[great white snark]

7. K&R

woot

[otohara]

8. Let's Not Get Complacent - These F___er's

will, NO make that ARE trying to steal 2012.

[Auggie]

17. +1. Additionally, the Koch cabal has pledged to spend $100 million

in lies and smears against The President.

[elleng]

11. VERY good news,

and no surprise, assuming THINKING U.S. voters!

'Fifty percent of Americans in this new ABC News/Washington Post poll approve of Obama's job performance, the most since spring. Fifty percent say he deserves re-election, better than Bill Clinton at the start of his re-election year and as good as George W. Bush a month before he won a second term. And Obama now leads Romney among registered voters by a slight 51-45 percent, the first time either has cracked 50 percent in a series of matchups since spring.'

[gregtownsand]

15. Good news.

NT

[LiberalLovinLug]

18. I'm sorry I just don't get it.

And I don't expect an explanation.

45% of voters STILL would vote for a Republican as President?

After starting an unnecessary war?
Crashing the economy?
Party of Get Nothing Done?
A rich bought out Mormon as the leader?

Wonders never cease.

[DonCoquixote]

19. watch out

The oil companies will jack prices up just in time to kill any recovery

[DFW]

20. To quote Han Solo out of the first Star Wars movie:

"Great, kid! Don't get cocky."

Luke Skywalker had just shot his first enemy fighter out of the sky.

But there were a dozen more, and even then, it turned out that the Death Star had only sent a few token
fighters after them to make it look it like a real pursuit when they had hidden a tracker on the ship to follow
them secretly to the hideout of the rebels.

Ok, Ok, it's a fantasy film from 35 years ago.

Even so, the message is the same. Don't get cocky just because we got some good news. The Republicans
don't have a death star, but they have a BILLION dollars in dirty money and a 24/7 TV channel that about
a quarter of this country's voters think will tell them how God wants them to vote in November (hint--it's not for us).

Even if there is a legitimately conducted poll that says Obama beats Romney by 70-30, don't believe for a second
that we have this locked up. We may have a legitimate majority of the voters behind us, but with fraudulent
vote-counting machines owned, manufactured and maintained by the Republicans, plus a few dozen state legislatures
enacting ways of preventing millions of Democrats from casting their votes and/or getting them counted, we are not
dealing with a level playing field here, and the second we lose sight of that, we will lose, period.

[DonCoquixote]

22. Not to mention

They will try to jack the gas prices up and blame it on Obama.

[Tarheel_Dem]

23. K & R

[stlsaxman]

24. folks see Rmoney for what he is- and that gives me hope.

[mia]

25. Great news!

[Johnny2X2X]

27. Big chance!!!

I think Obama will be a huge favorite by mid summer and it will be a foregone conclusion that he'll get a 2nd term. That will be when things get interesting for Liberal Democrats. I think Obama is primarily pragmatic, but he is open to liberal policies, this will be a chance to move the entire Democratic party and the country back to the left. Obama can lead us into a sweeping and massive victory all across the board in November, then with the Political capital the Democratic party has amassed we can go about the business of strengthening America's middle class. Strengthening the social safety net, helping the system become fair again, strengthening social security, investing in education and sustainable energy, marriage equality.

This is the time for us, not just a victory in November, but a resounding victory that will lead to real progress for our causes.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

28. Remember, the Dems led on the generic ballot around Labor Day in 2010

just before all the Koch Bros. and Citizens United negative ad blitz kicked in. Never fail to underestimate the ability of vast amounts of people to be swayed by 30 second blasts of negativity.

[mick063]

29. A bigger story is the 11% congress approval rating.

Americans are tired of road blocks.

If folks feel like I do:

They are tired of failed "good faith" attempts at compromise.

Tired of obstructionism.

Tired of holding the debt ceiling hostage.

Tired of tax breaks for "job creators" who invest in everything except the American worker.

Only if the congressional road block is removed can President Obama realize his true legacy.

This is no longer about the Presidency. This is about providing a legislative body that will enable America to flourish.

This has to be a big enough victory to create long coat tails.

In that light, there is still a large battle to be fought. Stay on message.

[AtomicKitten]

30. Just watching his numbers rise.

Heads up when he starts campaigning. Yes he can, again.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

32. We still have a long way to go until November

and there may be some ups and downs as we go along but this is great news and a good omen!

Eye on the prize! Eye on the prize!

[BigD_95]

33. While this is great news,

we must pull together and take this election very serious and get the vote out.

Rommey has proven he will go negative. Actually beyond negative to win. They will spend & spend in certain states and go negative. We have to be ready to fight back.

[Lex87]

34. Mittens

Mitt Romney's front-running campaign on Monday took aim at trailing rival Rick Santorum, suggesting there is concern the conservative Santorum might be poised to do well in this week's Republican presidential contests.

The GOP hopefuls face caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado on Tuesday, along with a nonbinding primary in Missouri. On Saturday, Maine wraps up its caucuses, followed by a break until a February 22 debate on CNN and February 28 primaries in Arizona and Michigan.

Romney strengthened his leading status in the GOP presidential race with a solid victory Saturday in the Nevada caucuses. It was his second straight triumph and third in the five contests so far, bolstering the perception he may be unstoppable in his second bid for the Republican nomination.








whistler condo

[Skittles]

35. KEEP IT GOING

yes INDEED

[AliciaAnnesi]

37. Spam deleted by cyberswede (MIR Team)