Fired up? Ready to go!
This reminds me of 2008 so much. Glad they are bringing it back!
Now that’s what I’m talking about! Yes We Must. Why? Because no one else can, and no one else will. To judge Obama solely on the bills he has passed in the last 3 1/2 years is not a complete judgement. Read his books, look at his history as an elected official, and you will realize he is a committed Democrat on all the issues. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and we can’t expect miracles from our President.
I trust that Obama will work as hard as he possibly can during his second term to drive through initiatives that matter. I especially hope for a focus on the issues that weren’t a main focus during the first term: energy policy, immigration reform, etc.
You can read the transcript from Andrew Sullivan’s live chat here.
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I know we’re not supposed to trust too much in polls, but…
Obama is killing it in Florida and South Carolina right now!
- NBC/Marist poll in South Carolina: Obama’s approval rating is 44%/48%, not bad for a Red State. He has leads over Newt Gingrich (46%-42%) and Mitt Romney (45%-42%), both of which are outside the margin of error of 2.1%
- NBC/Marist poll in Florida: Obama’s approval rating, although within the MOE, is up to 46% approve/45% disapprove. He leads both Gingrich (51%-39%) and Romney (48%-41%) by thirteen and seven points, respectively.
[Source: PoliticsUSA]
This has been the summer that liberal discontent with Obama has finally crystallized. The frustration has been simmering for a while — through centrist appointments, bank bailouts and the defeat of the public option, to name a few examples.
The most common hallmark of the left’s magical thinking is a failure to recognize that Congress is a separate, coequal branch of government consisting of members whose goals may differ from the president’s. Congressional Republicans pursued a strategy of denying Obama support for any major element of his agenda, on the correct assumption that this would make it less popular and help the party win the 2010 elections. Only for roughly four months during Obama’s term did Democrats have the 60 Senate votes they needed to overcome a filibuster. Moreover, Republican opposition has proved immune even to persistent and successful attempts by Obama to mobilize public opinion. Americans overwhelmingly favor deficit reduction that includes both spending and taxes and favor higher taxes on the rich in particular. Obama even made a series of crusading speeches on this theme. The result? Nada.
Angry, random liberal critiques of Obama frustrate me. Are there decisions Obama has made, stances he has taken, that I disagree with? Yes, of course there are. But I know that Obama is, fundamentally, a loyal Democrat and a strong progressive. We can’t expect him to perform magic when his hands are tied by a Republican congress and an alarmingly radical tea party movement. Additionally, I trust that his second term will be more reform driven than the first, since reelection will no longer be a concern. Instead of complaining about details, let’s look at the big picture and reelect our President.
It’s that time again…
Does the RNC’s website already concede the 2012 presidential elecion?
The homepage of the Republican National Committee’s website, GOP.com, currently asks visitors to donate money to ensure the arrival of “Obama’s Last Day” — cited at the very top of the page as Jan. 20, 2017, the month Obama will leave office if he wins reelection in 2012.
I went and checked their website- this is still up at the top of the page! Hilarious!
[Source: St. Petersblog]
This is a great new video from the Obama campaign on Wall Street reform and the recently created Consumer Protection Agency.
Quote from his issued statement:
Today, I am announcing that I will no longer be a candidate for the United States Senate, nor will I seek any other office this year or next. Instead, I am re-dedicating myself to finishing the job you sent me to do here in Florida. This was a very difficult decision for me, and my family, but this is the right decision. To those who have supported me in my race for Senate, know that while I may be ending this campaign, I will not give up the fight.
Visit the campaign website to see his video announcement.
[Source: MH Naked Politics]
Second Quarter Fundraising Takeaways
Obama raised a record $86 million in the second quarter, combining the dollars from Organizing for America and the Democratic National Committee. The President easily surpassed his own goal of $60 million, and bested all of the Republican candidates in the race.
So, what does this mean?
- Obama really does have grassroots support. That $86 million came from 552,462 different individuals across the country, and the average donation to the campaign was $69. This tells me that Obama is continuing to draw support from his constituents, and not just from high-dollar DNC donors.
- The Republicans are a mess. Collectively, all of the announced Republican candidates fundraised $35 million, less than half of Obama’s total. Not only is there a vast field of GOP candidates, but there is no clear leader. Be aware, though, that the RNC raised an additional $30M
- The 2012 presidential race is going to be expensive. The Obama campaign is on track to raise and spend obscene amounts of money, and the GOP will be prepared to kick it into high gear and do the same as soon as they have a nominee. Especially thanks to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, I think the Republican candidate will be raking in the high-dollar donations.
[Data Source: Obama Campaign, Politico]
