Romney Wins Florida Primary by Double Digits - Time for the GOP Mudfest to Stop!?! Plus Florida Showdown ‘Watchers Council’ Nomination Edition

The major double digit blowout in the Sunshine State’s Primary with Mitt Romney crushing Newt Gingrich 46.4% to 31.9%, with Rick Santorum taking 13.4% and Ron Paul bringing up the rear with 7% reflects a basic underlying fear that voters have of nominating former Speaker Newt Gingrich (Rick Santorum or Ron Paul) and a realization that no matter what else, ROMNEY'S EDGE IS ELECTABILITY

Many agree that Newt is brilliant, has creative ideas (although some will argue too many and often not realistic), as well as his way with words and ability to debate are all positives and alluring but in the end they worry that he will come across as too vociferous to voters and will cost the Republican Party the presidency and more importantly the opportunity to make Barack Obama a one-term president as well as our only opportunity to over-turn ObamaCare, which is too much of a gamble.

Women, in particular, worry that Gingrich’s personal baggage may impair his ability to defeat Barack Obama in November.  Instead, both genders are coming to feel that it is better not to take a chance and to vote for Mitt Romney, the more electable of the two.  Women overall abandoned Gingrich for Romney by a 22 point spread, and married women dumped Newt by an almost two-to-one margin in Florida, Gingrich 28% to Romney's 51%. 

Among Hispanics, Romney crushed Gingrich, taking 54% of that vote to Gingriches' 14%.

When asked which candidate had the best chance to defeat President Obama, according to the exit poll data Romney got 58%. Only 33 percent of those voters said they supported Gingrich.

Newt Gingrich barely managed to hold on to Evangelicals, 39% to Romney's 36%.

It is becoming increasing evident that voters are right in judging that Romney would have a better chance to defeat Obama than Newt would.  But they are probably wrong in thinking that Newt couldn't win.  Either man - or even Santorum for that matter - could and would defeat Obama in November (see Gallup poll below).  The basic Party shift (minus 8 for Dems and plus 3 for Republicans) pre-ordains Obama's defeat. (Some polls even show Ron Paul beating Obama.)  Voters should not hesitate to support the nominee they want for fear that Obama might win.  However once the primaries are over, it is essential that everyone comes together and votes for the GOP nominee.  Not voting or voting for 3rd party candidates will guarantee 4-more years of Obama and the end of the hope to have ObamaCare overturned.

The Romney nomination would, however, make the general election a much easier road for the GOP, for clearly, Romney would have the better shot at the presidency.  His record and what right-wing conservatives consider flip-flops encourage independents, moderates and disenfranchised Democrats that he can and might reach across the aisle and that he knows how to compromise and bring people together; the lack of which being what they see as what is wrong with Congress and politics in general.

Politicians and pundits in both parties divide between those who feel the best way to win is to rev up the base, which is what Sarah Palin has been doing by telling voters to vote for Newt to keep the race going, and those who want to maximize their appeal to swing voters.  Dick Morris recently discussed this from his experience in the Clinton White House, where he faced just such battles with the liberals -- like Leon Panetta, George Stephanopoulos, and Harold Ickes -- who insisted that ideological purity and fervor were the ways to come back after the Democratic defeat of 1994.

Morris, like most campaign advisors and operatives, disagrees with the purity argument and feels the swing voter is almost always the key to victory.  He says Obama's election in 2008 was not a product of ideological extremism.  On the contrary, it was marked by a decided ‘cover-up’ of ideology and a showcasing of a phony sense of moderation and bi-partisanship which were the last things on Obama's mind.

Romney will repeal Obamacare and will appoint pro-life judges.  But his past moderation gives independent voters the feeling that he understands their points of view and will moderate his pursuit of both objectives.

Of course, that is precisely Newt Gingrich's point, and on that Newt is right.  If a voter wants to be absolutely, one hundred percent sure that a new Republican president will walk the tea party line, he or she would do better to vote for Gingrich or Santorum.  But could either get elected?  Many voters obviously wonder.

The safer vote is for Romney.  He has the best chance of beating Obama and of wiping out his policies.  The ideologically pure vote is for Santorum.  The candidate who can best energize the base and wage an aggressive head-on campaign is Gingrich. And the candidate of change in this election is Ron Paul, not Obama.  Obama will now just take us further down the Progressive rabbit hole to European style socialism… or worse.

So now the question is, if Romney wins in Nevada, Arizona and Michigan as expected and perhaps a few others, will the GOP start to coalesce around a single candidate or continue the food-fight, draining everyone’s coffers needed to fight Obama and damaging the ability of the party to heal.  So will Newt do what is best for the party… as he has previously asked Perry and Santorum to do?

If the speeches after yesterday’s primary are an example, it is questionable:

Newt Gingrich's reaction was to promise a scorched earth campaign no matter what the cost, and to continue to have the nerve to call for the other candidates to get out of the race so that "Newt Gingrich, the conservative alternative can defeat the Massachusetts moderate." (Course earlier he was calling Romney a Massachusetts liberal… so I guess that was Newt’s concession.) And yes, he's talking about himself in the third person now... at least for that bit of grandiosity. (I hope Rick Santorum, a far better man takes over Gingrich's number two spot fairly soon.)

Governor Romney, on the other hand, attempted to repair some of that damage in his victory speech, focusing on President Obama, calling for unity in the battle ahead and graciously giving a shout out to his rivals. (Gingrich never even congratulated Romney in his concession speech and from what we have heard never called him after his victory in Iowa, Florida, or New Hampshire.)

Santorum mad a short but positive speech at his headquarters in Nevada telling supporters that his young daughter, Bella, is doing better and thanking everyone for their good wishes. He then went on to reiterate that he will not be entering the candidate food fight, although several observers said he might have to stay in the race.  For after all, campaigns run negative ads because they work.

Ron Paul, as always, was very positive about the change his movement is making and the effect his followers were having.  For Paul, although he’d love to win, it is the message and the movement that matters.  Paul hopes to help the country move back to the Constitution and limited government. He barely participated in Florida so didn’t expect to do any better.

Both Ron Paul and Mitt Romney have had a presence in Nevada since the 2008 Election so there is a possibility that Romney could win with Paul coming in at #2 and Rick Santorum just picked up an endorsement from Dr. Dobson, which should help him!

The craziness from the leftist media and Newt Gingrich has already started again…

Mitt Romney is again being hit by a sound bite taken out of context and a replay of Newt’s Florida ads:

Newt is still playing his ad about the Kosher Food: HERE

And in a interview earlier today Romney said, “I am not concerned with the very poor because we have a safety net for them.  And I am not concerned with the very rich because they are doing fine.  I am concerned with the very heart of America, the 90 to 95% in the middle.  But if there are holes in the safety net for the poor, I will repair them!”

Of course the leftist media and Newt are playing and repeating Mitt’s statement leaving out the last line:  “But if there are holes in the safety net for the poor, I will repair them.”.  (This is a man who gave over 4 million dollars to charity and his church last year… he cares about the poor!).

**My husband I have just gone through a year of Hell trying to get a new business off the ground.  Many of the issues were caused by problems in the system and never ending new government regulations.  We have invested all we had to make this business go, and there were a couple times this past year that we almost ended up on the street.  Mitt is right… there is a safety net for the very poor but there really is no safety net for middle class people without small children temporarily in need.

After losing in Florida yesterday, sore loser Newt now has filed a memo with the RNC to go back and change Florida from a winner take all primary to a proportional (delegate split) primary.  (More whining and crying from old Newt… the debate audience was too quiet, the debate audience was too loud and now after the fact… Florida should have been a proportional primary, blah blah blah, wah wah wah!)  I was a Sarah Palin supporter when this entire process began and I have not endorsed anyone since she decided not to run… but after the past few days, although I do feel that anyone is better than Obama, Newt is now my last choice!

Take your pick.  Despite the negative mud-slinging, the GOP has four very, very good men that provide voters a definite choice between each other and Barack Obama.

Charles Krauthammer said as part of the Florida primary wrap-up on Hannity for Fox, “Ann is Mitt’s Greatest Asset!”

Ask Marion~

Watcher's Council Nominations - Florida Showdown Edition

Ah, primary season is in full swing…

Welcome to the Watcher's Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the 'sphere, and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday.

This week's contest is dedicated to Isabella Santorum and little Elli - get well soon, we're pulling for you sweethearts.

Council News:
This week, Ask Marion, The Independent Sentinel and Capitalist Preservation took advantage of my generous offer of linkage and earned honorable mention status.  You can, too! Want to see your work appear on the Watcher’s Council homepage in our weekly contest listing? Didn’t get nominated by a Council member? No worries.

Simply head over to Joshuapundit and post the title a link to the piece you want considered along with an e-mail address ( which won't be published) in the comments section no later than Monday 6PM PST in order to be considered for our honorable mention category, and return the favor by creating a post on your site linking to the Watcher’s Council contest for the week.

It's a great way of exposing your best work to Watcher’s Council readers and Council members. while grabbing the increased traffic and notoriety. And how good is that, eh?
So, let's see what we have this week....

Council Submissions

• The Colossus of Rhodey – If you didn't know this was coming by now, you're living in a cave
• Joshuapundit-The New Egypt - Bankrupt And Sinking Fast
• The Noisy Room – Tantrum on the Tarmac
• Simply Jews – Wayne Madsen drops another... bombshell: Barack Obama outed as CIA creation
• New Zeal – Russia Today Hires WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange- Will the Kremlin Be Pleased?
• The Political Commentator – In a debate would John King ask Obama about this...? (Video)
• VA Right - Senator Janet Howell ‘Rectal Avenger’
• GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – The Saudi Persian War
• The Mellow Jihadi – Parading Vets: St Louis Vs. New York
• Bookworm Room – ObamaCare, the Catholic Church, and mandatory abortion payments
• The Razor – The Twisted Memory of Newt Gingrich
• Rhymes With Right – Presidents Are Not Kings; Americans No Obliged To Appear When He Beckons
• Right Truth – What's In A Name?
• The Right Planet – GOP: On Whose Side?
• The Glittering Eye -The History of Spaghetti and Marinara

Honorable Mentions

• The Independent Sentinel - Obama Signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Treaty & Ceded Our Internet Rights to the UN
• Ask Marion - Hillary Leaving as Obama’s Eligibility Trial(s) Move Forward… Coincidence?
• Capitalist Preservation - A hiss is just a hiss, a lie is just a lie...

Non-Council Submissions

• Smithsonian.com – Revisiting the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich submitted by The Colossus of Rhodey
• Alisina.org – What Is My Identity? submitted by Joshuapundit
• Michelle Malkin –For Santorum submitted by The Noisy Room
• Terry Glavin – It's Not Funny Anymore submitted by Simply Jews
• American Thinker – The Civilized Man vs. the MTA Savages submitted by New Zeal
• Caroline Glick -The Zionist Imperative submitted by The Political Commentator
• Investor.com – Media Act As Though Only Republicans Misbehave submitted by VA Right
• The Reserve Officer – New Defense Strategy submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• The Kitchen Dispatch –Aloha, Sarge Charlie. Until We Meet Again submitted by The Mellow Jihadi
• Bill Whittle-The Vote Pumpsubmitted by Bookworm Room
• Via Meadia –Beyond Blue Part One: The Crisis of the American Dream submitted by The Razor
• Frontloading HQ – I'll see your white knight and raise you a filing deadline. Why It's Too Late for Entry in the Republican Nomination Racesubmitted by Rhymes with Right
• Blogbat -The Moon Is Made of Cheese, You Know submitted by Right Truth
• Bob Owens/PJ Media – New Emails Suggest Eric Holder Perjured Himself submitted by The Glittering Eye
• American Thinker – Barack Obama and the Strategy of Manufactured Crisis submitted by The Right Planet
• Gates of Vienna – Breivik: Al Qaeda’s Man in Oslo? submitted by The Watcher

Also See: Gallop State Approval Numbers Predict an Obama Loss

Perry Leads but Romney Gaining in GOP Favorability… and Cain’s 9 9 9 Plan

Originally posted on September 13, 2011

by Lydia Saad

PRINCETON, NJ -- Rick Perry and Herman Cain continue to generate the most intensely positive favorable ratings from Republicans familiar with them in Gallup Daily tracking conducted over the past two weeks -- prior to Monday night's CNN/Tea Party Republican presidential debate in Florida. Perry's Positive Intensity Score of 24 is holding near the upper boundary of his scores since he entered the race, similar to the 25 recorded in the prior two weeks. Cain's 22, however, is on the low end of his recent scores, and down five percentage points since late August.

See all election 2012 data >

Mitt Romney is the only announced candidate whose Positive Intensity Score has improved significantly in recent weeks. His current 16 is up from 11 in late August and is his highest rating since mid-July, thus narrowing the gap with Perry. Rudy Giuliani, who has yet to decide if he will run, still edges out Romney with an 18.

Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann have seen significant declines in their Positive Intensity Scores since late August. Palin, who has also not decided whether to run, is down six points, from 16 to 10, and Bachmann is down three points, from 13 to 10. Both women are now at new lows for the year, with Bachmann's score cut in half since early August.

Newt Gingrich's score remains slightly better than the low single digits he registered for most of the summer, but shows no signs of recovering to the mid-teens, where he was when he entered the race earlier this year. Ron Paul's 7 score is consistent with his readings since early June.

Gallup computes Positive Intensity Scores by subtracting the percentage of Republicans with highly unfavorable views of each candidate from the percentage with highly favorable views, based on those who say they have heard of the candidate. The results are reported on the basis of continuous two-week rolling averages. The Aug. 29-Sept. 11 field period for the latest results includes four days of interviewing after the Sept. 7 Republican presidential debate held at the Ronald Reagan Library.

Palin and Giuliani Remain the Biggest Names

Despite missing out on the media attention brought by participation in candidate debates like those recently held in Tampa and Simi Valley, Palin and Giuliani remain the most well-known of the 10 possible Republican presidential candidates Gallup tracks. Ninety-seven percent of Republicans nationwide say they are familiar with Palin and 89% with Giuliani.

With roughly 84% to 86% name recognition among Republicans, Gingrich, Romney, and Bachmann all now approach the high recognition Giuliani enjoys, while Paul is not far behind with 81%. Perry still lags on this measure, recognized by 75%, but that is after an early August surge in recognition from his initial 55% reading. Perry is well ahead of Rick Santorum (54%), Herman Cain (48%), and Jon Huntsman (46%).

Bottom Line

With just under five months remaining before Republican primary voters start casting ballots for the 2012 Republican nomination, Perry continues to generate more positive intensity from Republicans who know him than any other announced or potential candidate Gallup tracks. This is particularly notable because Perry has managed to maintain a strong Positive Intensity Score as his recognition among Republicans has expanded from 55% in July to 75% today. Romney, however, remains better known, and has recently seen his sagging Positive Intensity Score rebound, although he still lags significantly behind Perry on this measure.

The news is not as good for Bachmann, who has lost much of the passionate support she generated as recently as early August. Positive intensity for Palin among national Republicans has also slipped to a new low for the year.

Republicans' views of Paul, Gingrich, Santorum, and Huntsman all seem to be in a holding pattern at levels seemingly keeping these men out of serious contention for the nomination. Huntsman does particularly poorly in Republicans' eyes, and is the only candidate tracked whose Positive Intensity Score is a net negative, meaning that more Republicans who know him have a strongly unfavorable opinion than have a strongly favorable opinion.

Cain continues to be an anomaly, scoring high in positive intensity among those who know him, yet unable to push his recognition above the 50% level, and scoring low in trial-heat ballot measures.

With three more debates between now and mid-October, all of the candidates will have an opportunity to change their images among Republicans. They all certainly tried to advance their positions in the recent debates, and the extent to which they were successful should be evident in Gallup's Sept. 5-18 positive intensity update.

Track every angle of the presidential race on Gallup.com's Election 2012 page.

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews conducted as part of Gallup Daily tracking Aug. 29-Sept. 11, 2011, with random samples of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Questions asking about the 10 potential candidates measured in this research were rotated among randomly selected samples of Republicans each night; over the 14-day period (with no interviewing on Labor Day, Sep. 5), each candidate was rated by a minimum of 1,400 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.

For the overall ratings of each potential candidate among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, including recognition scores, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. For the Positive Intensity Score for each candidate, the maximum margin of sampling error varies depending on the size of the group recognizing the candidate.

Interviews are conducted with respondents on landline telephones and cellular phones, with interviews conducted in Spanish for respondents who are primarily Spanish-speaking. Each sample includes a minimum quota of 400 cell phone respondents and 600 landline respondents per 1,000 national adults, with additional minimum quotas among landline respondents by region. Landline telephone numbers are chosen at random among listed telephone numbers. Cell phone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods. Landline respondents are chosen at random within each household on the basis of which member had the most recent birthday.

Samples are weighted by gender, age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, education, region, adults in the household, and phone status (cell phone only/landline only/both, cell phone mostly, and having an unlisted landline number). Demographic weighting targets are based on the March 2010 Current Population Survey figures for the aged 18 and older non-institutionalized population living in U.S. telephone households. All reported margins of sampling error include the computed design effects for weighting and sample design.

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

Source: www.gallup.com.

Herman Cain's 9 9 9 plan

I haven't really decided who I'm voting for in the primaries. I know, I'm from Texas, so it's supposed to be either Rick Perry or Ron Paul, right? Well, I'm afraid of all the Ron Paul Zombies, even though I agree with about 80% of what Ron Paul says. I don't think I like his international ideas. I'm not sure how I feel about Rick Perry yet. I think the only way I'd vote for either of these is if they won the Republican nomination. Anyone is better than Obama, but I said that 3 years ago. Even if Rick Perry turns out to be a RINO, he can't do more damage than Obama has done in the past couple or more years.
I am really leaning toward Herman Cain. Yes, I know, I'm a white, conservative Republican, I'm supposed to be racist. And I'm not like a liberal who is voting for the black man to make myself feel good or prove I'm not a racist. If Herman Cain won as President, we'd really have our first Black President. Obama is half black. We'd also have a patriot instead of a Marxist.

But, anyway, I just heard Herman Cain discuss his 9 9 9 plan, and I like it. I wanted to tell you why. First, here's the plan: From his article found at http://hermancaincommentary.blogspot.com/2011/08/mr-president-youre-fired-but-if-you.html
__________________
A 9% business flat tax. Gross income less all investments, all purchases from other businesses, and all dividends paid to shareholders.
A 9% individual income flat tax. Gross income less charitable deductions.
A 9% national sales tax. This significantly expands the tax base, which helps everyone.
This plan has the following advantages:
It is fair, revenue-neutral, transparent and efficient.
It puts zero tax on capital gains and repatriated profits.
It replaces the payroll tax.
It will aid capital availability for small businesses.
It saves taxpayers $430 billion in annual compliance costs.
It eliminates the uncertainty holding this economy down.
____________________________
The individual income tax would lower everyone who currently pays taxes (not counting the 47% who get all their taxes back or more). It may harm those who get more back, because the only deduction would be charitable contributions. That means you don't get paid by the government just because you have 8 kids. You don't get any earned income credit because you chose to work part of the year, but not enough to actually have to file. It will emliminate the attitude of "Oh, I can get by with a part time job, because I can sit on my butt the other half and get earned income credit to make it up. You put out money, and get to take it off your taxes. We're currently in the 15% tax bracket, 25% if you would happen to count his retirement check. So, that's about $5000 now. The retirement check doesn't all count right now, but it does lower how much we get back because we have to live on it. I think the difference was something like %1700, because I forgot to add it at first. At 9% it would be between $3000 and $4800 if they counted the whole retirement check. I believe it would closer to $3500-4000,
The corporate tax is also a flat tax. Small business owners will still be basically taxed twice if they own their own business, but they'll know how much and you get deductions (even for share holders).
He doesn't say it, but the flat national sales tax on new items would catch the illegal aliens, the foreign investors, any legal visitor who buys things here. Unless that's what he meant about expanding the tax base. That's a pay as you go. If you don't want to pay the tax, buy used. I go to thrift stores a lot. There are some really nice ones. And if you consider that a charitable contribution or keep it one), the "rich" will donate more of their clothes in order to get that deduction. I got a pair of beaded capri's that still had the original tag on it ($120) for something like $5. But if he rich don't want to buy used, they have to buy new and pay 9% national sales tax. That theoretically should satisfy the liberals who don't want the rich to have nice things, or to pay more because they have more. If they aren't willing to pay the sales tax, they too are able to shop at thrift stores. It will also eliminate those like Buffett who are trying to get out of millions in taxes, while at the same time saying people just like them should pay more. You want to pay more? Either don't give charitable donation, or don't claim them. You don't have to claim deductions.

I know this sounded like a commercial for Herman Cain, but like I said, I haven't really made up my mind yet. There are points I agree with from all the candidates, it's just that this is the first simple plan I've seen.

What I think they should all agree on, is that whoever wins the nomination (and they all agree to stay in until all primaries are done), appoints all the other nominees into the cabinet. We could use people like all those running (except Huntsman, I don't believe at all he's conservative). I'm sure they could find some small cabinet appointment for him, though.

Source: America’s Voice Corps

Palin and Bachmann are at poll lows right now, but both could come back! This upcoming debate is an important one and time is growing near for the holdouts to decide!!

Poll Grounds Obama Losing Ground to Republicans  -  Palin within 5 points of Obama

At Least We Can Agree On Something!

Obama's 47 Percent Approval Lowest of Any President at This Point

President Obama's job approval rating has fallen to 47 percent in the latest Gallup poll, the lowest ever recorded for any president at this point in his term.

Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and even Richard Nixon all had higher approval ratings 10-and-a-half months into their presidencies. Obama's immediate predecessor, President George W. Bush, had an approval rating of 86 percent, or 39 points higher than Obama at this stage. Bush's support came shortly after he launched the war in Afghanistan in response to the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said he doesn't "put a lot of stock" in the survey by Gallup, which has conducted presidential approval polls since 1938, longer than any other organization.

"If I was a heart patient and Gallup was my EKG, I'd visit my doctor," Gibbs said in response to questions from Fox. "I'm sure a six-year-old with a Crayon could do something not unlike that. I don't put a lot of stake in, never have, in the EKG that is daily Gallup trend. I don't pay a lot of attention to the meaninglessness of it."

Gallup Editor-in-Chief Frank Newport responded: "Gibbs said that if Gallup were his EKG, he would visit his doctor. Well, I think the doctor might ask him what's going on in his life that would cause his EKG to be fluctuating so much. There is, in fact, a lot going on at the moment -- the health care bill, the jobs summit, the Copenhagen climate conference and Afghanistan."

The new low comes as Obama struggles to overhaul the nation's health care system and escalates America's involvement in the Afghanistan war. He is also presiding over a deep and prolonged recession, with unemployment at 10 percent.

"There's no doubt Obama's 47 percent is mainly a result of the continuing bad economy," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. "But there is also a growing concern about government spending and debt, and a sense that Obama is trying to do too much, too soon."

He added: "President Obama has reason to be concerned about his ratings. Even in tough times, presidents have usually been able to stay above the critical 50 percent mark in the first year, when the public is most inclined to give the new incumbent the benefit of the doubt."

Obama officials have not always shown disdain for Gallup. During last year's presidential campaign, Obama adviser David Plouffe, trumpeted "the latest Gallup poll" to reporters because it showed that 53 percent of Americans did not find Obama Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, "trustworthy."

When Gallup began taking presidential approval polls 71 years ago, Franklin Roosevelt had been president for more than five years. During his remaining time in office, his job approval rating never fell below 48 percent.

The next 11 presidents, both Democrats and Republicans, all had higher job approval ratings than Obama at this stage of their tenure. Their ratings were:

-- George W. Bush, 86 percent
-- Bill Clinton, 52 percent
-- George H.W. Bush, 71 percent
-- Ronald Reagan, 49 percent
-- Jimmy Carter, 57 percent
-- Gerald Ford, 52 percent
-- Richard Nixon, 59 percent
-- Lyndon Johnson, 74 percent
-- John Kennedy, 77 percent
-- Dwight Eisenhower, 69 percent
-- Harry Truman, 49 percent

The poll is an average of a three-day tracking of 1,529 adults taken Dec. 4-6. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

By Bill Sammon - - FOXNews.com

Latest polls show Obama’s approval at below 50% (varying between 46 and 50% this week); number of people who identify themselves as Conservatives as between 43% and 51%, depending on poll and wording of question, and the number of people who identify themselves as Liberals only 19%.

REVEREND JACKSON SLAMS OBAMA

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT (From Rush Limbaugh)

RUSH: The Reverend Jackson is not happy about this. Last night on PBS on the Tavis Smiley show, Tavis Smiley talked to the Monochrome Coalition chairman and whatever else he is, the Reverend Jackson, and the question: "Some think the blame Bush rhetoric no longer applies that Obama used successfully in the campaign."
JACKSON: He essentially owns more and more. When Bush left office there were 30,000 troops in Afghanistan. We're now going to a hundred thousand, so we kind of own the Afghanistan mission. We bailed out the banks. We kind of own a plan now where you have more foreclosures than you do have modifications. We're losing jobs by the droves. Unemployment levels are disastrously high. We are the canary in the mine. We're on the front side of its pain and the backside of its prosperity. Urban America is black, but Appalachia basically is white. We must not be seen as marginal America.

RUSH: I'll tell you what's going on here with this. The Reverend Jackson -- and I got two more stories in the stack today about how black unemployment is through the roof, black unemployment is terrible, the black frame of mind is terrible, they're depressed, Obama is not doing anything for them. How is that Hoax and Change working for you? They're all livid. I mean they thought there was going to be an exact 180 degree economic reversal and it's done nothing but get bad for everybody, but they're especially upset about it because they look at him as one of them and now they feel abandoned. I'm sure Tiger Woods' choice of females is not helping 'em out with their attitudes there, either. Folks, about that, I got a great piece to share with you from Lisa Schiffren at the AmericanThinker.com on the parallels between Tiger Woods and Barack Obama. The theme is that both are the result of lies, falsely crafted images that are in no way representative of who they really are. I'll get to that in a mere moment.

One more sound bite here from Reverend Jackson. Oh, and there's total disarray over in Copenhagen, something called the Danish texts. Poor nations have found out they're going to get screwed with the climate talks over there. Oh, yeah, it's big. And then Dingy Harry is out there with his slavery comment. I don't know, folks. I have faith in all things good, and this stuff just cannot triumph, at the end of the day it just won't. This is utter disaster. Anyway, back to the Reverend Jackson, Tavis Smiley said, "How do black leaders, how do black folk, how do black people make that case to the president? In other words, how do you push back on him respectfully when you know that black folk in the 90th percentile love this president?"

JACKSON: They also love to keep their houses and they also love their jobs. So the issue is about policy. It's not about our appreciation of the impact of this presidency. We found through the attorney generals that these major banks profiled blacks and Latinos. They circumvented community reinvestment laws. As opposed to getting a bailout, they should be facing the courts for breaking the law. On the black and brown side is where the water came in the boat. But the water didn't stop. It kept on coming, the water kept coming across. A rising tide will not lift those boats stuck at the bottom that have holes in them.

RUSH: So there's trouble in paradise out there. The Reverend Jackson, his anger is pretty muted here but he's pretty mad. (interruption) What is it, Snerdley? What is it? Hm-hm. Hm-hm. Well, no, he said it's about skin color thing, but, look, the bottom line is, all of this was supposed to have vanished. We were supposed to have a postracial country. Look at the divisions that have sprung up. Look at the partisanship, the divide has gotten wider. The Reverend Jackson is not happy at all, and all of it was so predictable. Look, I'm a little long. I gotta take a quick break and we'll come back, we have more samples of Obama's Hoax and Change speech at Brookings today plus a damn good Stack of Stuff to get through, so sit tight. We'll be right back.

END TRANSCRIPT

Read the Background Material...

• UK Guardian: Copenhagen Climate Summit in Disarray After 'Danish Text' Leak

Thanks, Rush!!

Black Caucus War Against Obama

A civil war is breaking out within the left of the Democratic Party pitting the Congressional Black Caucus against the first African-American president.

The battle began when California Congresswoman Maxine Waters complained publicly about the Administration’s failure to do more to help minority-owned businesses in the current recession. (Translation: In the new Stimulus of “Jobs” Bill making its way through Congress, they want a larger take). It continued yesterday when ten members of the Black Caucus refused to participate in a meeting of the House Banking Committee which was considering the bill to restructure financial regulations forcing Chairman Barney Frank to push the bill through by the uncomfortable margin of only 31-27.

The latest shot in the battle was fired by Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss) a card carrying regular of the Black Caucus. Faced with the need to investigate the gate crashing at the White House during the recent state dinner for India, he chose to embarrass the Administration by subpoenaing White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers rather than quietly negotiating for her appearance.

That Thompson’s action was a deliberate slap in Obama’s face is obvious (even though the media has missed it). Since when does a liberal Democratic committee chairman embarrass a liberal Democratic president by forcing a liberal Democratic Social Secretary (from Chicago no less) to resist a subpoena to appear at a hearing? Since he wanted to send a message to Obama and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel that the Black Caucus did not like being taken for granted.

The merits of the controversy are obvious. What possible reason would a Social Secretary, for goodness sakes, have for the assertion of executive privilege that is usually reserved for issues of national security? Obviously, none. But Thompson chose his target well. He struck at the social core of the Chicago Mafia that runs the White House, probably striking within the Obama family as well.

You don’t do that to a president of your own party, your own ideology, and even your own race unless you want to make a point.

The friction between the Black Caucus and Obama escalated when Waters berated the Administration for failing to rework a business loan from Goldman Sachs to the Inner City Broadcasting Corporation. Inner City is run by Pierre Sutton, son of Percy Sutton, the long time media giant in the African-American community. Two weeks after she raised the issue in a meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Emanuel, Goldman saw the light and restructured the loan.

Coming on top of liberal angst with the decision by the “peace” president to escalate the war in Afghanistan, this split with the black caucus comes at an awkward time.

But you pay a price when you mess with the African American Caucus and the Suttons. The Obama Administration is feeling it. It’s kind of fun to watch.

Source: Front Page

And Take Heart… Palin now as popular as Obama

Barack Obama has sunk to a new low in Gallup's job approval numbers. The polling firm reported Monday that Obama's approval rating had dropped to 47% in their rolling three day average.

Perhaps equally important, Gallup says 46% of the people they asked disapprove of the job Obama is doing as president.
Those numbers are almost identical to favorable/unfavorable numbers for Sarah Palin in a new CNN poll , which showed the former Alaska governor at 46% favorable and 46% unfavorable.

Given the Obamedia's unparalleled trashing of Palin and their sycophantic support of the One, these new numbers--even if temporary--bespeak two important points: the waning influence of the legacy media, and the appeal that Palin has to a substantial portion of the public.

By: William Tate – American Thinker
Page Printed from: (Shout Out to Babs from As.A.Mom) http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/12/palin_now_as_popular_as... at December 08, 2009 - 04:48:50 PM EST

And the good thing is that Palin’s numbers are going up while Obama’s numbers are going down…

Amazing USA Today/Gallup Poll Numbers

To Fellow Freedom Fighters Everywhere:

I'm writing to you from our Americans for Prosperity Foundation's RightOnline conference conference in Pittsburgh, where almost 600 free-market activists are training to win the battle for our freedoms online. (I guess this is what they mean by angry mobs).

New York Times bestselling author Michelle Malkin, Culture of Corruption, and blogger just spoke to the crowd. Since yesterday, these intrepid activists have been learning in panel discussions like "blogging 101" and "social networking communications".

One of the breakout sessions at RightOnline

Yesterday, hundreds upon hundreds of activists gathered for our AFP rally to send Sen. Arlen Specter a simple message -- vote NO on the health care takeover and NO on the job-killing cap-and-trade.We heard from an amazing 11-year-old Pennsylvania middle schooler named Quentin Cody who eloquently made the case for freedom and from Teri Adams who heads the Independence Hall Tea Party (Philadelphia).

The crowd roaring at the Send Specter a Message Rally

And here's some encouraging news from the USA Today/Gallup poll published Thursday. In a survey of 1,000 adults, 34% of Americans say demonstrators at town hall style meetings (that's you and me) have made them MORE SYMPATHETIC to the protesters' views, and only 21% said the protests made them less sympathetic.
Even more importantly, Independents by a 2 to 1 margin (35% to 16%) say they are MORE SYMPATHETIC to the protesters' (our) views.These Independents are the Holy Grail of politics, and they're agreeing with us that the health care takeover is a disaster for our families and our nation.

In the face of the Obama Administration, Pelosi, Reid and their liberal friends vilifying us as "un-American," "evil-mongers," "astroturf," "mobs" and worse -- the American people are taking our side against these political elites.

If you ever wondered, "Can I make a difference by getting involved?" here is your answer.Hundreds of thousands of Americans just like you and me are getting involved.They're attending rallies, calling and emailing their elected officials, talking to friends and family.And, it's working.It's making a difference.
You're making a difference.

But, we face enormous challenges.Right across town, the left-wing NetRoots Nation is meeting to plot how they are going to turn things around for their side.They heard from Bill Clinton Thursday who made an aggressive pitch for government-run health care. Sen. Arlen Specter spoke to the liberal crowd and bragged that he would help them pass Card Check and other "Democrat priorities" by opposing filibusters.

We've still got a long way to go.To win, we must keep up the pressure. Keep winning over new supporters. Keep turning out at rallies and events.

Americans for Prosperity's Patients First 'Hands Off My Health Care' bus continues -- one's in Montana right now and the other heads to Indiana first thing Monday. Our anti-cap-and-trade "Cost of Hot Air" tour gets back on the road this Tuesday hitting Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia. Please come to one of these great events.
And, make plans now to come to Washington, D.C. for a national "Town Hall" meeting on October 2nd, as well as Americans for Prosperity Foundation's 3rd Defending the American Dream Summit right at the final decisive moments in the health care and cap-and-trade battles and I want you there!
Sincerely,

Tim Phillips

For more information on our national "Town Hall" meeting on October 2nd
-- and Americans for Prosperity Foundation 3rd annual Defending the American Summit on October 2nd and 3rd, please click here. It has never been a more important time to get involved.

Every voice counts!! Call, write, email and fax ‘your’ Congressman and Senator and others like Arlen Specter, Senator Grassley, the Blue Dogs and any of those that are teetering, plus Senators McCain and Kyle of Arizona who are asking for input and then those that have been attacking the town hall protestors like Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid etc etc. Enlist your governor if he is a politician of reason.

Posted: Knowledge Creates Power

Call the switchboard for Congress in Washington today... your Senator, Congressperson and Nancy Pelosi and tell them “NO” on Government-Run Healthcare Takeover, "NO on Cap and Trade" & NO on the Carbon Tax… and to pay back the unspent stimulus money!!!

1-202-224-3121- Switchboard - House

1-202-225-3121- Switchboard - Senate

(202) 225-0100 - Speaker of the House Pelosi

Speaker Nancy Pelosi
http://speaker.house.gov/contact or http://www.speaker.gov/contact
If the web contact form doesn't work, use this email address:
AmericanVoices@mail.house.gov

Info on Senators from your State.

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” --Ronald Reagan

Join the Tea Party Express

Free Our Health Care Now - Petition

HR-3200 - full report

Breakdown Articles of HR-3200

• DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE 1000 PAGE HEALTH CARE PLAN BY AND ATTORNEY & DEAN AND PROFESSOR OF LAW
• *Letter to Your Congress Person on Health Care (Obamacare) HR3200
• *A Look at What is Really in the Health Care Bill (HR 3200): Chilling!

Click Here To Find A Town Hall Near You!

Gallup Poll: Obama's Approval Plummets

The Gallup organization first started asking Americans how they approved of the job the president was doing in the 1940s.

A USA Today/Gallup Poll out Tuesday morning delivers some bad news for Barack Obama.

Here are the key finding of the national poll:

By 49%-47%, those surveyed disapprove of how he is handling the economy, a turnaround from his 55%-42% approval in May. The steepest drop came from conservative and moderate Democrats.

By 50%-44%, they disapprove of how he is handling healthcare policy.

A 59% majority say his proposals call for too much government spending, and 52% say they call for too much expansion of government power.

Expectations of the economy's turnaround are souring a bit. In February, the average prediction for a recovery was 4.1 years; now it's 5.5 years.

The USA Today/Gallup Poll is sure undermine the President's position as he pushes for his ambitious universal healthcare plan.

"His ratings have certainly come back down to Earth in a very short time period," Republican pollster Whit Ayres told USA Today.

© 2009 Newsmax

New poll showed that if the 2012 election was held today… If the match up was between:

Obama vs. Romney

Obama 45%

Romney 45%

Other Candidate 7%

Undecided 3%

Obama vs. Palin

Obama 48%

Palin 42% (even after her resignation and in this uncertain time for her)

Other Candidate 7%

Undecided 3%

Source: USA Today

Posted: Knowledge Creates Power

OBAMA'S ISSUES CRUMBLING

At last, there is convincing evidence that Obama's poll numbers may be descending to earth. While his approval remains high -- and his personal favorability is even higher -- the underlying numbers suggest that a decline may be in the offing. Even as he stands on his pedestal, the numbers under his feet are crumbling.

According to a Rasmussen poll, more voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats to handle the economy, by a margin of 45-39. Scott Rasmussen notes that "this is the first time in over two years of polling that the GOP has held the advantage on this issue." Last month, he had the Democrats holding a one-point lead, but they lost it in June's polling.

And the Democratic leads over Republicans on their core issues are also dropping. Particularly interesting is the Democratic decline over healthcare, from an 18-point lead in May to only 10 points now.

A Gallup poll also confirms that the president's personal ratings are high, but the underlying data less so. While 67 percent of voters give Obama personal favorable ratings and 61 percent approve of his job performance (Rasmussen has his job approval lower, at 55 percent), they give him much lower ratings on specific issues.

Gallup shows Obama getting only 55 percent approval on his handling of the economy (down from 59 percent in February) and finds that only 45 percent approve of his handling of federal spending while 46 percent approve of his treatment of the budget deficit.

As it becomes clearer that the deficit caused by spending has landed us in a new economic crisis, entirely of Obama's own making, his popularity and job performance are likely to drop as well.

The old recession -- that the public says was caused by Bush -- shows signs of winding down. But the new recession and/or inflation -- triggered by Obama's massive deficits -- is just now coming upon us.

If Obama refuses to cut back on his spending/stimulus plans (despite convincing evidence that Americans are not spending the money), he has three options:

a) He can raise taxes, which will trigger a deeper recession;
b) He can print money, which will trigger huge inflation;
c) He can pay more interest to borrow money, which will send the economy diving down again.

The blame for these outcomes will fall squarely on Obama's deficit and spending policies. The fact that Americans are aware of these issues, and already disapprove of Obama's performance on them, indicates that they will be increasingly receptive to blaming him for the "new" recession.

Interestingly, Obama's polling is now the exact opposite of President Clinton's in the days after Monica Lewinsky. Back then, the president's approval for handling specific issues was his forte, while his job approval remained high but his personal favorability lagged 20 points behind. Ultimately, it is a politician's performance on specific issues that determines his electability. Personal favorability withers in the face of issue differences. Obama is about to find out that you cannot rely on image to bolster your presidency when the underlying issues are crumbling.

All this data suggests that Obama might run out of steam just as he gets to his healthcare agenda. As unemployment mounts, month after month, and Obama's claims of job creation (or savings) ring hollow, it is possible that he will not have the heft to pass his radical restructuring of the healthcare system. The automaton Democratic majority may pass it anyway, but it will be a one-way ticket to oblivion if they do.

By EILEEN MCGANN AND DICK MORRIS – Dick Morris.com

Posted: Knowledge Creates Power