Interesting Poll Numbers For President Obama
Hidden in this article about how well the president is doing so far is something that I find interesting and I think that the president might find a little troubling.
an incredible 81 percent of adults in America said they liked Obama personally. According to the poll, “51 percent like him personally and approve of most of his policies, and another 30 percent like him personally but disapprove of his policies.”
81% if those polled like the president on a personal level, but he barely has a majority when it comes to people who agree with his policies. 51% of the people polled agree with the president’s policies even with a personal approval rating of over 80% while 30% of those surveyed like the president but disagree with his policies.
This tells me that there could be trouble down the road for the president as his policies are implemented. He barely has a majority of support for his policies and if his policies do not work than it could spell the end for this president. His overall approval ratings remain high, but it looks to me that he is holding these ratings so high because people like him– they are as of yet unwilling to hold his policies against him. The people being polled have a wait and see attitude, in other words, he still has a honeymoon period.
But there is more to being president than just being liked. There will come a time when he is judged on what he does and not what he says, his policies and not his personality. With a razor thin majority of those who approve of his policies the president has to be watching his internal polls closely.
Republicans Try to Tie Arlen Specter to President Bush
An interesting little twist is beginning to take place now that the Arlen Specter has finally outed himself as a Democrat. Republicans are now trying to turn the tables and use the same strategy on the Democrats that they have been using on Republicans; they are trying to tie Arlen Specter to President Bush.
Will this continue to be a campaign angle by the time 2010 rolls around? Will we still be continuing to talk about a president who will have been out of office two years by then? I hope not, it is time to move on. Bush is gone, he should be irrelevant in upcoming elections. The success or failure of the Republican and Democrat parties should lie within how the current president is doing not how the last one did.
The Swine Flu Hysteria is Out of Control
Enough is enough already. I am willing to promote and join the hysteria that is the Swine Flu as a means to finally secure the Mexican border, but seeing as how the border is not going to be closed it is time to put an end to this media created story. The jig is up.
When the story was first being reported about a swine flu that has mutated and was passed on to humans it was erroneously reported that over 150 Mexicans had died from the seemingly ultra deadly strain of flu. The media then reported that the first American had died from the swine flu as the disease rapidly spread across the country endangering the lives of untold hundreds of Americans.
The truth has come out now that eight total people have died from the swine flu and that the “American” death was actually a Mexican whose family was seeking medical care in the United States (and I thought our healthcare was lagging behind countries like Cuba) and not an American.
37,000 Americans die from non-swine flu every year and there have already been 55 American children killed by non-swine flu this year, so why all of the hysteria over the swine flu which has killed 8 people when the non-swine flu is actually deadlier? This was a trumped up media story from the beginning brought on by a slow news cycle and now it is out of control.
We now have the president saying that schools may have to close if anyone gets sick. The president and Janet Napolitano are saying that now is the time for concern, not panic. During last night’s press conference the president reminded us to wash our hands and cover our mouths when we cough, he told us to stay home if we are sick, treating us like we are little children. He assured us that he was monitoring the situation closely.
And to top it all off today the vice president said that Americans should stop flying and stop riding the subways and basically lock ourselves in the house and wait for the angel of death to hover over our houses and reclaim us.
This is all out of control now, this is THE FLU. It has claimed 8 lives while the regular flu claims thousands a year. It is time to chill the hell out. Today in my town while I was walking out of the store I actually saw a mother walking into the store with a child of about six years old– the mother had a surgical mask on her throat but not covering her mouth, but it was ready for action. Her child? No mask on, evidently she was concerned for her own safety but not of her child’s. The point is, we have not reached a point in this swine flu pandemic where people need to be walking around with masks on but that is the way the media has publicized this new strain of flew. To the contrary, the swine flu appears much less deadly than the non-swine flu and people don’t walk around worried about catching the non-swine flu every moment of their lives.
This is one of the biggest non-stories that has been thrust upon us in I don’t know how long.
Having said all of that if the swine flu is a means to an end to closing the Mexican border than disregard everything I just wrote. Its masks and tamiflu for everyone.
Cap and Trade is a Tax Increase on 95% of All Americans
Make no mistake about it; cap and trade is a tax increase. It is a tax increase on the energy companies and who do you think is going to end up paying for that tax increase? The consumers.
Here we have Senator Jeff Bingaman, the president’s chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, admitting that the president’s cap and trade proposal will raise the cost of energy.
I think the system is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and I think that it is likely true that, in order to put in place an effective reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, you’re going to see higher costs for energy going forward
When a company exceeds their allotted amount of greenhouse gas emissions they will be charged a fee. This fee is a tax, pure and simple. When the company is charged a tax the company will then pass the tax increase on to the customers. That is why the cost on energy will rise under the president’s plan. So yes, finally someone is admitting that the president’s cap and trade proposal will raise the price of energy for all Americans. But let us be honest about what this cost increase is; it is a tax increase on all Americans who use energy.
The president is still claiming that he is cutting taxes on 95% of Americans, which may or may not be true, but under his plans he will be raising a different tax, and probably a higher tax, on those very same Americans.
The president is playing a game of semantics here. He knows that most Americans will look at their paychecks and see a slight increase, but when the bills start to go up because of his tax policies on businesses the American people will not equate that with a tax increase. He is playing a game here and he is playing us all for suckers.
Gay Marriage Bill Passes in The New Hampshire Senate
I wrote just last week about how the New Hampshire Senate Committee voted against recommending the gay marriage bill to the senate by a three to two vote. One of the nay votes in the Senate Committee changed positions so the bill was sent to the senate and today the senate voted on gay marriage; it passed 13-11.
Now is where it gets real interesting. There was nobody happier last week, and nobody more disappointed this week, than Governor John Lynch. The governor claims that he is opposed to gay marriage but he has been feeling pressure from a legislature that grows more liberal with every passing election. Governor Lynch was happy last week because the decision on gay marriage was taken out of his hands, but now he will have to make a decision on a tough issue and he doesn’t like to make hard decisions.
New Hampshire’s civil unions law gives gay couples every single benefit that heterosexual couples have, Governor Lynch signed that legislation and he still believes that it is adequate. But here is his latest statement on gay marriage:
I still believe the fundamental issue is about providing the same rights and protections to same-sex couples as are available to heterosexual couples. This was accomplished through the passage of the civil unions law two years ago. To achieve further real progress, the federal government would need to take action to recognize New Hampshire civil unions.”
He did not say what he would do when this bill arrives on his desk. He has three options, sign, veto, or ignore the bill. If he chooses to ignore the bill it will become law without his signature.
During the civil unions debate the governor also refused to say whether he would sign the bill or not before finally signing it. But because this was such a tough issue and as I stated before the governor doesn’t like facing tough issues he signed the bill in secret inviting only a few supporters of the bill as witnesses to avoid protesters before slinking out the back door for the weekend.
Judging by the way he handled the civil unions bill I am going to predict that the governor will let this legislation become law without his signature. That we he can straddle the fence. It is too politically volatile for him to either sign or veto the bill. He risks losing too many votes no matter what he does. All I ask of him is to show a little courage one way or the other. Take a stand.
Stay tuned…..
As the Swine Flu Spreads the Mexican Border Remains Open
While Janet Napolitano laments what the swine flu should be called thousands of illegal aliens are pouring over our border on a nightly basis. When asked about closing the border Janet Napolitano said that it was no use now because the disease was already here. The ‘ole the horse is out of the barn cliche.
Because the disease is already here and because it came from Mexico is exactly the reason that we need to close the border– RIGHT NOW! We cannot continue to let illegal aliens cross into the United States unchecked especially with the threat that they could be carrying a deadly contagious disease. Closing the border could at least help contain the disease.
While other countries are taking precautions and tightening their borders we are sitting here doing nothing. Janet Napolitiano’s response– it is too late.
Is she really so afraid to offend the illegal aliens that she is unwilling to take the steps necessary to protect the American people? If so, she has the wrong job description.
Second New Hampshire Republican Wins Special Election
Another week in New Hampshire and another Republican wins a special election in New Hampshire. Last week Jeb Bradley won a special election to fill a vacant state senate seat and this week Marilinda Garcia won a special election to fill a vacant state house seat.
Much like Jeb Bradley’s win last week this vote wasn’t even close, she received twice as many votes as her Democrat opponent. Also much like Jeb Bradley’s win this isn’t going to change the makeup in the House of Representatives, but it represents a slow change that I feel happening to New Hampshire.
The voters are finally getting sick and tired of the outrageous spending and rising taxes and they are beginning to look at the Republican party once again. These two victories are just the beginning in New Hampshire. 2010 is right around the corner and Governor Lynch, Carol Shea-Porter, and Paul Hodes are next.
People can scoff at the Tea Parties if they want to but we are not laughing and neither should the politicians here in New Hampshire be laughing. There is real discontent in the voters with the state budget and with spending, that was the theme behind the Tea Parties and that discontent is growing.
These two special elections were just baby steps, but they were just our first steps and we are not going to go away. By the time the 2010 elections roll around the baby steps will be a sprint.
I smell change (real change) in the air.
Today 91 protesters were arrested outside of the White House. These protesters were “urging” the president to support a bill that would make available alternatives to nursing homes for people with disabilities that need long term care. These protesters chained themselves to a fence and had to be cut free by police.
I just want to know if Janeane Garofalo thinks that all of these people are racists? After all, she boasted that she knew that every single person that attended a Tea Party was a racist and that they were actually protesting a black man in the White House. What is the difference here? Protesters are protesters regardless of the cause. right? Surely these people must be racists if they demonstrate against the president.
The die has been cast by people like Janeane Garofalo, if you oppose the president you are a racist. I just want these people to be held to the same standard that I was held to.
Janet Napolitano: “Don’t Call it The Swine Flu”
First Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano refused to call terrorists terrorists, she prefers to call their acts “man caused disasters” so that we can get past the “politics of fear,” and not offend the terrorists. But then she was willing to use the word “terrorist” when talking about people who are anti-abortion, pro-guns, and anti-tax, as well as veterans, not caring whether she offended them.
Now, in the midst of a possible pandemic of swine flu what is Janet Napolitano worried about? Is she worried about closing the borders? No. Is she worried about screening people entering the United States to ensure that they are not infected? No. She is worried about calling the swine flu the swine flu. She, and the politically correct Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, prefer to call it the more politically correct term of the “H1N1 virus.”
This is not a food-borne illness, virus. It is not correct to refer to it as swine flu because really that’s not what this is about
The term “swine flu” is not fair to pig farmers and it is not fair to people who eat pork so the term must be eliminated according to these United States officials. Who the hell cares what it is called, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
It is good to know that the administration has its priorities straight in dealing with this potential pandemic isn’t it?
One of the things that bothered the hell out of me is how could the administration not understand that buzzing low flying planes over the Statue of Liberty and Ground Zero would cause New Yorkers to panic in the streets, and now we have our answer. They DID know, they just didn’t care.
According to this article the FAA realized that the maneuver might cause panic in New York but that they ordered the NYPD, FBI, Secret Service, and they mayor’s office (this makes me wonder if Bloomberg did know about the plans and was feigning outrage, but I don’t think he knew) to silence and threatened them with sanctions if the story was leaked.
One is left to wonder what was really going on here. Why did the administration need a new file photo? This story just doesn’t sound right, there has to be more to it than this. I understand that there had to be some secrecy in order to prevent an attack on the plane but why could there not have been a warning issued shortly before the event took place? Why was public panic an acceptable result of the fly over?
There is something fishy here, there are many questions that need to be answered. I hope that the media is up to the task but I don’t think that they are.
