New AP Poll: President Obama at 53%. What? No big headlines? I’m shocked!!

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So there was one poll yesterday morning that had the president at 42%, and obviously it was BIG NEWS. And last night this new AP/GfK poll came out, and they got PBO at 53%, which is much more in line with almost every other poll out there. But no, this won’t be BIG NEWS.

Inside the poll there’s a lot to choose from:
Likability… 84%
Favorability… 59%
Care about people like you… 59%
Will keep America safe… 61%
Understands problems of ordinary Americans… 60

I did like this take by politicususa:

The one point that emerged from this poll is that America really, really likes Barack Obama. When asked to evaluate how well Obama understands the big issues facing America, 68% believed that he understood them at least somewhat well. 60% believed that Obama understands the problems of ordinary Americans. 61% believed that he will keep America safe, and 59% thought that he understands their problems. 57% called Obama a strong leader, and most tellingly a whopping 84% said Obama is a likable person. It is tough for a lot of people to get 84% of their friends and family to call them likable, much less the entire country.

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Yea, but he didn’t go to march in Wisconsin.

Obama threatens veto of FAA bill over labor provision

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama would veto sweeping aviation legislation if Republicans in Congress succeed in gutting a rule favorable to airline and railroad union organizing, the White House said on Wednesday.

“The administration is committed to help working Americans exercise their right to organize under a fair and free process,” the White House said in a statement on the multi-billion-dollar bill that lays out long term U.S. aviation priorities.

The centerpiece of the legislation would authorize funding of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control operations and modernization of that system.

It is under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The chamber is expected to vote this week on an amendment to remove a provision in the bill eliminating an existing rule that makes it easier for unions in the airline and railroad industries to organize.

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We should definitely fire Geithner! Because how dare he take a shitty situation and make the best out of it:

TARP investment in banks repaid with profit

The portion of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) that went to banks has now turned a profit for the federal government, the Treasury Department announced Wednesday.

After receiving $7.4 billion in TARP repayments Wednesday, the Treasury has now received $251 billion from banks participating in various bailout programs, which is good for a $6 billion profit from the $245 billion originally handed out to banks. The department now estimates that bank investments under TARP will ultimately net taxpayers roughly $20 billion in profit.

Furthermore, the Treasury estimates that all the TARP programs combined — including money doled out to banks, insurance company American International Group (AIG) and domestic auto companies — will result in “little to no cost to taxpayers.”

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Why would any sane American ever vote for GOP???

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 I mean, these people are just idiots:

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Or maybe there’s still some hope:

IT’S NOT JUST GLENN BECK: FOX News Has Lost 21% Of Its Audience This Year

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126 thoughts on “New AP Poll: President Obama at 53%. What? No big headlines? I’m shocked!!”

  1. Now this is what we all know is the truth! Both the radicals right and left do not understand how much the people love him. It gives me hope with Fox loosing viewers!

    Again thanks BWD for a great Mishmash

  2. I’m actually shocked that it isn’t higher – just goes to show how effective FOX noise is in getting their lies out!

  4. The “liberal” media breathlessly reports Obama’s bad poll numbers. Will they do the same for this one.

    Somehow, I think not. 😕

  5. BWD – You take snarkiness (lovable, wonderful snarkiness) to a whole new level. I salute you!

  6. 84% find President Obama likable, meaning attempted smears against him will backfire – and we have proof in Huckabee losing support, Palin’s support absolutely tanking, Trump looking like a joke and Newt failing and flailing away in obscurity.

    Rove was even on O’Reilly last night (don’t worry I didn’t watch, Media Matters has the clip) and was saying that Obama is keeping his birth certificate issue less than transparent because the teabaggers and some others on the right latch on to it and it makes them all look bad.

    However half of GOP primary voters are birthers, so if you don’t pander to that crowd, you’re kissing away a lot of votes. And candidates can’t say “Whether or not he was born in America doesn’t matter, because we have bigger issues” isn’t going to work because it’s a constitutional issue that they all love.

  7. lol I have been trying to post my comment in the other thread. Didn’t realize you had updated. Anyways it was about this same poll and how America loves their potus and ain’t checking for corporate MSM propaganda etc.

    Great mish mash bwd. ❤ 😀

  9. Very important info today. Thank you, BWD. I was astounded though by the piece that Lawrence O’Donnell gave us. Eric Cantor doesn’t believe in our form of government. He really doesn’t.

  10. That’s a great graphic bwd. I stole it and put it at gos fp. May be saner people there will see it.

  11. Wow I am at work and using my Blackberry didn’t even realize I was first.

    I think people are seeing the good our President is doing and all the crap the Repubs are doing now that they have some power. Everything the Repub governors are trying to get away with and they haven’t done anything about more jobs! I just pray they keep their eyes open until next year!

  12. Bbbbbbut Glenn Greenwald, Ed Shultz, Jane Hamsher, and all the “smart” lefties TOLD me that POTUS has lost his base… haha!

  13. Woo Hoo and a virtual jumping for joy.

    Good Morning everyone.

    Here is another poll that will warm your heart.

    Tea Party rapidly losing popularity across America

    ya think?

    http://www.tripbase.com/news/3003112_teaparty/

    “The Tea Party is now almost exactly as unpopular as the Republican and Democrat parties themselves, both with 48% unfavorable ratings. Most of the drop in popularity came from voters with household incomes of less than $50,000.”

    I always wondered how the Republicans could convince lower income families they were for working class families.

  15. You have hit the nail on the head, as usual SR. Here you have a President who has been subjected to more vicious smears than any President I can remember (back to Truman) and yet he is liked by 84% of the population (and remember that approximately 20% fall into the TPer category, so even some of them like him.

    This is absolutely unbelievable. And it makes some of the more libelous smears totally unbelievable. This then eventually starts to make people wonder if some of the other smears have any legitimacy and that then calls into question the trustworthiness of those doing the smearing.

    Obviously, a good percentage of those who like him don’t favor all of his policies, which is understandable. But it means the personal attacks (Obama has no values) have no traction with the public.

    As the campaign heats up, the Republican candidates will be forced to either continue the personal attacks to curry favor with the far right base, or to focus more on genuine policy issues, which jeopardizes their ability to win the primaries.

    If they do the former, that will come back to haunt them in the general election. If they do the latter, that will probably mean they won’t even have to worry about the general election.

    What all this also means is that Dems who run away from Obama in the general do so at their own risk.

    Finally, a lot of people don;t realize what being around the 50% mark really means. Except for Bush in his first term, this is an extremely high rating and Bush was only there do to the initial positive results from the invasion of Iraq.

    This is similar to the polling about HCR. A lot of people gave HCR a negative rating because it didn’t go far enough, but if push came to shove, HCR or no HCR, then they wouls support it. The same with Obama. A lot of the negatives come from people who thinks he hasn’t done enough, but when push comes to shove, Obama or a republican, they will go with Obama.

    Barring a complete collapse of the economy again, which is what the Republcians are shooting for, Obama can win by an even larger margin than in 2008 and bring the Dems back the House and hold on to the Senate.

  16. Really? I think you meant to type, just shows how INEFFECTIVE corporate MSM is.

    The only persons that are shocked by that 53% are the ones that believe the continuous propaganda. They are expecting, wanting, craving, the 53% to be 35%. Sucks to be them. Even during the midterms potus enjoyed numbers in the high 40’s. but shhhh msm won’t discuss that.

  19. Good morning everyone! BWD, it’s like we were in sync this morning:) I just got finished reading all you have posted this morning on other sites..Politiusa…All good news! Republicans have nothing and they know it. The only way they can even pretend to go after this President is to lie about him, lie about what he’s doing, or try to discredit him. That,and cater to these loony teaparty folks, who by my latest readings, are sinking faster than the Titanic with the American populace. They have worn out their welcome (that didn’t take long)and are simply heroes in their own eyes now.Too few of them to matter…though they do still manage to pitch a bitch pretty loudly, they are the only ones listening to the BS, saner America has long past moved on.My feeling is, that most people are really begining to pay attention, where they may not have before,BECAUSE of the election of GOP governors that think they have a mandate to run their states like their own personal kingdom…and the people don’t like it! I believe in the positive…so, what they “thought” was going to turn into a sly manuever in certain states (WI, OH, FL,NJ,AZ,etc)to finally put the nail in the coffin of people’s rights over corporate rights and giveaways…well, I think that’s kinda backfiring on them. As usual, they overplayed their hands, and the people are seeing through the BS.Good for us…their Presidential “crop of crazies” is far less than stellar, and they know that too….call me an optimist,but I welcome the start of the campaign season(the one that never sleeps).They can’t deal with the smart one in the White House…and I love to watch them squirm…or is that “squirmish?”

  21. I’m truly hoping that the voters see what the rethugs have done with the ‘mandate’ they were handed over in 2010 and take that ‘mandate’ back in 2012. If they repeat 2012, then they are fit to be ruled by corrupt fools.

  22. Congratulations, qmastertoo. What a huge accomplishment! You must be beside yourself with joy.

  24. Wow. That’s great. You must have had a special “appreciation” for Eric Cantor’s misunderstanding of the way our laws are passed.

  26. I’d say that Lawrence O’Donnell left more than a few marks with that statement, all of them totally deserved.

    We knew Cantor was an idiot and now he has made it abundantly clear how vast his idiocy is.

    But, for those reporters to sit and lap it up – is an indication of something we all know. American ‘journalists’ with fewer and fewer exceptions are the the enablers and broadcasters (irrespective of the media they use) of idiocy.

  28. I hadn’t really appreciated the “squirmish” incident fully until I had seen the actual comment on a video clip. This from a person who tries to advance their ambitions by ridiculing others. It was so far beyond embarrassing…

  29. And of course the Arizona Republic reported this morning that President Obama’s approval rating is the lowest ever. Why do I even bother to read or view anything but this wonderful website?

  30. They may be, but I don’t consider myself, or others here to be. And that is why we have to work to get Republicans defeated at all levels. I had an interesting discussion with my sister-in-law who lives in Wisconsin and is dismayed by the current Governor and legislature. However, since she is also a reasonable person, she also hates the idea of just voting for somebody just because they are a Democrat because that eprson could be pretty horrible.

    As I pointed out to her that, although I sympathize with her, and have indeed voted for some Republicans in my lifetime, that with the current state of the Republican Party, the absolute worse case scenario Democrat is still way better than the best case republican.

  31. I just wanted to pop in and say hi to you all.

    I’m from Taiwan and have been following Barack Obama ever since his 2004 keynote speech.

    I just wanted to say to BWD, thank you for the space you’ve provided, keeps me upbeat everyday 🙂

  32. Long ago, during the Vietnam war and when many of us referred to the television as “the idiot box”, I wondered aloud why the killing machines have not come up with a weapon that put their opponents to sleep rather than killed them. A friend immediately replied, “They already have. Television.” We might rewrite that to read, “They already have. The mainstream media.”

  34. I congratulate you also, qmastertoo, though my husband, who has been a lawyer for many years, regrets to this day that he did not pursue a teaching career.

  37. This City is what it is because our citizens are what they are – Plato

    The punishment which the wise suffer, when they refuse to take part in the government, is to live under the government of worse men – Plato

  39. Very true. Which is why we have to make sure the wise, as much as possible, do not sit it out next year.

  40. BWD: we feel the same way the stupidity of the GOP it’s no surprise, but surprise about the people they represent, and Thank you BWD you make our day.

  41. The AZ Republic is a joke…no matter WHAT is being said in that rag.Since this state is in the toilet,they have to put SOMETHING in there to make the crazies around here smile…they’re so gullible.These are the same people that consistantly vote against their own best interests…because rags like the Republic endorse people like Brewer, McCain,etc….

  43. Well said, Kelly. I always love to see the high personal likeability ratings becaue they tell me that people are sick and tired of the doom and gloom and stupid conspiracy theories emerging from all across the ideological spectrum. I think that President Obama’s high standing with the American public, regardless of the job approval rating fluctuations, speaks to how many people just do not buy the rantings and ravings, instead preferring the President’s optimistic, forward-thinking vision, even if they do not agree with the nitty gritty of all of his policies.

  44. I agree, japa, which is why I will vote against Prosser next week, but I know a lot of lawyers with inside knowledge, and the alternative is not that pleasant.

  45. Let’s put these people to rest here with a poem by Stephen Crane (not the finest poet, but it works here):

    IN THE DESERT

    In the desert
    I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
    Who, squatting upon the ground,
    Held his heart in his hands,
    And ate of it.
    I said, “Is it good friend?”
    “It is bitter — bitter,” he answered,
    “But I like it
    Because it is bitter, and because it is my heart.”

  46. Completely agreed. I don’t think that we can afford the luxury of shying away from partisanship right now. There is a stark difference between the parties, and the blueiest of a blue dog is far preferable to the most moderate Republican because at the end of the day, the former keeps Michelle Bachmann off of the intelligence committee and the gavel in Speaker Pelosi’s hands. This is a big deal, and must be part of the voting public’s calculus.

  48. The only poll shown in the MSM is a Quinnipiac poll showing the lowest approval numbers for Pres. Obama. But compared to other polls it’s an outlier. Don’t expect this to get much play in the MSM.

  51. Hi habtro! Thank you so much for following US politics and posting this note of encouragement. The world’s encouragement in this regard has been touching, uplifting, and instrumental to keeping us Obamabots going.

  54. we have to watch you guys to make sure you don’t do anything stupid again lol.

  55. Glad to know someone else is doing that yard work with me:) Have to tackle the bougenvillas in the yard…they bite! And then the weeds….never goes away!

  57. Congratulations, gmastertoo! It takes a lot to get thru law school and the bar. We need good lawyers out there that have real morals. I know TV isn’t real life but I love Harry’s Law.

  58. Although the Asst Atty General said they will still implement it. Per this article they may have changed their minds. Remember, this ruling is not due to anything about the law itself, but rather the process.

    Even the judge says that if they really want the law, just follow the normal process. The fact that they haven’t probably means that enough Republicans have said they wouldn’t support it, due to protests and possible recall efforts.

  59. I don’t know much about the alternative, mainly becsause she is getting such play in the press as being able to stop the steamroller. This, of course, leads to eventual disappointment, which can result in an overall negative reaction down the road.

    People forget, when faced with what they have, just how much more terrible the alternative would have been.

  61. They also failed to mention that the gallup had Obama at 49 – 45 but just watch once it goes negative the media will finally mention it. Isn’t that how the media works? Do everything in their power to make the republicans win?

  64. Never really impressed or swayed by polls, but I always love the personal likeability numbers :-D.

    I used to joke on another site that PBO was on a mission to shake every hand in the country before the next election, lol. His personal charm is his best asset — well along with his keen brilliance and astronomical emotional I.Q….

    Well, this good news should keep handwringing to a minimum in BWD family, for today at least (hopefully?).

    Have a great day, everyone!!!!

  68. Thanks for commenting, habtro! One of my favorite students in my U.S. History class in 2008 was an international student from Taiwan, Helen Yang. You probably won’t know her, but she’s terrific. We still keep in contact via email.

  70. Awesome diary- I love love love facts and this diary is full of them.. Thank you bwd 🙂

  71. polls are indeed mostly corporate means to get things that they want. For example if you got to polls like realclearpolitics you’ll notice that they term the healthcare bill: “Obama and Democrats plan” which is false because in actuality it was a republican plan for the most part. Not a bad plan mind you but that wouldn’t be an honest headline.

    The polls on those types of subjects are easy to manipulate through what is known as push polling which basically words things in a way to make something sound bad to get the results that they are hoping for.

    I am unsure if I even trust the gallup polling data that much but honestly I trust it way more than rasmussen which is known for push polling nearly everything.

  72. Excellent.

    I realized early on that the teabaggers and the firebaggers were the same people, and their common personality traits were black-and-white thinking, jealousy, and as is stated in that poem……..bitterness.

  74. Dear qmastertoo: I knew you’d do it, Congratulations!!! Now go out there and do great things 🙂

  75. Yes. The country is pretty much evenly divided between republican and democratic leaning voters, so anytime approval is above 50% you have a good poll. A likability factor of 84% means the president is pretty much unbeatable by anyone. This is why there aren’t any serious republicans jumping into the 2012 race. No one wants to be the guy who lost in a landslide and that is what they see coming.

    FoxNews is a doom and gloom station and people are heartily sick and tired of doom and gloom especially as it becomes more and more disconnected from reality. They were told that the health care law was going to take away their freedom and doom their grandparents to death panels. Of course nothing like that happened. They were told that President Obama would help the terrorists and lead to more attacks on the country. Instead the Middle East is undergoing an unbelievable transformation to democracy in country after country. They were told that the Democrats would take away all their guns and outlaw religion. Now after Tucson, they want some restrictions on ammo clips and tightening of background checks and the whole shtick about Democrats taking away their freedoms is seen as nonsense. They were told that Democrats would take away their rights but then the Republicans are seen attacking the teachers and firefighters and police and the elderly and women.

    You can lie and lie and even get away with it for a while, but eventually the lies catch up to you. And when the people start to see one lie for what it is they begin to question everything else you have been telling them. Fox has created their own demise. Their numbers will continue to fall as more and more people begin to feel the disconnect between what Fox tells them and what they actually experience every day. Now all we need is a real, quality news network for people to turn to.

  77. Yup.

    “But I like it
    Because it is bitter, and because it is my heart.”

    This is part of the reason why I stopped participating in those spaces. Let them be them, let them do them. If this is how they’d like to consume this period of change, God bless em. I aint about to play “Captain Save a H*” for some of these toxic spaces. Let them stew if they want to.

  78. The quick answer? No way. They never show good numbers. Only outlier polls like the Quinnipiac poll from earlier this week.

  79. I passed the Bar in 1989 and haven’t passed a bar since.

    Congrats, Qmastertoo, Esq.

  80. I think the MSM jumps on any negative outlier polling because they’re softening the ground for the GOP wannabees to declare their presidential candidacies. They are chomping at the bit for the 2012 horse race to begin.

  82. Binary thinkers are dangerous no mater which side of the binary equation they favor. There is no progress without nuance and compromise. There is no human condition that is all black or all white. We are a complicated species living in a complex and intricate society. All actions have repercussions and those repercussions ran the gamut from great to terrible. In making decisions at a national, or even state or local, level the likely repercussions must be evaluated, weighed and measured in order to make decisions that do the most good and the least harm for the most people. That means there is no one perfect answer for any problem but rather a myriad of choices that will more or fewer bad repercussions and that different people will evaluate what bad and good really mean differently. My way or the highway just doesn’t work in the real world.

  84. Exactly. Many people tune out between presidential elections all the time. And this time with so many struggling with their own personal issues, they tuned out even more than usual. That left only the angry fringe really engaged and boy were they engaged! Those die hard tea partiers were whipped up to a frenzy and they voted in droves. But what they elected has woken the rest of the people back up! The republicans overreached big time and made sure people remembered just how much they hated republican leadership under Bush. And now these new governors and legislatures are making Bush look moderate!

  85. I think you right. The recall efforts are going very well and I really doubt they could get enough votes to pass this again. So they tried to force it through in a rush before legislators could change their minds. It was stupid and it has backfired but I’m sure they saw it as their only chance to make it law.

  89. Me, too! Finale Monday night:)When I saw that the finale was Monday, my first thought was, “Already?”

  95. Fine comment, lilaf. I think a great deal about the nuances involved in thoughts of Wall Street, nuclear energy, gas and coal, none of which I like, but the demise of which would cause a huge upheaval in our country.

  98. Some of those 84% must overlap with people who think he’s a Muslim atheist foreign-born Manchurian candidate. I’m pretty sure more than 16% think that, according to the polls. Curious.

  99. I guess Gov. Walker didn’t want to write a “Letter from a Madison Jail”.

  101. It sounded like a scheduling blip to me. Just trying to get it in somewhere after a two week delay. What would be another reason?

  102. I haven’t been to a news site in ages, so I guess I was shocked to see what goes on in the comments now a days. Especially about the Nobel Peace Prize. I guess that really bugs them.

  103. Hee. I just moved to trash a comment saying: “Young people are morons if they like Obama”. Talking about morons who actually think they can sneak in here. Pfffffff.

  104. Wait. . . . A group wanted to present the President with an award and he met with them to accept it. What was he supposed to do, schedule a session with the media to show himself accepting the award? That to me would be a bit strange. (i.e. look at me accepting this fancy award).

    If it was supposed to be a publicity thing, the group presenting the award should have arranged something on their own turf, invited the President and presented it there or while scheduling the meeting at the WH, requested it to be a public event and asked that the media be included. That would make sense and would be acceptable.

  105. You’re right, Kelly and as soon as I hit “Post comment”, I regretted it. However, on the bright side, I know many lawyers who love their jobs, most notably those working in the PD’s office, despite the current cuts, some of which were initiated under Governor Doyle, but will get much worse under Walker.

  109. Thanks Bob for speaking truth: “American ‘journalists’ with fewer and fewer exceptions are the the enablers and broadcasters (irrespective of the media they use) of idiocy.” O’Donnell made a real strong statement exposing Eric Cantor’s ignorance about how a bill becomes law.

  110. Some much good news today. Talk about a spirit lifting news day. Thx bwd

  111. I appreciated both lilaf’s comment and your comment. It really gets tiring listening to people, from both the left and the right, who want quick and easy answers to complex problems.

  112. Well done Qmaster! I am proud of you and wish you the best. Hope you use your smart legalese to do great things for the people.

  113. I hope you set the record straight with a few more facts for the folks. I would love it if everyone here who are writing such smart, well-reasoned thoughts adopt a couple crucial states, sign up on their key news websites and post the truth there. I have been doing that since 2008. Throw some truth in the mix. I think it helps. Some of those people who post there are never exposed to anything but their hateful propaganda. I won Florida and Indiana for Obama by doing this. 🙂 It only takes a couple minutes a day, and it’s a way to spread the truth and positive info, make people stop and think a minute, influence voters.

  114. Thanks WIW for sharing this great Video. I am thrilled to see the people of Wisconsin courageously fighting back against Walker and the Koch enterprise.

  115. Thank you so much for this diary. I want to send your chart re job growth to some Republican friends. In anticipation of their objections are there sources to the data that are easily referenced?

  117. Please define the “liberal media”. Majority seem to be serving their masters, the corporations.

  118. I am so glad this site exists. I am really going to need it when the 2012 campaign season gets underway. I can’t believe we are almost at that point. During the 2008 campaign, I read at least a half different so called political blogs, now I am down to 2. And honestly, this is the only one that puts things in perspective and doesn’t get my blood pressure up. I am going to support the president’s re-election campaign, but I am going to do it stress free this time. No pundits, no polls, just facts and positivity, which is what I get here.

  122. Thank you for this site.. How can we get the message out about the TARP repayments! Pelosi/Reid, the dems other “leaders” where are they on TV talking about this. Get the info out from Washington to the folks who always talk ‘bailout’, not understanding why. Here in the Nashville area Mr Cooper is too scared(scurred) to open his mounth and talk like a Democrat. People need to hear the news of how GM is rehiring, how New things are happening in Detroit.

  124. That’s my opinion, too. If they wanted publicity for presenting the President with an award, then they should have invited him to a public event. As it is, it’s not his style to toot his own horn, so people really shouldn’t be too surprised.

    It’s a bit crass for them to whine they way they did in this article.

  126. Hi FC Fraser, the way I’ve been going about spreading such good news as the “TARP repayments” and “GM rehiring” is to urge friends, family and coworkers to visit this blog and the other blogs that BWD recommends. As a child of the sixities, I believe in that time tasted advice: “Each one Teach One.” Pretty soon the circle of knowledgeable people will expand, and timid politicians, like your Mr. Cooper, will either follow or get out of the way.

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