Obama agenda: Staying the course

By NBC's Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro

“Though more Americans see the economy in bad shape than did at the beginning of the summer, their views of whether to re-elect President Barack Obama have barely changed - and a majority blame George Bush for the problems, a new [AP/GFK] poll says,” Politico writes.
“Despite the perception of a weakening recovery, there has been no significant change in the number of people who say he deserves re-election: 47 percent as opposed to 48 percent two months ago. That's a statistical dead heat with those who favor a change in the White House,” AP writes. “And more Americans still blame former President George W. Bush rather than Obama for the economic distress. Some 31 percent put the bulk of the blame on Obama, while 51 percent point to his Republican predecessor. … Obama also fares better than Congress in the blame department. Some 44 percent put "a lot" or "most" of the blame on Republicans while 36 percent point to congressional Democrats.”
More: “More than 6 in 10 — 63 percent — disapprove of Obama's handling of the economy. Nearly half, or 48 percent, "strongly" disapproved. Approval of his economic performance now stands at just 36 percent, his worst approval rating on the issue in AP-GfK polling.”
“When President Obama took his first trip to Martha’s Vineyard after taking office, the excitement among locals here was palpable, from the signs of support strung across shop windows and front porches to a full-page newspaper ad taken out by 125 Vineyard grandmothers in support of his health care plan,” the Boston Globe reports. “This week, with the jobless rate stuck above 9 percent and the president’s nationwide approval rating at its lowest level, the Vineyard’s broad allegiance shows cracks, leaving some islanders with a more textured, even tormented feeling about the president.”
“Following days of intense criticism from conservatives, Vice President Joe Biden is backing down from what was interpreted as a strange, if unintended, defense of China's one-child policy,” the New York Daily News reports. “The White House issued a clarification late Tuesday, insisting Biden believes such practices are ‘repugnant.’ Biden spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff told AFP in a statement that, ‘The Obama administration strongly opposes all aspects of China's coercive birth-limitation policies, including forced abortion and sterilization,’ adding Biden ‘pointed out, in China, that the policy is, as a practical matter, unsustainable. He was arguing against the one-child policy to a Chinese audience.’”

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Obama continues to Receive Criticism from Politicians

Now with 3 million people without power, suddenly interest in the political race has taken a back seat. The brink of disaster is sometimes what it has to take to get people to start thinking together, and make people realize that the only thing that really stands between the politicians are their ignorance and determination to push their own agendas, and in the end when something like Irene comes to visit, we all realize that we are all "ponds on a chess board" when it comes to hurricanes and tornadoes.
Yes, the politicians in Washington will be putting blame on each ather, and undoubtedly the Repubicans will be pointing the finger at President Obama for his actions during the Hurricane. Many have already stated that he would rather take vacation than deal with the problems than Washington. But if you would ask any of these same Conservatives about their beloved George W. Bush and vacation, they wouldn't have much to say. But the fact is that George Bush took more vacation than Barack Obama would ever dream of taking. In matter in fact George W. Bush performed his job while on vacation at his ranch in Texas. He secured his ranch with a "state of the art" security system, and in a sense was on perpetual vacation in Texas. Now that he is not the present President, he still benefits from the security system.
As many who may read this blog, I am very pro-Obama and despise the many actions that our previous President George W. Bush has done. But I might add that President George W. Bush was very highly criticized on how he worked with FEMA in the city of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in his early years as president.
Now President Obama is at the center of attention in the midst of Hurricane Irene, and Federal response to the devestating effects of Hurricane Irene will now count for many political votes he receives or looses during the elections in 2012. But one thing you know for sure, is that the Republicans will be coming out from hiding under the rocks from Hurricane Irene, and begin to criticize the President for what he was doing during the storm, and how he handled it. For them, the President can do no right. This is unfortunate, because a government such as this who can't seem to agree on anything is a government consisting of poison that will infect the entire U.S. population with hate and disgust.
With all the turmoil in Washington, whether it be from an earthquake or hurricane, President Obama stands a very good chance for re-election in 2012, as people will wake up and see that President Obama is doing what is best for the people and he will be the only real clear choice in 2012 to begin his second term as President. When the President takes his family on vacation to Martha's Vinyard or anywhere else for that matter, you can be best assured that it is well deserved. When he is criticized by the politicians, you know that they have no interest in creating policy, rather than to work on defaming the President and trick the American people that their support for a Republican president is most important.

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Obama " Going to Be a Long 72 Hours"

Posted by:

CNN Producer Gabriella Schwarz

(CNN) - President Barack Obama toured FEMA headquarters in Washington Saturday as Hurricane Irene continued up the east coast of the U.S.

On a conference call with emergency officials, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and FEMA administrator Craig Fugate, while at the command center, Obama warned of the worsening conditions, saying “it’s going to be a long 72 hours.”

“Obviously a lot of families are going to be affected. What we heard, the biggest concern I’m having right now has to do with flooding and power, sounds like that’s going to be an enormous strain on a lot of states,” Obama said. “That may take days, even longer in some cases depending on what the storm does.”

Obama, who thanked officials at the National Response Coordination Center, has declared states of emergencies in nine eastern states.

Irene made landfall early Saturday morning and has already left 550,000 North Carolina and Virginia power customers in the dark.

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