Public Still Sky-High on Obama 'Brand'

[ufojoe]

He's like The Teflon Don!

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/18861_Page2.html

Public still sky-high on Obama 'brand'

By: Ben Smith
February 14, 2009 07:31 AM EST

With Barack Obama’s victory in passing a massive stimulus package marred by days of bad press � as not a single House Republican backed the bill, his health czar went down in flames and his second pick for commerce secretary walked away � the administration has been cut down to size, and lost some of its bipartisan sheen.

Such, at least, has been the beltway chatter, but so far the numbers don’t back it up.

Obama’s approval rating remains well above 60 percent in tracking polls. A range of state pollsters said they’d seen no diminution in the president’s sky-high approval ratings, and no improvement in congressional Republicans’ dismal numbers.

And that’s before the stimulus creates billions of dollars in spending on popular programs, which could, at least temporarily, further boost Obama’s popularity.

“It’s eerie � I read the news from the Beltway, and there’s this disconnect with the polls from the Midwest that I see all around me,� said Ann Seltzer, the authoritative Iowa pollster who works throughout the Midwest.

That’s a perception treasured by Obama’s aides, who spent a two-year presidential campaign safeguarding “the brand,� as they called it, of a new, post-partisan sort of political figure.

With the stimulus safely passed, they say they’re relying on the steady support of a populace that, after a closely watched election, is tuning out the Washington cut and thrust, and views Obama as a high-minded reformer and his Republican rivals as bitter partisans.

“You shouldn’t judge his success in reaching out by the vote count in either chamber of Congress � you’ve really got to judge it based more on what people in the country are thinking and saying,� said John Del Cecato, a media adviser to Obama’s campaign and former partner of Obama aide David Axelrod.

“If you look at any number of public polls, and private polls support this, it’s not just Democrats and independents who support the way he’s gone about advancing the stimulus plan � it’s a certain amount of Republicans too.�

A CBS News poll released February 5, for instance, found 81 percent of Americans said Obama is reaching out to congressional Republicans, while just 41 percent said the congressional Republicans were looking for bipartisanship.

“There have been a number of different surveys that have shown that Americans perceive that Obama is extending a hand of cooperation, a hand that the Republican leadership is not reciprocating � that’s very striking in the data,� said Mark Blumenthal, the editor of Pollster.com, who also noted that Obama has managed to remain popular even with some Republicans.

“Everyone’s talking about spending, spending ,spending and � 20 to 30 percent of Republicans approve of his performance,� said Blumenthal. “How is that bad?�

Republican leaders make the case that the reassertion of partisan reality will, in time, take the sheen off the new president.

“What’s regrettable is that Republicans are being cast as the partisans as a way to deflect attention away from Congressional Democrats’ failure to craft an effective � and bipartisan � economic stimulus bill,� said a spokeswoman for House Minority Leader John A. Boehner. “But we don’t control anything in Washington, so using us as a political whipping boy is laughable. At some point, the American people will expect the results and action rather than blame and deflection. Only time will tell when their patience will run thin.�

There’s another possibility, however: That In opposing en masse a stimulus bill that means instant, massive national spending, the GOP is cast as the Grinch to Obama’s Santa Claus. And outside Washington, Obama’s aides anticipate, the spending will drown out the chatter about recent White House stumbles.

“Let’s be honest: Will the economic recovery or Judd Gregg be a bigger discussion point a week from now?� Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, asked reporters Thursday.

Pollsters almost universally agreed with Emanuel.

“I don’t think he’s lost anything in terms of overall job approval or favorability,� said Andy Smith, a pollster at the University of New Hampshire. “That’s just the a perception inside the Beltway that everybody outside Washington pays attention to politics and eats and lives politics the way you guys do down there.�

As he builds up a record in office, pollsters agree that the value of Obama’s brand will have more to do with his results, and less with his atmospherics.

“Over time, the kind of disputes showed themselves in the final vote on the stimulus package � that kind of partisanship will become apparent to voters around the country,� said Quinnipiac University pollster Peter Brown. “But whether that will be good or bad for Obama will mostly be a factor of whether people think their lives are getting better.�

Jonathan Martin contributed to this story.

[oregonbucfan]

Well its still cool to wear Obama shirts... like I said so many people who dont follow politics love him and he can do no wrong because they dont/wont pay attention. I can think of 5 friends who dont follow politics that love the guy for whatever reason

Bush had a 80%+ at one time as well...

[JavaBuc]

I can think of 5 friends who dont follow politics that love the guy for whatever reason

The illiterate Indonesian taxi driver here in Jakarta who drove me home last night, who couldn't understand a word of english so I spoke with him in Indonesian,  loves Obama.    The highly educated expats here in Jakarta are not so enthusiastic.

[dbucfan]

Hey - the results are yet to come in - if he can move public opinion within the masses he has a shot.  I don't think he can convince those who run businesses unless he first moves the masses.  We will see - I will note the right now the ability to convince folks and make them believe is the strongest force in the country. 

The test will really come when the government has to get money back to pay the bills.  We will see.

[ufojoe]

All of the Rs in the Senate voting against the Stimulus looks really bad to a lot of people. It appears as very partisan. Especially since so many of them supported the Bush stimulus. The polls reflect that mood.

Those polls don't bode well for the Rs right now. But it's way too early to even be thinking about 2010. Too much can happen.

[oregonbucfan]

All of the Rs in the Senate voting against the Stimulus looks really bad to a lot of people. It appears as very partisan. Especially since so many of them supported the Bush stimulus. The polls reflect that mood.

Those polls don't bode well for the Rs right now. But it's way too early to even be thinking about 2010. Too much can happen.

short term it may. Because most americans dont follow politics. Hell a lot of Obama supporters thought Republicans ran the house and senate. Republicans right now arent look upon very positively because of Bush. Wait a few months.

But long term its smart. Makes the base happy and if/when it fails... they have the most ammunition they could ask for in 2010/2012. You need the base first and they will get it back by standing up to pet projects spending.

[ufojoe]

Bush had a 80%+ at one time as well...

Bush needed 911 and the Iraq War to get that high.

[cyberdude557]

We will revist thread in one year when everyone is STILL looking for a job...

Obama says this spending bill is going to create jobs, and as of right now, people trust Obama that it will do what he says it will do. When it doesn't, that is when his popularity will dive.

Obama promised he (and the Democrats) were going to fix Washington and fix the economy. If one year from now, people are still struggling with their mortgages, credit cards, and holding a job...Obama will be under fire.

When push comes to shove, what people care about is their own bank account and their own well-being. People are going to be very angry at the government if their quality of life takes a decline.

[bait619]

you may be right cyber but i think we need more time (your one year might not be enough) to really make any judgements...i don't know what is best for the country but i have to believe that he is trying what he thinks is best and hopefully it works out in the long run...i think most of the country buys into the "brand" but they did that with bush too...iirc he was the likeable guy that was going to surround himself with great minds...i think obama is a smart guy and truly believes his ideas and policies will work...i think he is much better equipped to make those conclusions than we are, not that i am doubting your political expertise becasue you do seem educated onthe subject...i just hope that you are wrong and that he does a good job when it is all said and done...but we will see i guess...i have to admit i was higher on him before even if it was a tepid endorsement...a lot of my personal views mimic some obama supporters that i know but i also tell them that they need to temper their enthusiasm

[Uncle Stan]

I have serious problems with all the billions and billions of pork in this package. And its not all Democrats doing it.

The package was endorsed by the Democrats and the Democrats now run Congress. If it fails, the Republicans can't be blamed. The ball is now in the Democrats court.

Lets see where we are a year from now.

[Loose cannon]

We will revist thread in one year when everyone is STILL looking for a job...

Obama promised he (and the Democrats) were going to fix Washington and fix the economy. If one year from now, people are still struggling with their mortgages, credit cards, and holding a job...Obama will be under fire.

Gonna take more than one year to fix the mess that Bush spent 8 years making for us.

[oregonbucfan]

Bush had a 80%+ at one time as well...

Bush needed 911 and the Iraq War to get that high.

I wont say what Obama needed but it wasnt experience...

[oregonbucfan]

We will revist thread in one year when everyone is STILL looking for a job...

Obama promised he (and the Democrats) were going to fix Washington and fix the economy. If one year from now, people are still struggling with their mortgages, credit cards, and holding a job...Obama will be under fire.

Gonna take more than one year to fix the mess that Bush spent 8 years making for us.

already lining up the excuses?

So if it gets worse its Bushs problem?

So if the billion dollars to ACORN and the rest of the stupid pay offs to his backers fails... its Bush fault?

In 2088 will it still be Bush fault?

[kevabuc]

Bush had a 80%+ at one time as well...

Bush needed 911 and the Iraq War to get that high.

Obama needs his "Economic Depression Catastrophe" and the Bush administration to maintain his.

[ufojoe]

Bush had a 80%+ at one time as well...

Bush needed 911 and the Iraq War to get that high.

Obama needs his "Economic Depression Catastrophe" and the Bush administration to maintain his.

No need for Bush any more. People see Obama speak and are so relieved to see somebody that seems to be on top of things and can speak English really well. Appearance is everything. If the economy tanks even more, people will take it out on Obama. And then Obama's folks will blame it on the Rs for forcing so many cuts from the stimulus bill and say that it was neutered. And so on.

For Obama to maintain these ratings, the economy is going to have to improve and jobs need to be created. From what I have read, he's going to get that in the short run. But the real test will be in the late summer and early fall. Or so I have read/heard from folks like CA Fitts and Celente.