Obama's descent from grace

I made an off-hand comment in a previous thread that the only thing standing between Obama and certain defeat in the next election is the Republican party, but look at Ohio.

Obama's popularity has seriously diminished, 13 points in two months according to Quinnipiac, and that despite the non-stop petting by the US media.

Barack of Narcissus is looking a little less elegant.

His trip to Moscow was as awkward as that awful performance at the "tomb to the unknown" wreath placing ceremony. Obama's funereal slow march was visually agonizing. It was penance watching him tidying up the wreath. Obama did not look either presidential or that he belonged there and that is a big part of his problem.

Obama has made a huge blunder. His massive egoism, lack of experience and splendrous affectations have conspired to put his political fingerprints on everything. Nothing escaped his attention. Nothing escaped a major new and unread law. Feelings and ideology made policy and follow-up has been discarded by his wavering focus.

A frayed Obama can only be saved by his enemies. God bless the Republican Party.

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Obama Approval Drops by Double Digits in Ohio Poll
By Kate Andersen

July 7 (Bloomberg) -- A new poll found that President Barack Obama’s approval rating has dropped by 13 percentage points from two months ago in Ohio, traditionally a critical swing state in presidential elections.

The survey by Quinnipiac University released today showed 49 percent of Ohio voters approved of Obama’s job performance, down from 62 percent in a May 6 poll. The disapproval figure for Obama in the new poll was 44 percent, up from 31 percent in the May survey.

The pollsters termed Obama’s ratings “lackluster” in a release, and said the numbers were his lowest marks “in any national or statewide Quinnipiac University poll since he was inaugurated.”

The White House announced late today that Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Cincinnati on July 9, where he will tout progress being made by the $787 billion economic stimulus Measure passed in February.

“The economy in Ohio is as bad as anywhere in America,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. The poll numbers “indicate that for the first time voters have decided that President Barack Obama bears some responsibility for their problems.”

Split Over Economy

In the poll, 48 percent said they disapproved of Obama’s handling of the economy, while 46 percent approved. In the May survey, 57 percent approved of the president’s efforts on the economic front, while 36 percent disapproved.

The independent survey of 1,259 Ohio voters was conducted between June 26 and July 1 and has an error margin of plus-or- minus 2.8 percentage points.

Brown said the new poll suggests Ohio voters “might be taking out their frustration on President Obama, possibly deciding that the change he promised has not come as quickly as they expected.”

The poll found that 66 percent of Ohio voters are “very dissatisfied” or “somewhat dissatisfied” with the way things are going in the state, while 31 percent are “somewhat satisfied” and 2 percent are “very satisfied.”

Brown said Ohio “historically has been the prototypical swing state” in presidential elections. Obama carried its 20 electoral votes with 52 percent of the vote in November’s election. George W. Bush carried it with 50 percent of the vote in 2000 and 51 percent in 2004 on his way to winning those two presidential elections.

Open Senate Seat

Ohio will feature a race for an open U.S. Senate seat in 2010, and the new poll found former U.S. House member Rob Portman leading for the Republican nomination while two Democrats are in a close contest for their party’s nod.

Portman, who also served as U.S. trade representative and then director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Bush, led car dealer Tom Ganley among Republican voters, 33 percent to 10 percent.

Among Democrats, Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher led Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, 36 percent to 30 percent.

The candidates are vying to replace retiring Senator George Voinovich, a Republican.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kate Andersen in Washington at Kandersen7@bloomberg.net

Medvedev and Obama Negotiating Missile Defense

Medvedev said he had spoken with Obama by telephone and hoped to meet him in person soon.

"We hope to create frank and honest relations with the new administration and resolve problems that we were not able to resolve with the current administration," said Medvedev.

It looks as if our community organizer in chief wants to make a big splash fast. He and Medvedev are already chatting by phone and signaling negotiating points. It is almost too absurd to believe that Obama could be so rash and so foolish to even allow a hint of something so potentially dangerous, but if you look at some of the other dangerous liaisons Obama has maintained over the years, this should be no surprise.

The country in all it's foolishness has turned presidential leadership to an untested, untrained, unknown and otherwise unqualified enigmatic figure. Putin, through his wag Medvedev, is moving quickly sensing the naivete of the man.

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Medvedev: ready to respond if U.S. ends missile plan
Thu Nov 13, 2008

PARIS (Reuters) -

Russia could cancel its deployment of missiles near the Polish border if U.S. President-elect Barack Obama scraps plans for a missile defense system in central Europe, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said.

In an interview with French daily newspaper Le Figaro published on Thursday, Medvedev said Moscow had no choice but to react to U.S. plans to set up a network of missiles and radar systems near its own frontiers.

"But we are ready to abandon this decision to deploy the missiles in Kaliningrad if the new American administration, after analyzing the real usefulness of a system to respond to 'rogue states', decides to abandon its anti-missile system," he said.

"We are ready to negotiate a 'zero option'. We are ready to reflect on a system of global security with the United States, the countries of the European Union and the Russian Federation."

Washington says the missile defense system it plans to set up in Poland and the Czech Republic is needed to protect the United States against missile strikes from what it calls rogue states, notably Iran.

Russia believes the system poses a threat to its security and last week announced plans to deploy Iskander tactical missiles in the Kaliningrad region bordering Poland in response.

Medvedev said he had spoken with Obama by telephone and hoped to meet him in person soon.

"We hope to create frank and honest relations with the new administration and resolve problems that we were not able to resolve with the current administration," he said.

Asked about his response to the global financial crisis, which has hit the Russian banking sector hard, Medvedev said there had been a flight of capital out of Russia and moves to protect key banks and private savings were necessary.

He said the government might take stakes in certain banks, as had been done in the United States and Britain but he said "nationalization is not the solution" and added that any government stakes would be sold as soon as possible.

(Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Louise Ireland)