Friday, February 13, 2009
Does polling show signs of trouble for Obama?
Since we talked about polling yesterday in class I thought this article was interesting.
Only four weeks into his administration and Obama is being heavily scrutinized for some of his cabinet choices, and is still looking for secretaries of Commerce and Health and Human Services.
According to this article 6 out of 10 Americans feel that Obama is doing a good job choosing members of his cabnet according to polling. What do you think?
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/
Only four weeks into his administration and Obama is being heavily scrutinized for some of his cabinet choices, and is still looking for secretaries of Commerce and Health and Human Services.
According to this article 6 out of 10 Americans feel that Obama is doing a good job choosing members of his cabnet according to polling. What do you think?
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/
# posted by Anna @ 11:53 AM 
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I really don't see it as a problem. Obama's personal and leadership polls are still very high. The problems are not with Obama, but personal issues that come up with cabinet nominations.
There was an article on Politico yesterday, I believe, where their editors surveyed the Senate members to find out how many of them would pass the same scrutiny that Obama's nominations face. I believe there were a handful who also had tax issues in the past, as well as 30 or 40 who refused to answer. And it is not as if cabinet nominations in previous administrations never had similar bugaboos come up under scrutiny.
What seems likely is that the media, with the focus that they have placed on this particular issue, has made it seem much bigger than it might actually be in other transition years. At this point, it's become a major narrative.
And something else to consider, the Republican Party is fighting to maintain relevance at the moment and has picked up and pushed the issue tremendously. They're looking for whatever foothold they can get right now.
So overall, it's a bigger issue than it should be, and one that will fade in the coming weeks. I think Obama has shown himself to be very competent for the most part, and adaptable as conditions change. I think it's a shame that with all the reaching out he's done and concessions to the GOP he's made, the president continues to face an increasingly hostile and obstructionist party.
There was an article on Politico yesterday, I believe, where their editors surveyed the Senate members to find out how many of them would pass the same scrutiny that Obama's nominations face. I believe there were a handful who also had tax issues in the past, as well as 30 or 40 who refused to answer. And it is not as if cabinet nominations in previous administrations never had similar bugaboos come up under scrutiny.
What seems likely is that the media, with the focus that they have placed on this particular issue, has made it seem much bigger than it might actually be in other transition years. At this point, it's become a major narrative.
And something else to consider, the Republican Party is fighting to maintain relevance at the moment and has picked up and pushed the issue tremendously. They're looking for whatever foothold they can get right now.
So overall, it's a bigger issue than it should be, and one that will fade in the coming weeks. I think Obama has shown himself to be very competent for the most part, and adaptable as conditions change. I think it's a shame that with all the reaching out he's done and concessions to the GOP he's made, the president continues to face an increasingly hostile and obstructionist party.
I personally don't see it as that big of a deal. He realizes that these positions hold a lot of responsibility. After what he's been through with his past picks, he's probably playing it safe and taking it one step at a time. I believe he will do what's right for the American people.
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