As President Barack Obama prepares to deliver his first address to Congress this evening and the nation is mired in deep economic anxiety, a New York Times/CBS News poll finds "remarkably high levels of optimism and confidence among Americans about his leadership."
Sixty-three percent approve of the president's job performance, 57 percent approve of his handling of the economy, 57 percent approve of his handling of foreign policy and 54 percent approve of the way he has handled Iraq. Not surprisingly, a majority agree with our take that the president should stop playing nice with the Republicans.
A majority of people surveyed in both parties said Mr. Obama was striving to work in a bipartisan way, but most faulted Republicans for their response to the president, saying the party had objected to the $787 billion economic stimulus plan for political reasons. Most said Mr. Obama should pursue the priorities he campaigned on, the poll found, rather than seek middle ground with Republicans.
Barack Obama was elected by an overwhelming majority of the American people. He has the bully pulpit of the presidency and how he uses that will determine history. Let's hope President Obama uses his popularity and influence to fix the economy and enact the progressive agenda he campaigned on. If it isn't obvious by now, the Republicans are obstructionists and do not want to see a Democratic president—any Democratic president—succeed.
Your last paragraph sums it up just right, and, somehow the message needs to get to the out of touch with reality GOP that they are known for what they are, obstructionists and next years elections might show them just how the public wants to deal with that.
Posted by: Luther | 24 February 2009 at 10:20
That is so true. The Republicans DO NOT want a Democratic president to success, any one, especially this one. Enough with the talk about holding hands and Kumbaya. The stimulus vote and opposition shows it ain't happening.
Posted by: D. Askew | 24 February 2009 at 11:00
Obama needs to kick those Republicans to the curb, stop playing nice, and recognize these obstructionist Republicans for who they are. He has a broad mandate from the American people, and he needs to use it to bulldoze over the Republicans who would rather cut off their noses than see him have any success (although they had no problem rolling over as W led us down a path of destruction and ruin). He really needs to call these guys out tonight and say that enough is enough.
Posted by: KevJack | 24 February 2009 at 13:10