Steve Benen: …. as it turns out, Bush’s approval rating the summer before his re-election bid isn’t much different than President Obama’s current approval rating. Bush had a few months to see his support grow; Obama has a year.
And why did Bush’s support grow from the mid-40s to the low-50s? Chait argued, persuasively, that voters starting seeing the president “within the context of a partisan choice,” and decided they liked him more after taking a look at the wealthy Massachusetts challenger with an awkward personality and who was often accused of flip-flopping.
Ahem.
…. If Republicans were a popular party with a popular agenda, this would be a very different story. Likewise, if Obama were a poor campaigner facing a charismatic GOP frontrunner, I’d a different set of expectations. But I’ve seen a lot of Obama political obituaries, and at this point, none of them have proven persuasive to me.
Greg Sargent: The first thing you should watch this morning is this harsh new Web video from the Obama-allied Priorities USA Action. It paints a very lurid picture of “Mitt Romney’s America,” and it provides the clearest clues yet as to what kind of campaign Obama and outside groups will run against him if he’s the nominee.
Romney’s corporate background, as well as that infamous Bain picture, get top billing, and are tied to the allegation that Romney’s policies would be a boon to corporations while decimating the middle class. Obama advisers and allies intend to paint an extremely vivid and even frightening picture of what Romney’s desire to roll back Obama’s post-Bush reforms would mean for the economy, the country, and the future. Beyond his pro-corporate policies, the feeling on the Obama team is that Romney’s corporate past is an unexplored and potentially serious liability, particularly amid the intense anti-Wall Street sentiment that seems to be on the rise…..
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CNN will have live steaming of the President’s 11:25 speech
Today:
11:25 The President delivers remarks in front of the Key Bridge at Georgetown’s Waterfront Park in Washington, DC
12:30 Jay Carney’s press briefing
2:30 Michelle Obama hosts the PCAH’s National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards
4:15 The President and Vice President meet with Senate Democratic leadership
7:0 The President departs Joint Base Andrews en route to Nice, France
7:0 The Vice President and Jill Biden host Eric Cantor and his wife Diana for dinner at the Naval Observatory
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More at the White House site
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You know how much I hate GOPolitico and how I hold my nose when I link to it - well, I’m holding my nose again because this article is worth reading: link
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Quinnipiac: President Barack Obama’s job approval rating is up, from a negative 41 - 55 percent October 5, to a split today with 47 percent approving and 49 percent disapproving in a Quinnipiac University poll released today. The president has leads of 5 to 16 percentage points over likely Republican challengers.
…. “President Obama seems to be improving in voters’ eyes almost across-the-board,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “He scores big gains among the groups with whom he has had the most problems - whites and men. Women also shift from a five-point negative to a four-point positive.
….. Obama also is looking better in matchups against potential Republican nominees:
47 - 42 percent over Romney, compared to a 46 - 42 percentlead October 5;
52 - 36 percent over Perry, up from a 45 - 44 percent tie last month;
50 - 40 percent over Cain, who was not included in a matchup last month;
52 - 37 percent over Gingrich, who was not matched last month.
White House.gov
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