The Obama Diary

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2:00: First Lady Michelle Obama visits Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling

2:10: President Obama delivers remarks at the 71st General Assembly of the Union for Reform Judaism

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Thanks amk ;-)

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About today’s AP-GfK poll - OMG! Doom! Gloom!

As GOPolitico told us, white people hate the President!! Real bad!

The best bit was when they quoted Ron Fournier saying the President “only won 40%” of the white seniors’ vote in 2008 and “his approval rating with them now is 41%”. Em, I was never too hot at math ….. but is that, eh, not technically an increase? :???:

Any way, not surprisingly, the economy remains the number one concern of those polled. You’ll get all the bad news everywhere today, what will be largely ignored:

* After the jobless rate fell to 8.6% last month (its lowest level since March 2009), the President’s approval rating on handling unemployment rose 5% to 45% in the poll.

* 20% say the economy got better in the past month, up from 6% two months ago (64% said it stayed the same)

* 15% said it got worse, down from 49% two months ago

* Respondents describing the economy as “very poor” fell from 43% in October to 34% in the latest poll, the lowest since May.

* 60% say the financial situation in their own household is good, up 6%

* 30% blamed the President for the economy, compared to 43% who blame Bush

And:

* Despite the struggles with the economy, the President still beats Romney in a match-up: 47 to 46.

* The President beats the Newt 51-42.

* Among independents, it’s even better. The President beats Romney 45-41 and the Newt 54-31.

And buried in the last line in Time’s report on the poll:

“Among those with annual household incomes of $50,000 or less, Obama’s approval rating on unemployment climbed to 53 percent from 43 percent in October.

Get that? Climbed 10%.

* 60% approve of how the President is handling terrorism, 59% say he will “keep America safe”. Not bad for an appeaser, eh?

* 53% say he is a “strong leader”

* 76% say he is “likable”

There you go - the bits you won’t hear today. And hey, wait til the fella actually starts campaigning against Romgrich ;-)

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OFA: Headlines over the past few weeks have shown with hard numbers how President Obama’s Affordable Care Act is helping young people and seniors. The reform allows young people to stay on their parents’ health insurance until they turn 26 and helps Medicare recipients save money on prescription drugs.

Take a look at this infographic summing up how the Affordable Care Act is impacting millions of Americans - then share it to pass on the good news:

Link - pass it on!

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Oooops:

Texas Monthly: As most readers know, every January TEXAS MONTHLY picks a Bum Steer of the Year, an honor conferred on whatever individual we feel has been responsible for the biggest screw-up, gaffe, fumble, stumble, train wreck, or humiliation of the past twelve months. This year, as the above cover makes pretty darn clear, our Bum Steer of the Year is Governor Rick Perry.

More here

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Jonathan Chait (NY Mag): With Ron Paul ascending in Iowa, winning the hearts of independents, and even the endorsement of Andrew Sullivan, it’s worth pointing something out: Ron Paul is not a kindly old libertarian who just wants everybody to be free. He’s a really creepy bigot.

…. Paul comes out of an intellectual tradition called “paleolibertarianism,” which is a version of libertarianism heavily tinged with far-right cultural views …. Paul is tied in deep and extensive ways to neo-Confederates, and somewhat less tightly to the right-wing militia movement. His newsletter, which he wrote and edited for years, was a constant organ of vile racism and homophobia ….. Fear and hatred of blacks and gays, along with a somewhat less pronounced paranoia about Jewish dual loyalty, are fundamental elements of his thinking….

Full article here

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Link

I’m guessing you very lovely people might have been inspired by the wonder that is Donna Dem - you pushed The Obama Diary past its fundraising target at OFA - thank you soooooooooo much!

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Meanwhile, if you’d like to say THANK YOU to Donna Dem for last night’s gorgeous account of her phone call with the President, you can help push her towards her mindboggling $12,000 target - link

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Almost forgot, it’s Friday!