Newsweek: Has Obama Hit Bottom?

http://www.newsweek.com/id/234653

At this juncture in his presidency, Barack Obama might think about taking his political cue from the title of Richard Fariña's 1960s novel: Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me. In the race to the bottom that American politics has become—the only question is which party will be less popular going into the November election—Obama's been written off so completely that the Democrats' electoral prospects may be starting to look up simply because they can't drop much lower.

True, with the congressional elections still eight months away, it's impossible to say whether this is some kind of a bottom or a turning point. Many unknowns could still turn November into the rout against the Democrats that everyone now expects: soaring gas prices, double-dip recession, a terrorist setback. But consider: after months of failures and embarrassing White House miscalculations, some very serious downward trend lines are starting to stabilize or even poke upward. The jobless rate, at 9.7 percent, seems to be settling in below the politically radioactive 10 percent level, and many economists tentatively suggest it could stay there. Health-care reform may or may not pass, but at least the president has decided to take his campaign for it out on the road, away from dysfunctional Washington.

And while some polls show that Obama is still vulnerable on national security, especially as his administration seems to shilly-shally over how to try terrorists, public sentiment is lagging behind some very positive facts emerging on the ground. U.S. forces seem to be going from success to success in Afghanistan and Pakistan—next stop Kandahar, Gen. Stanley McChrystal recently announced after the triumphant offensive in Marja—and the seemingly successful Iraq election may allow the president to resume his withdrawal timetable. (One big worry is whether the haggling over a new government in Baghdad will open the door to sectarian fighting, as happened in 2006 after the last national election, but "we don't see a catastrophic event on the horizon right now," Gen. Ray Odierno told MSNBC.)

rest at link above, critiques welcome

"And while some polls show that Obama is still vulnerable on national security, especially as his administration seems to shilly-shally over how to try terrorists..."

An article that goes on to state that the US underperforms due primarily to teachers.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/38563

No thanks.

No need to address poverty. Just keep firing teachers until things are better.

.

More than even RAYGUN

Oh wait, that was about the "popular wartime president." The same story got told as Bush's approval ratings hit 40%, 35% and 30%, finally cratering at around 29%. Then it was finally okay to notice Bush's low popularity, but only in terms of how it was "skyrocketing" back to 32%.