In this age of partisanship, understand: a 51 percent approval rating is like a 71 percent approval rating in the old days. He is in truth about as popular as Bill Clinton was in the late 90s.
The difference is that Hillary unlike Gore is running on Obama's record rather than Gore in 2000 who wanted to be a populist outsider. The irony is that while Obama had at one time in 2008 considered her for VP-his team had to talk him out of it-she is effectively running as his VP; Secretary of State is close enough.
It's funny, Obama has been getting some love even among some conservative voices like David Brooks, Scott Sumner and David Henderson lately.
http://www.themoneyillusion.com/?p=31576
http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2016/03/kudos_to_obama.html
Yes, sometimes you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone. David Brooks kind of says it all:
"As this primary season has gone along, a strange sensation has come over me: I miss Barack Obama. Now, obviously I disagree with a lot of Obama’s policy decisions. I’ve been disappointed by aspects of his presidency. I hope the next presidency is a philosophic departure."
"But over the course of this campaign it feels as if there’s been a decline in behavioral standards across the board. Many of the traits of character and leadership that Obama possesses, and that maybe we have taken too much for granted, have suddenly gone missing or are in short supply."
The difference is that Hillary unlike Gore is running on Obama's record rather than Gore in 2000 who wanted to be a populist outsider. The irony is that while Obama had at one time in 2008 considered her for VP-his team had to talk him out of it-she is effectively running as his VP; Secretary of State is close enough.
It's funny, Obama has been getting some love even among some conservative voices like David Brooks, Scott Sumner and David Henderson lately.
http://www.themoneyillusion.com/?p=31576
http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2016/03/kudos_to_obama.html
Yes, sometimes you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone. David Brooks kind of says it all:
"As this primary season has gone along, a strange sensation has come over me: I miss Barack Obama. Now, obviously I disagree with a lot of Obama’s policy decisions. I’ve been disappointed by aspects of his presidency. I hope the next presidency is a philosophic departure."
"But over the course of this campaign it feels as if there’s been a decline in behavioral standards across the board. Many of the traits of character and leadership that Obama possesses, and that maybe we have taken too much for granted, have suddenly gone missing or are in short supply."
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/09/opinion/i-miss-barack-obama.html?_r=0
As for this 'philosophic departure' I think that ship has sailed with the fall of Marco Rubio.
But Brooks is right: he and many conservatives have taken Obama's virtues for granted. I think that party of why his numbers are up is the contrast to this surreal primary campaign.
It also should further enhance Hillary's chances.
O/T: Mike... wake me up: am I dreaming? This is right out of my fantasy playbook:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/2016/03/26/politics/guns-petition-republican-national-convention/
Are you going to sign?
DeleteSee there's a lesson. Life really is stranger than fiction. At least if you're talking about the 2016 GOP primary.
ReplyDeleteIt's really tough to come up with an absurd scenario that is so absurd it's too absurd for the GOP.
I signed the petition. There's a place for a note. I wrote something like "The GOP deserves this policy. And no, I won't be attending." :D
Delete