Moving Violation

The Better Parts
For the better part of the last two years, President Obama’s saving grace has been his image as a strong leader who people like and trust, regardless of the issues of the day. 


Even that is starting to erode.  A new Pew Research Center survey shows the American people are increasingly skeptical about the president’s leadership bona fides.


A record high number of people say that Obama is not a strong leader (47 percent), can’t get things done (50 percent), isn’t well-informed (33 percent), is not a good communicator (22 percent) and doesn’t stand up for what he believes in (22 percent).


It’s hardly the picture of a man with major image problems, but the numbers do represent some of the first cracks in in the image Obama has crafted for himself, and that could lead to problems down the line. (Aaron Blake and Rachel Weiner, Washington Post, 8/26/2011)


It strikes us that Blake and Weiner are a bit late-to-the-game with the analysis that Obama's image is "starting to fade."  But, do they really believe that he does not have "major image problems" that could  cause "problems down the road?"  Which deserted island have they been living on?


Newfounded
But a soaring jobless rate among African Americans and a newfound comfort by black lawmakers to criticize Obama’s economic policies are prompting the White House to recalibrate — and to focus more directly on the struggles of black America.


The shift comes amid a growing concern among some Democrats that the stubborn economic conditions in minority communities might hamper efforts by Obama’s reelection campaign to generate the large black voter turnout it needs in key cities to make up for his declining support among white independents. (Washington Post, 8/26/2011)


This one gave us pause.  The implication seems to be that the Administration is going to focus on "the struggles of black America" in order to get re-elected.


Satisfaction
Republicans say they are increasingly happy with the 2012 Republican presidential field — which probably has a lot to do with the rise of Rep. Michele Bachmann and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.


New data from an AP-Gfk poll shows that, while just 52 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents were satisfied with the field two months ago, that number is now at 64 percent.


But were they ever actually that upset?


Data from the Pew Research Center suggests that voters have historically been similarly hesitant to embrace their options early in the presidential campaign, and that the 2012 GOP presidential field isn’t as full of unappealing misfits as some wagered. (Washington Post, 8/26/2011)


Every once in a while the Washington Post surprises us.  


The Name of the Beast
Hurricane Irene hadn’t even made landfall in the United States before some people figured out what to blame it on.


“Irene’s got a middle name, and it’s Global Warming,” environmental activist Bill McKibben wrote Thursday night in The Daily Beast. He argued that this year’s hot Atlantic Ocean temperatures and active spree of hurricanes — coupled with droughts, floods and melting sea ice elsewhere on the globe — are “what climate change looks like in its early stages.”  (Politico.com, 8/27/2011)


There have been hurricanes since the beginning of time, but Middlebury College's resident enviro-alarmist has now got it figured out.  The good thing, however, is that every time McKibben opens his mouth he exposes further the lunacy of his "cause."