By Dave Andrusko
Sometimes a mere 72 hours can bring to a boil political issues and developments that have been simmering for months, even years.
On the Democratic side, the New York Times, which essentially operates as a public locale where Democrats can talk to each other freely, ran a piece Sunday that officially sounding the alarm: President Obama really is in trouble.
Written by Michael Barbaro, Jeff Zeleny, and Monica Davey, “Democrats Fret Aloud Over Obama’s Chances” doesn’t bother to rehash the details of all the polling data that document the President’s dramatic fall from popularity which we have provided for you. Instead the account quotes the gut-level responses of a number of near-panicky party insiders.
To be sure some take the “worry but don’t go crazy” approach.
“I think there’s an uneasy feeling, but it’s a little early for an ulcer to develop,” said Representative Gerald E. Connolly of Virginia. “Obviously, the dark cloud over everything is the economic performance.”
But that’s a minority opinion. “In my district, the enthusiasm for him has mostly evaporated,” said Representative Peter A. DeFazio (D-Oregon) “There is tremendous discontent with his direction.”
Why now is there “a palpable sense of concern that transcended a single week of ups and downs”? For one thing, the specter of 2010 and the growing sense that Democrats could take sizable hits in the House and the Senate in 2012 with an albatross at the top of the ticket.
For another, Democrats had persuaded themselves that the Republican presidential candidates are “too extreme.” But that’s the party taking not the public’s pulse, but it’s own.
Adding a third component to the doomsday scenario—tomorrow’s contest to replace Anthony Weiner in New York’s 9th congressional district. The Democratic Congressional Committee poured in a half million dollars last week into a district that a couple of weeks before seemed a safe bet for Democrats.
New York Assemblyman David Weprin is the Democratic nominee, while the GOP is betting on businessman Bob Turner. Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch has endorsed Turner.
The district has been a Democratic stronghold for decades, but late last week a Sienna College poll showed Turner up 6 points.
”Discontent with Washington and the president is at the heart of Turner’s shocking upset bid,” wrote the National Journal this morning. “In a district he won by 11 points just three years ago, Obama’s favorability rating is now upside down in the Siena poll, with 54 percent having an unfavorable opinion of Obama and only 43 percent viewing him favorably. A remarkable 38 percent of Democrats and 68 percent of independents hold an unfavorable view of the president.”
[By the way the solutions offered to the New York Times by party officials are for Obama to get out of Washington more often (if he were gone more frequently, they’d be sending out APPs for him) and pound the lectern harder, as if the American public is going to be impressed by the timber and volume of his voice.]
On the Republican side, there are a number of polls placing pro-life Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney comfortably ahead of other pro-life GOP presidential candidates. The latest was released this morning by CNN.
Among Republicans and Independents leaning Republican, 30% support Perry for their party’s nomination, with Romney at 18%. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has not yet announced her attentions, was third at 15% while Congressman Ron Paul finished with 12%. The other candidates are in single digits, according to the CNN/ORC International Poll.
“Perry’s biggest strength may be the electability factor, with 42 percent saying he has the best chance of beating Obama next year,” writes CNN. “Some 26 percent say Romney has the best chance of defeating the president.”
Earlier today, former Minnesota Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who dropped out of the race after a poor finish in the Iowa Straw Poll, endorsed Gov. Romney. As this item was about to be posted, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal endorsed Gov. Perry.
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