This and That: Catching Up

President Obama greets a child on the Kingsmill Resort grounds during a break from debate prep in Williamsburg, Va., Oct. 14 (Photo by Pete Souza)

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Steve Benen: Just last night, Ezra explained on the show that the new monthly job figures would be released this morning, and a lot of folks would be shocked by how bad the numbers would be. Why? Because of Hurricane Sandy. Most expected to see only 80,000 jobs created.

This morning, everyone’s shocked for a very different reason. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the U.S. economy added 146,000 jobs in November, nearly double the projections. What’s more, the overall unemployment rate dropped to 7.7%, its lowest point in four years.

More here

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Read Steve Benen here

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Business Insider: The November jobs report is in, and it’s a gigantic beat.

146K new jobs is well above expectations of 85K …. This is the lowest level since 2008.

More here

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AP: A month after the bitterly fought election, President Barack Obama has his highest approval ratings since the killing of Osama bin Laden, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll, and more Americans say the nation is heading in the right direction now than at any time since the start of his first term.

Obama’s approval rating stands at 57 percent, the highest since May 2011, when U.S. Navy SEALs killed the terror leader, and up 5 percentage points from before the election. And 42 percent say the country is on the right track, up from 35 percent in January 2009. A majority think it’s likely that the president will be able to improve the economy in his second term…..

More here

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Charles Pierce: ….. Morning Joe Scarborough has a piece about how the president’s abilities at artificial pleasantries, manufactured politesse, and general intramural Potomac ass-kissing leave something to be desired….

…. In what universe is this president “personally isolated”? This one drives me straight up the wall. He just won his second national election, this one against longer odds even than the first one. He is immensely popular in the country at large, which is supposed to be the only place where popularity is supposed to matter. The country doesn’t seem to find him aloof….

…. And, in case it’s escaped the squint, the only people capable of making the next four years different from the last four years are the people who spent the previous four years refusing to accept the results of the 2008 election. Let John Boehner get all the bats in the House belfry flying in formation. That’s his job. The president’s is to lead the country for the rest of us…..

Full post here

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Washington Post: President Obama’s second inauguration will feature two swearings-in and the traditional parade and official balls. All the pomp will follow a national day of service to honor the country’s shared values and the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., the newly launched Presidential Inaugural Committee announced Thursday.

Eva Longoria, who was a big fundraiser and prominent surrogate for Obama’s campaign, will serve as a committee co-chair, all four living former presidents will serve as honorary co-chairs, and several top campaign officials will organize the weekend’s festivities.

More here

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ThinkProgress

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Washington Post

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Cagle

Cagle

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gulping gallup

Gallup CEO reacts:

Breaking: Crisis meeting at Gallup after their poll today showed 7 point swing in favor of President Obama.

Expect normal service to resume tomorrow:

Chat away, see you in a while 😉

honest, i tried to find some bad news….

CNN: President Barack Obama’s approval rating is on the rise …. In a CNN/ORC International Poll out Tuesday 49% of Americans approve of the job Obama’s doing in the White House, up five points from last month, with 48% saying they disapprove, down six points from mid-November …. The 49% approval rating is the president’s highest since May, when his number hit 54% thanks to a bounce following the killing of Osama bin Laden.

More here

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Greg Sargent: Yesterday the Washington Post released some new poll data …. it showed President Obama holds a 15 point advantage over Republicans on helping the middle class, and a 17 point edge among independents on the traditional GOP signature issue of taxes.

It would be premature to place too much stock in one poll. But CNN has just released a new survey with equally striking findings – ones that suggest that Obama’s new populist offensive, including the pressure on Republicans over the payroll tax cut, is working, and winning back middle class voters in big numbers.

More here

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Chris Cillizza: President Obama’s resurgence in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll is built in no small part on a growing sentiment in the electorate that he is fighting for the middle class. Asked who they trust more to protect the middle class, 50 percent of respondents chose Obama while just 35 percent named “Republicans in Congress”.

That’s the widest margin the President has enjoyed in Post-ABC polling on that question since December 2010 and is a vast improvement from an early November survey in which Obama had just a four-point edge over Republicans on the “protecting the middle class” question.

Dig deeper into the numbers and it’s clear that the President’s middle class messaging is resounding in the critical center of the electorate. Among independents, 49 percent trust Obama more to look out for the middle class while 32 percent side with congressional Republicans. Self described moderates opt for Obama by a wide 58 percent to 26 percent margin.

More here

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CNN: President Barack Obama’s numbers are on the rise in two important indicators of his reelection chances …. A CNN/ORC International Poll out Tuesday indicates the president’s margins have increased against five possible Republican presidential challengers in hypothetical general election matchups….

…..  Obama leads Mitt Romney 52%-45% …. Romney held a 51%-47% margin over the president in last month’s survey….

…… Newt Gingrich doesn’t fare as well against the president with Obama up by 16 points, 56% to 40%. Last month Obama led Gingrich 53%-45%.

More here

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The Jewish Daily Forward: Top-level Jewish fundraisers from President Obama’s 2008 campaign are sticking with the president in 2012.

Despite reports that President Obama faces a loss of Jewish funders due to his Middle East policy, analysis of a list of elite bundlers from his 2008 race shows no defections among the president’s top Jewish supporters in 2012.

In 2008, Obama’s elite “bundlers” – fund raisers who collected more than $500,000 each for the president’s campaign – included many prominent Jews …  all of them have returned on the 2012 campaign’s list of volunteer bundlers, or are confirmed to be fundraising for the campaign. And a handful of new prominent Jewish bundlers has joined the elite group this year for the first time.

More here

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Business Insider

Business Insider

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Washington Post: Unemployment rates fell in 43 states in November, the most number of states to report such declines in eight years.

The falling state rates reflect the brightening jobs picture nationally. The U.S. unemployment rate fell sharply in November to 8.6 percent, the lowest since March 2009. The economy has generated 100,000 or more jobs five months in a row – the first time that’s happened since 2006 …. The drop in unemployment rates in 43 states marked the most number of states to show declines since October 2003.

More here

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WSJ: The Obama administration has approved a pair of renewable energy projects being developed on public lands in Arizona and California.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Tuesday his department has approved a 300-megawatt solar farm southwest of Phoenix and a 186-megawatt wind farm east of San Diego.

….. The latest projects are the 24th and 25th renewable energy projects on public lands approved in the past two years….

More here

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White House: House Republicans are refusing to extend the payroll tax cut, which expires on December 31. If it does, taxes will go up for 160 million working Americans. Nearly everyone – from President Obama to Congressional Democrats to Republicans in the Senate – is committed to making sure that doesn’t happen, but a faction in the House is dragging their feet….

…. What does $40 mean to you? What will you and your family have to cut or go without if Congress refuses to pass the payroll tax cut? Here are some of the stories we’ve collected so far. Tell us your own story here, or tweet @WhiteHouse with the hashtag #40dollars, to help us add to the list.

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evening all

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Steve Benen: ….. “It’s safe to say Speaker John Boehner does not agree with President Obama’s suggestion on Tuesday that Americans are better off now than they were when he took office. “Are you kidding me?!” Boehner said loudly in response to a reporter’s question on the comment.”

…. Obviously, national conditions aren’t close to where they need to be. …. Maybe, if guys like Boehner would start passing jobs bills and stop holding the economy back on purpose, the public would start to feel like the country is on the right track again.

But for those who take reality seriously, there’s no real question as to whether the country is better off now than in January 2009:

Then the nation was hemorrhaging jobs; now it’s gaining jobs.

Then the economy was shrinking; now the economy is growing.

Then the American automotive industry was on the verge of collapse; now it’s starting to thrive.

Then taxpayers were sending money to Wall Street; now taxpayers are being paid back.

Then Osama bin Laden was targeting Americans and our allies; now he’s dead and al Qaeda’s leadership has been decimated.

Then U.S. troops were headed into the Middle East in greater numbers; now they’re headed home with their heads held high.

Republicans, including John Boehner, drove the United States into a pretty deep ditch during the Bush/Cheney era, and conditions are still pretty ugly. That doesn’t change the simple fact that the nation is much stronger now than the day the president was inaugurated ….

Full post here

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The GOP’s racial confusion:

The Week

AP: A third former employee considered filing a workplace complaint against Herman Cain over what she deemed aggressive and unwanted behavior when she and Cain, now a Republican presidential candidate, worked together during the late 1990s, the woman told The Associated Press on Wednesday. She said the behavior included a private invitation to his corporate apartment.

The woman said he made sexually suggestive remarks or gestures about the same time that two co-workers had settled separate harassment complaints against Cain, who was then the head of the National Restaurant Association.

Full article here

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Washington Post: Car buyers were out in force in October, snapping up trucks and SUVs and taking advantage of deals on Japanese cars.

U.S. car and truck sales were expected to top 1 million in October, a surprising number for a month when sales are usually slow. When adjusted for seasonal factors, that would be the best pace since the Cash for Clunkers program in August 2009.

Full article here

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Mediaite: In a Quinnipiac poll taken Oct. 25-31, embattled GOP juggernaut Herman Cain continued to show amazing staying power …. (but) The real news from this poll, taken before most of the fallout from Politico‘s alleged sexual harassment expose, might be that some rays of sunshine are finally hitting President Obama.

….. President Obama gained six points on his approval rating … and is now beating all Republican challengers by margins of 5-16 points. The President has seen steady progress in the polls since rolling out his American Jobs Act in September, taking it on the road, and taking the fight to the Republicans who oppose it.

Elsewhere in the poll, Democrats opened up a lead on the generic House ballot, beating Republicans 42-36, after tying them at 39 in October.

Full post here

Also, the President is up to 45% approval with Gallup today – that’s a rise of seven points in two weeks 😉

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Wait – Suskind said the Obama administration didn’t like women much:

Washingtonian

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White House

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AP: Michelle Obama has presented national arts and humanities awards to 12 community-based, after-school programs, including for at-risk kids.

The programs use dance, theater, writing, music, history and other art mediums to inspire teen moms and other young people and help them reach their potential. The first lady said at a White House ceremony Wednesday that the programs show that the arts are a lifeline – not a luxury – for many of these kids.

Most of the participants graduate from high school or earn a GED and go on to college.

The 2011 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards are presented on behalf of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities in partnership with three national cultural agencies.

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Gallup

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President Obama leaves Andrews Air Force Base en route to France

rise and shine

Greg Sargent: The first thing you should watch this morning is this harsh new Web video from the Obama-allied Priorities USA Action. It paints a very lurid picture of “Mitt Romney’s America,” and it provides the clearest clues yet as to what kind of campaign Obama and outside groups will run against him if he’s the nominee.

Romney’s corporate background, as well as that infamous Bain picture, get top billing, and are tied to the allegation that Romney’s policies would be a boon to corporations while decimating the middle class. Obama advisers and allies intend to paint an extremely vivid and even frightening picture of what Romney’s desire to roll back Obama’s post-Bush reforms would mean for the economy, the country, and the future. Beyond his pro-corporate policies, the feeling on the Obama team is that Romney’s corporate past is an unexplored and potentially serious liability, particularly amid the intense anti-Wall Street sentiment that seems to be on the rise…..

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CNN will have live steaming of the President’s 11:25 speech

Today:

11:25 The President delivers remarks in front of the Key Bridge at Georgetown’s Waterfront Park in Washington, DC

12:30 Jay Carney’s press briefing

2:30 Michelle Obama hosts the PCAH’s National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards

4:15 The President and Vice President meet with Senate Democratic leadership

7:0 The President departs Joint Base Andrews en route to Nice, France

7:0 The Vice President and Jill Biden host Eric Cantor and his wife Diana for dinner at the Naval Observatory

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More at the White House site

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You know how much I hate GOPolitico and how I hold my nose when I link to it – well, I’m holding my nose again because this article is worth reading: link

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Quinnipiac: President Barack Obama’s job approval rating is up, from a negative 41 – 55 percent October 5, to a split today with 47 percent approving and 49 percent disapproving in a Quinnipiac University poll released today. The president has leads of 5 to 16 percentage points over likely Republican challengers.

…. “President Obama seems to be improving in voters’ eyes almost across-the-board,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “He scores big gains among the groups with whom he has had the most problems – whites and men. Women also shift from a five-point negative to a four-point positive.

….. Obama also is looking better in matchups against potential Republican nominees:

47 – 42 percent over Romney, compared to a 46 – 42 percentlead October 5;
52 – 36 percent over Perry, up from a 45 – 44 percent tie last month;
50 – 40 percent over Cain, who was not included in a matchup last month;
52 – 37 percent over Gingrich, who was not matched last month.

More here

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From the same poll:

More here

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The Week

See Steve Benen on Cain’s troubles

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Full editorial here – thanks Proud

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Morning everyone 😉

whisper it…..

I know, I know, don’t give out to me – poll-watching at this stage is as pointless as Rick Perry or Mitt Romney’s existence on earth. But, still, I thought this might be worth mentioning:

Remember when the President’s Gallup approval dropped to 38 two weeks ago? It was reported more widely than the landing on the moon. Well, almost. That was that, he was finished, a one-termer, we were reliably informed. And that’s been the narrative ever since, right?

Whisper it …. despite all the crappy jobs news, he’s risen 6 points in just two weeks, up to 44 today.

It’s still insanely low, no arguments at all. And his disapproval is way too high (50) – although that’s gone down 5 points in two weeks.

So, that’s an 11 point turnaround, from -17 to -6 in just 14 days.

Hey, I’m not suggesting we crack open the champagne, and I know these figures will continue to be a rollercoaster, depending on which way the wind is blowing. But an 11 point turnaround in two weeks is hardly insignificant – and puts more than a little dent in that narrative.

Not that it will change the narrative. “Oh, well, you can’t trust Gallup,” they’d probably say. Funny, they trusted them two weeks ago.

‘obama strongly leads gop candidates in california poll’

LA Times: …. a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll shows that Obama’s strength in California has endured despite deep dissatisfaction among voters with the economy. In hypothetical matchups, Obama led Romney by 19 points, Perry by 24 points and Bachmann by 26 points.

By 50% to 43%, voters approved of Obama’s handling of the presidency, down from a high of 60% a year after his election. But the state’s three most potent voter groups – women, nonpartisan voters and Latinos – remained firmly in his corner. Fifty-five percent of women and nonpartisan voters were satisfied with the job the president is doing, a judgment shared by 59% of Latinos.

…A Republican presidential candidate last carried California in 1988; in 2008, Obama won in a landslide over GOP nominee John McCain. Neither the economic downturn nor Obama’s slipping popularity had changed that dynamic markedly. Asked whether they preferred a Democratic or a Republican congressional candidate in a generic matchup, California voters chose the former by a 17-point margin.

…. In November 2009, voters had a 65% positive impression of Obama. Now, that figure is a relatively healthy, if diminished, 58% … Sixty-two percent of women viewed him positively, and 35% negatively. Sixty-four percent of nonpartisans embraced Obama, while 33% did not. Latino voters were even more positive, with 70% holding a positive impression of Obama and 28% with negative views.

The president was the most popular politician measured in the poll. His occasional nemesis, House Speaker John Boehner, had a 22% positive rating, 36 points lower than Obama’s.

Full article here

oooops ….. 27%?!

You have to chuckle at this Sunshine State News article about Rick Scott’s latest approval ratings – they don’t mention until the seventh (seventh!) paragraph that he’s down to 27 percent!

Before then there’s a truly heroic attempt to spin the figure, with two – two! – Tea Party creatures quoted supporting him.

The article also talks about the “venom” directed at Scott from “across both genders and all corners of the state” and how “Left-wing activists” have “assailed Scott from day one for his budget cuts….”.

Venom? Left-wing activists? Translation: regular Florida folk are angry about what this lowlife is doing to their state.

The final word is given to Richard Johnston, a Palm Beach County-based Republican consultant: “Any place you have reform, that creates negativity as well … It’s a byproduct of leadership.”

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oh dear ….

TPM

Thank you Loriah

run christie, run!

USA Today: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s approval ratings have dropped to a new low, driven by negative views from women.

A new poll by Quinnipiac University shows 47% of New Jersey voters do not approve of the job being done by Christie, whose handling of the state’s budget problems and dealings with public unions have caused Republicans to urge him to run for president. That’s one percentage point higher than April, the governor’s previous low.

On the flip side, 44% say they approve of the way Christie has done his job. A former federal prosecutor, Christie was elected in 2009.

Christie has ruled out running for president next year, saying he’s “100% certain” he won’t seek the White House. But what about the No. 2 spot on the GOP ticket? A strong majority of New Jersey voters don’t see that happening for their outspoken governor: 61% say he would not make a good vice president.

As for the way he’s doing his job, the Quinnipiac Poll finds a big gender gap: Only 36% of women give high marks to the governor, compared with 53% of men. Maurice Carroll, director of the polling institute at Quinnipiac, believes Christie’s problem lies in his policies on education. The governor cut $820 million in state aid for education last year and has squabbled with the teachers’ unions over tenure.