For the first time since he assumed office, President Barack Obama’s approval rating dipped below 40 percent in a recent Gallup Poll. His disapproval rating was 54 percent. President Obama has been losing support over the past few months and the bounce that his approval rating received from the killing of Osama bin Laden has disappeared. The economy and the job situation have eroded Obama’s popularity. The relentless attacks by Republicans cannot do what a jobless and apparently illusory recovery can to his prospects for reelection in 2012. When George H.W. Bush became a one-term president, the derisive slogan of the opposition was “It’s the economy, stupid!” Those words could haunt President Obama next year if unemployment remains high and the cuts in the social safety net become effective and their harshness is felt.
President Obama took a big risk concentrating on implementing health care reform without tackling the unemployment crisis early in his administration. His financial bailouts and stimulus programs did not pump life into the employment market in any significant way. It is ironic that the main opponents of his stimulus program are now saying that it didn’t do very much when earlier they were screaming that it would destroy the country. No modern president has been elected when the national unemployment rate was higher than seven percent.
With the far right-wing emboldened by their recent holding hostage the economy through their stubbornness on the debt-ceiling issue, they are very likely to fight even harder to prevent the president from lowering the unemployment rate. The winner of the GOP Iowa Straw Poll Rep. Michele Bachmann exemplifies the “wrongheadedness” of the extreme right-wing conservatives. She calls for lowering of corporate taxes and de-regulation of financial institutions that caused the recession of 2008, yet she says the country cannot afford extended unemployment benefits for those who have been out of work for a long time. If President Obama is to elevate his approval ratings, he will have to fight the right-wing scorched earth policy toward the poor and the middle-class. It is a fight he can ill-afford to lose.
Editorials
Presidential Depths
- Friday, 19 August 2011 06:16
- Editor
- Hits: 3273
Economic Catastrophe
- Friday, 12 August 2011 10:00
- Editor
- Hits: 2952
The lowering of the United States Government credit rating to AA from AAA by Standard and Poor’s rating agency is a catastrophe for this country. Although two other rating agencies kept the U.S. at a triple A rating, there will be a ripple effect of this downgrading.
King Memorial: Dream Becomes Reality
- Friday, 12 August 2011 09:55
- Editor
- Hits: 2059
On the 48th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom that occurred August 28, 1963, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on the National Mall will be unveiled.
Same-Sex Marriage Advocates Get New Ally
- Friday, 29 July 2011 12:11
- Editor
- Hits: 1506
If one were cynical the announcement that Gov. Martin O'Malley will lead the fight for passage of a same sex marriage bill in the Maryland General Assembly would be viewed strictly as a political move to raise his national profile as a similar action has done for Gov. Cuomo of New York. In Albany, Cuomo's success in shepherding a same-sex marriage bill through his state's legislature is considered a masterstroke of political savvy since the New York Senate, is controlled by Republican members. Andrew Cuomo's name has been mentioned as a possible candidate for president in 2016. The praise Cuomo has received seems to have burnished his chances for 2016.
Maryland's governor is rumored to have strong ambitions for higher office and a similar legislative victory on the issue could boost his national profile. The Maryland General Assembly, which is dominated by the Democratic Party members, should be an easier task to complete than Cuomo's. Gov. O'Malley has hedged on the issue in the past by suggesting civil unions. There is a strong and active church community in Maryland that has put intense pressure on legislators before to retain the exclusivity of marriage to one man and one woman. If O'Malley goes through with his push in January, legislators will be cushioned from election year pressures. However, opponents of same sex marriage may follow the lead of opponents of in-state tuition fees for children of illegal immigrants and gather petition signatures to put the issue on the ballot. Referendum issues are a reflection of democracy in its purest form, although it does not always represent results that are best for society.
Gov. O'Malley says that same-sex marriage is an equality issue. It will be interesting to see if he can persuade enough members of the General Assembly to pass the law.
Maryland's governor is rumored to have strong ambitions for higher office and a similar legislative victory on the issue could boost his national profile. The Maryland General Assembly, which is dominated by the Democratic Party members, should be an easier task to complete than Cuomo's. Gov. O'Malley has hedged on the issue in the past by suggesting civil unions. There is a strong and active church community in Maryland that has put intense pressure on legislators before to retain the exclusivity of marriage to one man and one woman. If O'Malley goes through with his push in January, legislators will be cushioned from election year pressures. However, opponents of same sex marriage may follow the lead of opponents of in-state tuition fees for children of illegal immigrants and gather petition signatures to put the issue on the ballot. Referendum issues are a reflection of democracy in its purest form, although it does not always represent results that are best for society.
Gov. O'Malley says that same-sex marriage is an equality issue. It will be interesting to see if he can persuade enough members of the General Assembly to pass the law.
Baltimore Police Department under Fire
- Friday, 29 July 2011 12:11
- Editor
- Hits: 1709
Baltimore City's beleaguered police department has stumbled from one disaster to another in recent times. Approximately 50 officers have been implicated in a towing scandal where officers directed drivers who needed their cars towed to non-authorized towing services. Several officers in this debacle have accepted plea agreements. Another officer has been found guilty of manslaughter after he shot a man he said had groped a female companion and threatened the off-duty policeman. The alleged assailant was shot a dozen times. A judge found the officer guilty of manslaughter. Earlier in the year an off-duty police officer was shot while he was acting as a security guard at a nightclub. City police officers responding to a call about a disturbance shot the moonlighting officer over 20 times supposedly by mistake. This past week, an officer in the Northwestern District was arrested for running a heroin operation. The accused officer was allegedly caught on surveillance video making a drug deal in the station house parking lot.
Additionally, the city had to settle with a man who was assaulted by two undercover policemen who thought he was rolling a marijuana cigarette in front of his home. It turned out to be a tobacco cigarette. The case was settled for $100,000.
The Baltimore City Police Department beset by misconduct issues over the past few years has paid millions of dollars to victims for violating their rights and excessive force accusations. There seems to be a culture at the Baltimore City police that allows the force to pay millions of dollars in settlements year after year. Better training is needed and there must be a change in the culture of the department that seems to view the violation of citizen rights unimportant because there are no personal repercussions for violating citizen rights. Corruption and abuse of power will not win the trust of the public.
Additionally, the city had to settle with a man who was assaulted by two undercover policemen who thought he was rolling a marijuana cigarette in front of his home. It turned out to be a tobacco cigarette. The case was settled for $100,000.
The Baltimore City Police Department beset by misconduct issues over the past few years has paid millions of dollars to victims for violating their rights and excessive force accusations. There seems to be a culture at the Baltimore City police that allows the force to pay millions of dollars in settlements year after year. Better training is needed and there must be a change in the culture of the department that seems to view the violation of citizen rights unimportant because there are no personal repercussions for violating citizen rights. Corruption and abuse of power will not win the trust of the public.