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Subscribe to RSSThe percentage of voters believing that the country is better off since Barack Obama became president jumped seven points after the two political conventions, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
Thirty-eight percent of registered voters now say the nation is better off, which is up from 31 percent in the August NBC/WSJ poll conducted before the conventions.
Still, a plurality of voters -- 41 percent -- believe the country is worse off, while 21 percent think it's in the same place.
"Are you better off than you were four years ago?" has been a question that Republicans raised right before the Democratic convention began earlier this month. And top officials and surrogates from the Obama campaign had a difficult time, initially, answering the question.
The release of a surreptitiously taped Romney fundraiser yesterday added to a tough few weeks for Mitt Romney that included Clint Eastwood's appearance at the RNC and President Obama's post-convention bump in the polls. As NBC's Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro discuss, with 49 days until Election Day, Romney's destiny may be out of his control.
But in his convention address the day before Obama's acceptance speech, former President Bill Clinton answered the question affirmatively. “No president -- not me or any of my predecessors -- could have repaired all the damage in just four years. But conditions are improving, and if you'll renew the president's contract you will feel it.”
And the Obama campaign followed up with a new TV ad -- on the fourth anniversary of Lehman Brothers' collapse -- also making the case that the country is better off.
The new NBC/WSJ poll asks a separate question: Which candidate -- Obama or Mitt Romney -- is better prepared to lead the country four years from now? On this question, 47 percent of voters pick the president, while 36 percent choose Romney.
The full NBC/WSJ poll -- which was taken of 900 registered voters (270 by cell phone) from Sept. 12-16 and which has an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.3 percentage points -- will be released at 6:30 pm ET.
That release will include the poll's initial look at the presidential contest among likely voters.
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4 more years of the idiot.
not true, George W. can't run again.
Shows how stupid the O'muslim supporters are. GW could run again; there's no law against it.
He can run, but even if he could be placed on the ballot the US Constitution bars him from being inaugurated again.
The only other former President that could ever win again is Bill Clinton.
I have a question? Why do so many people love Bill Clinton like they do? How can you trust a guy like him after his endeavors in the white house? I wish he would have been president for another year so we could see this GREAT guy get impeached. People seem to forget all that stuff. One other thing, remember NAFTA? That was a real good thing for America. NOT!!! and guess who got that whole thing going? Slick Willy was his name for those of you who think he was so great!!
Most of us would elect a president, not Jesus.
Why do so many love JFKennedy? He sneaked mistresses into the White House...wht a silly argument. LBJ had mistresses...nothing new under the sun.
and Bill Clinton received oral pleasures from interns, and now we have Obama. The cult of personality is strong.
Clinton. LMFAO!
The guy who ruined the housing market, and hence the economy. And he is the guy all you libbies should hate since he lowered the capital gains rate from 35% to 20%. You won't hear that from Mr Dementia, Warrent Buffet though. LOL!
Clinton. LMFAO!!
Shawn
NAFTA came from Bush I. How about you actually read a book and learn. You know, Google can be your friend. Clinton signed it but even if he had vetoed it there were more then enough votes to overturn his veto. They already had impeached him and he was found not guilty. Do us all a favor and give it up. You clowns and your constant stream of hatred. It gets quite old.
Romney took over as Governor of one of the most liberal states in the country. He started with a $3 billion dollar deficit and then balanced the budget every year and cut the deficit to zero. Obama on the other hand started out as President with a Democrat controlled House and Senate, he increased the unemployment rate, increased the deficit every year (to historical highs) and increased our national debt by $6 trillion dollars. Hmm, I know who I'm voting for.
The eventual loser.
luke: So why did Mass not re-elect Romney......hmmmm?
Perhaps because Mass became 47th in job creation...and Romney raised all kinds of fees on the middle class???
The Romney campaign is so dead that the Mormons just baptized it.
THE JURY IS IN WITH ITS VERDICT.... why have so many senior republican politicians left the republican party or won't put up with their base attitude in the past few years? - Christ, Voinovich, Specter, Snow, 2 term NM Gov Johnson, and so many of their retired Nixon/Ford/Reagan/Bush staff that disagree with their far far right policies.....another topic for campaign ads along with ones like that Bear Hug of the repub pizza restaurnat owner - good for print too, you don't even have to have audio to list all the defectors. Now that will be POSITIVE and not negative campaiging since it shows being Progressive rather than regressive!!!!
Ignore the words. Watch the actions.
I am confident Romney is going to win. I really believe people are saying they are voting obama so they are not called racists like those of us who openly criticize him. We will see in Nov. But in my home in Pa. , last Pres. election obama got 1 vote McCain 1 vote, 2012 Romney will get 3 votes. My husband is witching sides , I an sticking with Rep. and my sons 1st. Pres. election he will be voting Rep. Most Republicans I know are striving to change at least one persons vote and bring them to Mitts side. I have brought my share and will continue to change minds .
My son-in-law in the Air Force is voting Obama this time. My daughter is voting for the first time and will be voting for Obama. I'm canceling you out.
I've been getting all the crazy, kooky, lying emails from people trying to get me to switch my vote because Obama is a "muslim/commie/socialist/fascist/Nazi/radical black Christian/terrorist/Kenyan who hates America, freedom, and puppies". I forward them to everyone I know. They're the best way to convince people that Republicans have fallen off the deep end.
...optimism about the path to bankruptcy?...wake up you sheeple retards...
Who the hell is going to vote for a so-called man like Mitt the Twitt, who believes that God lives on the Planet Kolob with his 100 wives and DirecTV
Mittens is a pathological liar and tax scofflaw
Pay your damn Taxes Mittens
It looks like the Romney folks above offer up nothing but negative attacks on Obama. They never offer up anything positive about Romney. When are these angry old repubs going to get it?
We don't want Romney because he doesn't care about the country and its people.
For how I am going to save America that is a secret you gotta trust me !! Thats a secret until I take over the white hous
Here's some simple math: 38+21=59. So nearly 6 out of ten people believe the country is the same or better off in the last four years. That's quite a spread between 4 out of ten people believing the country is worse off.
In terms of "entitlements", Social Security isn't an entitlement, it's insurance that we ALL pay for. Same with Medicare and Medicaid. I don't know about anyone else, and I certainly don't speak for anyone else, but when I pay for a product, I intend to use it.
For those that embrace the term socialist, here's the definition: a theory or system of social organization that advocatesthe vesting of the ownership and control of the means ofproduction and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in thecommunity as a whole.
So, here's a list of socialist programs that the US offers:
PRENATAL / EARLY CHILDHOOD
K-12 EDUCATION
POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION
TEEN PREGNANCY PREVENTION
CRIME/VIOLENCE PREVENTION
HOUSING/HOMELESSNESS
EMPLOYMENT AND WELFARE
SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION/TREATMENT
OBESITY PREVENTION/TREATMENT
MENTAL HEALTH
HEALTH CARE FINANCING/DELIVERY
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Now, if you feel "entitled" to any of these programs, like getting an education, making sure your teenage daughter doesn't get pregnant, being able to call the police or fire department when you need to, then you too are a socialist.
Let me boil it down for those that think the President is a socialist and that he's alone. You're blind. Congress negotiated quite a benefits package for themselves (including healthcare and pension) as a group - a socialist behavior. The Small Business Administration that provides loans to startups and small businesses for the good of the community as a whole - a socialist behavior. Public schools, public hospitals, public roads, sewer, power, all socialist ideas. So unless you want to start home schooling, working for yourself an no one else, paving your own driveway and road to work, handling your own sewer and water, etc. I suggest you stop using that lame, toothless argument and come up with something better.
Medicaid is basically welfare. Mostly to old, sick people in nursing homes.
To me, it's just common decency.
Nursing homes is mostly for the elderly and disabled and is one thirdof the medicade funding! Ryan said his plan will cut funding to madicade one third ??? Which one third you are going to cut__sounds as if it could be the nursing homes just let them die I need my taxes reduced
well, at this rate, Obama hardly needs to win, he can just let Romney lose!
Keep an eye on the wacko repubs (just the wacko ones), they are starting hear Sharon Angle in the background and something about get your guns and 2nd amendment rights ready.
Mit could have won in 2008 if he got the GOP nomination but he doesn't have a chance this time.
Ahhhh the sweet sound of tiny, teabagger heads exploding ....
the more Mitt for brains talks, the more people like Mr O. Same for Lyin Ryan
Yep. Everything was great until the Democrats flipped BOTH houses of Congress.
ummmmm.......can you tell me again how that happened? Can you explain to me again how The Republicans lost BOTH houses of Congress AND the presidency in just two years?
Can you explain to me again why Karl Rove's "Permanent Republican Majority" vanished overnight? I mean, things were going so well, right?
How is that the war hero and the soccer mom got trounced by a black guy with a muslim sounding name?
Was it massive "voter ID fraud"?
No it was a misguided belief in hope and change and we see where it got us. The biggest disaster of a president since Jimmy Carter. The mess he inherits if he is reelected is the monumental incompetency he has gifted himself. The tide has changed, he is an empty suit and it is obvious, the guy is done.
General Election: Romney vs. Obama
Obama: 48.4%
Romney: 45.5%
Obama +2.9% DOWN from 3.5%
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/us/general_election_romney_vs_obama-1171.html
If Mitt wins it means all the Democrats will have to go back to work again...LOL...No wonder they so upset...I would be to.
You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.
You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!
The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
Again? Gee, I guess I've been playing for 30 years ... MORON! It does seem, however, you can make the rich, richer by cutting their taxes for the last 30 years. I love when you idiots scream about "income re-distribution" but it's ok as long as the income is re-distributed UPWARDS!
Have you? .....IDIOT!
Sucks doesn't it ... you bozos love when Christie calls someone an IDIOT but hate when the term fits yourself, huh?
Its bad when you told the truth isn't it? Like I said in my comment I would be mad to.
27 red states get more money from Uncle Sam than they pay in taxes. Only 4 red states pay more taxes than they get back from Uncle Sam.
Only 5 blue states get more back than they pay in taxes.
Red states are where the worthless welfare queens live and the hard working, tax paying blue states are paying their way.
How is that the Wall Street Journal, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch (owner of Fox News) is so liberal?
So, Rupert has come over to the dark side?
jimmy -
It's the only way they can even get a poll to look like Obama's in the 'lead'.
oh yeah Obama will take yer guns (wish he would) and OMG gas is expensive - see how bad things are/!
Go Obama!!! things are getting better even without the Republican Party help. The Republican Party has done nothing but obstruct at the expense of the American people. America it is time to show the Republican Party who are in controlled.
Obama/Biden 2012
The country IS MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION! You're seeing it in almost every sector! Mark my word... in a couple of years everyone will be talking about the Obama "Come-Back Miracle!"
All the name-calling in the world doesn't matter anymore. It won't win elections and frankly makes people appear to be shallow and stupid.
Romney, Ryan, Rush, Glen, and all the other "Righties" out there are at a loss for words because they can't get it together and won't offer a plan. Common Mitt... let the public in on your secret solutions. And Yeah... I'm still waiting to see some of your tax returns.
My indepedent vote goes to Obama unless you can do magic at the debates. Stick a fork in Mitt... he's done!
If you vote for any one of them makes you more of a idiot than they are.You know dam well that all Parties are corrupt but you keep voting any ways? You sir are a Joke...
"Romney, Ryan, Rush, Glen, and all the other "Righties" out there are at a loss for words because they can't get it together and won't offer a plan. Common Mitt"
We know Obama's plan.
MORE DEBT. The U.S. credit rating has been downgraded AGAIN.
LESS JOBS. The employment participation rate is at an all time LOW.
...and the less jobs are in fact connected to Obama's policies that were put into place in the first two years of the Dem Controlled Congress.... NOTE: Bush had a Dem controlled congress too and you would blame him-Obama is worse.
If the 47% would just die and my Dad would have been a Mexican, I'd have this thing in the bag!!
Obama Biden 4 More
Bias in the Media as usual..The Media is struggling as it is.Because no one can believe in their Bull Sh1t!
Yes, it's the "vast left wing conspiracy", again.
The "liberal media" only hires handouter, liberals.
On the plus side, Fox News gets first crack at hiring all those intellectual, conservative journalists.....like Geraldo.
Funny how all the former main stream folks have jumped over to Fox .... kinda makes you wonder why all the top names leave ....
Maybe because their former employers are tilting the favor of the news to the left ... and they have a shred of integrity and leave.
Buuuwwwhhahahahahaha! Faux noise has any integrity?!!?!?!!!
Faux noise sued so that they could legally lie on national television every day.
In February 2003, a Florida Court of Appeals unanimously agreed with an assertion by FOX News that there is no rule against distorting or falsifying the news in the United States.
Back in December of 1996, Jane Akre and her husband, Steve Wilson, were hired by FOX as a part of the Fox “Investigators” team at WTVT in Tampa Bay, Florida. In 1997 the team began work on a story about bovine growth hormone (BGH), a controversial substance manufactured by Monsanto Corporation. The couple produced a four-part series revealing that there were many health risks related to BGH and that Florida supermarket chains did little to avoid selling milk from cows treated with the hormone, despite assuring customers otherwise.
According to Akre and Wilson, the station was initially very excited about the series. But within a week, Fox executives and their attorneys wanted the reporters to use statements from Monsanto representatives that the reporters knew were false and to make other revisions to the story that were in direct conflict with the facts. Fox editors then tried to force Akre and Wilson to continue to produce the distorted story. When they refused and threatened to report Fox's actions to the FCC, they were both fired.(Project Censored #12 1997)
Akre and Wilson sued the Fox station and on August 18, 2000, a Florida jury unanimously decided that Akre was wrongfully fired by Fox Television when she refused to broadcast (in the jury's words) “a false, distorted or slanted story” about the widespread use of BGH in dairy cows. They further maintained that she deserved protection under Florida's whistle blower law. Akre was awarded a $425,000 settlement. Inexplicably, however, the court decided that Steve Wilson, her partner in the case, was ruled not wronged by the same actions taken by FOX.
FOX appealed the case, and on February 14, 2003 the Florida Second District Court of Appeals unanimously overturned the settlement awarded to Akre. The Court held that Akre’s threat to report the station’s actions to the FCC did not deserve protection under Florida’s whistle blower statute, because Florida’s whistle blower law states that an employer must violate an adopted “law, rule, or regulation." In a stunningly narrow interpretation of FCC rules, the Florida Appeals court claimed that the FCC policy against falsification of the news does not rise to the level of a "law, rule, or regulation," it was simply a "policy." Therefore, it is up to the station whether or not it wants to report honestly.
During their appeal, FOX asserted that there are no written rules against distorting news in the media. They argued that, under the First Amendment, broadcasters have the right to lie or deliberately distort news reports on public airwaves. Fox attorneys did not dispute Akre’s claim that they pressured her to broadcast a false story, they simply maintained that it was their right to do so. After the appeal verdict WTVT general manager Bob Linger commented, “It’s vindication for WTVT, and we’re very pleased… It’s the case we’ve been making for two years. She never had a legal claim.”
UPDATE BY LIANE CASTEN: If we needed any more proof that we now live in an upside down world, the saga of Jane Akre, along with her husband, Steve Wilson, could not be more compelling.
Akre and Wilson won the first legal round. Akre was awarded $425,000 in a jury trial with well-crafted arguments for their wrongful termination as whistleblowers. And in the process, they also won the prestigious “Goldman Environmental” prize for their outstanding efforts. However, FOX turned around and appealed the verdict. This time, FOX won; the original verdict was overturned in the Appellate Court of Florida’s Second District. The court implied there was no restriction against distorting the truth. Technically, there was no violation of the news distortion because the FCC’s policy of news distortion does not have the weight of the law. Thus, said the court, Akre-Wilson never qualified as whistleblowers.
What is more appalling are the five major media outlets that filed briefs of Amici Curiae- or friend of FOX – to support FOX’s position: Belo Corporation, Cox Television, Inc., Gannett Co., Inc., Media General Operations, Inc., and Post-Newsweek Stations, Inc. These are major media players! Their statement, “The station argued that it simply wanted to ensure that a news story about a scientific controversy regarding a commercial product was present with fairness and balance, and to ensure that it had a sound defense to any potential defamation claim.”
“Fairness and balance?” Monsanto hardly demonstrated “fairness and balance” when it threatened a lawsuit and demanded the elimination of important, verifiable information!
The Amici position was “If upheld by this court, the decision would convert personnel actions arising from disagreements over editorial policy into litigation battles in which state courts would interpret and apply federal policies that raise significant and delicate constitutional and statutory issues.” After all, Amici argued, 40 states now have Whistleblower laws, imagine what would happen if employees in those 40 states followed the same course of action?
The position implies that First Amendment rights belong to the employers – in this case the five power media groups. And when convenient, the First Amendment becomes a broad shield to hide behind. Let’s not forget, however; the airwaves belong to the people. Is there no public interest left—while these media giants make their private fortunes using the public airwaves? Can corporations have the power to influence the media reporting, even at the expense of the truth? Apparently so.
In addition, the five “friends” referred to FCC policies. The five admit they are “vitally interested in the outcome of this appeal, which will determine the extent to which state whistleblower laws may incorporate federal policies that touch on sensitive questions of editorial judgment.”
Anyone concerned with media must hear the alarm bells. The Bush FCC, under Michael Powell’s leadership, has shown repeatedly that greater media consolidation is encouraged, that liars like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter are perfectly acceptable, that to refer to the FCC interpretation of “editorial judgment” is to potentially throw out any pretense at editorial accuracy if the “accuracy” harms a large corporation and its bottom line. This is our “Brave New Media”, the corporate media that protects its friends and now lies, unchallenged if need be.
The next assault: the Fox station then filed a series of motions in a Tampa Circuit Court seeking more than $1.7 million in trial fees and costs from both Akre and Wilson. The motions were filed on March 30 and April 16 by Fox attorney, William McDaniels—who bills his client at $525 to $550 an hour. The costs are to cover legal fees and trial costs incurred by FOX in defending itself at the first trial. The issue may be heard by the original trial judge, Ralph Steinberg—a logical step in the whole process. However, Judge Steinberg must come out of retirement if he is to hear this, so the hearing, set for June 1, may go to a new judge, Judge Maye.
Akre and her husband feel the stress. “There is no justification for the five stations not to support us,” she said. “Attaching legal fees to whistleblowers is unprecedented, absurd. The ‘business’ of broadcasting trumps it all. These news organizations must ensure they are worthy of the public trust while they use OUR airwaves, free of charge. Public trust is alarmingly absent here.”
Indeed. This is what our corporate media, led by such as Rupert Murdoch, have come to. How low we have fallen.