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- iHaveNet.com: Politics
by Kenneth T. Walsh
Obama's Approval Ratings (© Jennifer Kohnke)
The threat of terrorism places another urgent item on the president's already enormous agenda
President Obama thought he had problems in 2009. But 2010 could be tougher.
One reason is that an issue that had seemed dormant -- terrorism -- suddenly erupted again when Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab allegedly tried to blow up an airplane over Detroit on Christmas Day. The attempt failed, but the incident showed that the terrorist threat remains real and that airline security can be shockingly weak. Obama, vacationing in Hawaii, told reporters that his administration had begun "a full investigation" and urged Americans to be both "confident" and "vigilant." He declared, "We will continue to use every element of our national power to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat the violent extremists who threaten us." Later, he conceded that the incident represented "systemic failure" and promised that his administration would do better.
All this represented an attempt by Obama to show that he was engaged and ready to protect the homeland. He knows that the image of being weak on defense has been a Democratic vulnerability and that the incident could raise new doubts.
More broadly, the attempted bombing placed still another urgent issue on Obama's already enormous agenda. First, he hopes to get healthcare legislation through
Adds another
Obama also intends to ask
Probably the biggest challenge will be lowering the unemployment rate, now hovering at 10 percent nationally with higher rates in many cities and states. Aides say Obama will make job creation his first priority once healthcare is resolved, and he hopes to focus on joblessness as the principal theme of his State of the Union address. Among the ideas under consideration are more federal assistance to small businesses, additional billions of dollars for infrastructure, and more aid to homeowners to make their homes more energy efficient.
As political analyst Rhodes Cook points out, Obama's approval rating has dropped further than that of any other newly elected president, at least since Gallup began tracking such things in the late 1930s. It dropped 21 points, from 68 percent approval in January to 47 percent in early December. No other president's ratings have declined more than 10 points in his first year.
Republican pollster Ed Goeas says the new year may reflect " 'voter remorse' following the election of a president who made promises too big and had too little executive experience or the 'know-how' to make decisions to get the economy back on track." That remains to be seen. But certainly, 2010 could mark a rebuff of what Obama used to call "change you can believe in."
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2010 Brings Bigger Problems for Obama | Kenneth T. Walsh
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