Billions of dollars in federal aid delivered directly to the local level to help revive the economy have gone overwhelmingly to places that supported President Obama in last year's presidential election.The story is at pains to indicate that no "political considerations could be at work." But that hardly matters. If race, rights, and spending are seen as driving Democratic policy (as is always the case), then we'll see a backlash. (For more, see Gateway Pundit, "Shocker!... BILLIONS In Stimulus Aid Went to Obama Supporting Counties")
That aid — about $17 billion — is the first piece of the administration's massive stimulus package that can be tracked locally. Much of it has followed a well-worn path to places that regularly collect a bigger share of federal grants and contracts, guided by formulas that have been in place for decades and leave little room for manipulation.
Check out Ben Smith, "Independents Begin to Edge Away From President Obama":
In a potentially alarming trend for the White House, independent voters are deserting President Barack Obama nationally and especially in key swing states, recent polls suggest.And remember from earlier this week, "New Gallup Poll Indicates that Americans are becoming more Conservative."
Obama’s job approval rating hit a — still healthy — low of 56 percent in the Gallup Poll on Wednesday. And pollsters are debating whether Obama’s expansive and expensive policy proposals or the ground-level realities of a still-faltering economy are driving the falling numbers.
But a source of the shift appears to be independent voters, who seem to be responding to Republican complaints of excessive spending and government control.
“This is a huge sea change that is playing itself out in American politics,” said Democratic pollster Doug Schoen. “Independents who had become effectively operational Democrats in 2006 and 2008 are now up for grabs and are trending Republican.
“They’re saying, ‘Costing too much, no results, see the downside, not sure of the upside,’” he said.
The White House denies there’s been any real shift.
And the week before that, "More Americans See Democratic Party as “Too Liberal”." And related, from Pew Research, "Independents Take Center Stage in the Obama Era."
Plus, see Ed Morrissey, "Confidence in Obama, Economy Still Dropping," and Foon Rhee, "Obama's Poll Numbers Drop" (via Memeorandum).
The icing on the cake: Michael Barone, "Getting Cold Feet Over Big Government."
Related: Michelle Malkin, "Culture of Corruption Watch: “Put Nothing in Writing ... Ever”."
More at Memeorandum.
2 comments:
As long as approval stays above 50%
the rest reactionary grumbling,
what we're witnessing is a bumpy, but steady shift,
He's got till/ and into 10, then realtime results, even minor.
And the majority will continue to warm.
There will be a rash of peaks and valleys on particular issues....but watch the overall approval....its what matters.
very Interesting
Polls don’t matter at this point. It is too early. Polls are false hope. It is too soon to tell.
Every economist and financial expert I have read does not pretend to have a handle on what should be done to improve our economy, except this Administration, which is embarrassingly confident.
Further, this is not about Bush screwing up the economy, or Obama “inheriting” economic disaster. Our economic plight is a global greed-issue in which we played the major part. It was an orgy of speculative rewards for both Democrats and Republicans and American citizens that were disinterested in regulation. I do not think that is a fault. Ayn Rand certainly would not think so.
We, as privileged Americans didn’t question anything while 401Ks rose. I certainly didn’t. We felt privileged and entitled to more and more profits. We allowed the regulative agencies to look the other way when wealth was being made (Madoff anyone? The SEC was corrupt, or incompetent, and that is not Right or Left – I do not see the SEC being investigated as they should be, and they were warned a multitude of times about Madoff, and others – This is story that has not been entirely told.)
The mentality now, and before: “We are in power, so we are now the experts.” In reality, it isn’t that different from your work environment, the guy or gal that gets promoted into a position of authority instinctively thinks, “I am now the expert. People look to me, to make decisions. So, I now am a true expert, because people promoted me.” However, an example of perspective might be Ronald Reagan was who listened to his brilliant advisors. Bush had poor advisors, and so does Obama, you do the math.
Our state of the economy is a world greed issue – gone wrong. Not the first time, if you read history. To the victimized public I say, do not look for saviors, it won’t be Obama – for that matter, I don’t know where it will come from, but America will pull out of this in spite of politicians, but not because of their infallible wisdom. It will be our great resources.
For us in the wings, it is sheer fantasy that we know economically the very path in which to take. I would say it is unprecedented, but unfortunately this is not Democrat or Republican misfire, this is the government not looking after the masses – and wake up call, we have had many depressions, not just the Great one. Lesson: Do not expect the government to look after us.
What is unfortunate about American fortune and privilege is that suddenly we feel we are entitled. We aren’t. Government cannot be expected to save you. Barack Obama was not sent here to save you. Although Obama may disagree with me, he would be wrong. We must be insightful and concerned enough about the welfare of our children to vote accordingly. That should be what we focus our attention on in this country – our children and their future – not our immediate rewards - Obamanomics notwithstanding.
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