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The day after the election, Barack Obama was viewed more favorably by Americans than his wife, Michelle. Not any more. A USA Today/Gallup Poll taken in the last week shows a surge in positive views of the first lady over the past year even as her husband's ratings have eroded. As the anniversary of the presidential election approaches, Michelle Obama is viewed more favorably than her husband. "She has conducted herself as an educated, sensitive, down-to-earth woman -- not a black woman, a woman -- like when she does the gardening [to encourage healthful eating] and taking care of the...

CARACAS, Venezuela – Hugo Chavez's support has declined in the polls as many Venezuelans say they are fed up with 27 percent inflation, a stagnant economy, faulty public services — and a government they see as incapable of doing much about it. .. "Whatever he offers, everything gets half-done," said Maria Martinez, a 32-year-old who once voted for Chavez but now is disenchanted. She says the government's health programs are insufficient, and the $500 or so she earns each month selling books in the street is no longer enough to support her five children. She said water reaches her Caracas...

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - The United States is the most admired country globally thanks largely to the star power of President Barack Obama and his administration, according to a new poll. It climbed from seventh place last year, ahead of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan which completed the top five nations in the Nation Brand Index (NBI). "What's really remarkable is that in all my years studying national reputation, I have never seen any country experience such a dramatic change in its standing as we see for the United States for 2009," said Simon Anholt, the founder...

As he retreats to Camp David for a final summer getaway, President Barack Obama is mapping out a post- Labor Day plan to regain the political offensive, including a private meeting next Tuesday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid . After taking office with a two-thirds approval rating, Obama has watched it slip closer to 50 percent. Over the summer, he lost ground on the health care debate and other aspects of his crowded agenda, and his dealings with Congress — controlled by fellow Democrats — also worsened as worries increased about losses in next...

WASHINGTON – Slightly more than one-third of Americans have a favorable opinion of the Democratic-led Congress, a new poll said Wednesday in a clear warning to the majority party. The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press said the 37 percent expressing a positive opinion represents a decline of 13 points since April. The favorable percentage is one of the lowest in more than two decades of Pew surveys — if not the lowest, the poll said. The previous low was 40 percent in January, but the difference is not statistically significant because of the margin of error....

For the first time since President Obama entered the Oval Office, a majority of voters disapprove of the president's job performance in a Rasmussen tracking poll - a downturn that has the potential to sap the White House's clout as it begins the heavy lifting required for health care reform. Political strategists and pollsters said Mr. Obama is likely sacrificing his popularity by pursuing an ambitious agenda that engenders opposition. "As the president attempts to rebuild the economy and improve the health and welfare of an entire nation, he must use his political capital," said Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile....

British essayist Walter Bagehot once wrote, “Public opinion is a permeating influence, and it exacts obedience to itself; it requires us to think other men’s thoughts, to speak other men’s words, to follow other men’s habits.” Or, as Abe Lincoln put it more succinctly about the U.S., “Public opinion in this country is everything.” If Lincoln is right, then Barack Obama, “the man who would be Lincoln,” has reason to be uneasy. Just six months into his presidency, polls show dwindling support for Obama’s policies, and significant push back against his administration’s incontinent spending. But public apprehension may only deepen...

On Monday, the daily presidential tracking poll for Rasmussen Reports showed that Barack Obama no longer has the job performance approval of a majority of Americans. His overall approval rating was down to an even 50 percent. Released on the same day was a demographic breakdown of that rating: only 41 percent of white Americans approve of the job he’s doing, while 97 percent of blacks approve and 58 percent of all other ethnicities combined approve. The approval rating of blacks jumps off the page because it’s such a glaring anomaly — or at least it should be. Upon seeing...

According to a new Gallup Poll Barack Obama is a "10" - not the kind of 10 girls like to look at, but the kind of numbers Obama's political opponents like to look at: At six months in office, Obama's 55% approval rating puts him 10th among the 12 post-World War II presidents at this point in their tenures. When he took office, he ranked seventh. Or to put it another way, Obama is the third lowest rated president at this point in his presidency. "His ratings have certainly come back down to Earth in a very short time period,"...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama's tumbling poll numbers have dipped below those of his predecessor George W. Bush at the same point in his White House tenure, according to a national poll released Tuesday. Obama's approval rating is 55 percent six months into his presidency, a USA Today/Gallup poll found. But 56 percent of those polled approved of the job done by George W. Bush after six months, the daily reported. Obama's handling of the economy appears to be key in his fading popularity, as Americans become more pessimistic about how long it will take the economic downturn to...

Something has changed over the course of the last five weeks. Barack Obama, who seemed politically invincible to his supporters and many media commentators, now seems vulnerable. His approval ratings are dropping, public concern is rising, the debt is exploding, and the economy is, in many respects, worsening. This may simply be a bit of a rough patch he can ride through and overcome; or it may be the beginning of a longer slide. Time will tell. But Obama seems less politically formidable than he did. The main reason for this shift is that Obama’s signature initiative to date, his...

Like ex-senators and former presidents, ex-governors retain their honorific titles, so Sarah Palin will still be addressed as "Governor Palin" after she officially turns the reigns of her office over to Sean Parnell July 26. The 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate has never been much of a stickler for that kind of thing, though, as she signs "Sarah" to her non-official correspondence. So what will she be doing after July 26? Only one specific event has been announced so far that will have Gov. Palin's participation. According to the Simi Valley Republican Women Federation (SVWF), Sarah Palin will be at...

The approval rating for The Greatest President In History has been trending south lately. And the pace is accelerating. According to Rasmussen, he just hit his lowest negative rating to date: The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows that 32% of the nation’s voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-seven percent (37%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of –5. The number who strongly disapprove inched up another point to the highest level measured to date and the overall Approval Index is at the...

Apparently Sarah Palin's decision to quit her post as Governor of Alaska wasn't as misguided as it sounded at first, because it has certainly already begun to work it's magic on winning over the Republican party. According to a new USA Today/Gallup Poll, her popularity has surged amongst Republicans since she made the announcement. 71 percent of Republicans said they would vote for Palin if she ran for president in 2012, and three-fourths believe that Palin has been treated unfairly by the media. Two-thirds of Republicans want Palin to be "a major national political figure" in the future, while three-fourths...

The cost of the high popularity of Lula Notwithstanding his anti-life and anti-family policies, huge state investments in propaganda ensure popularity for Lula Julio SeveroBrazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo reported, “Approval ratings for Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva rose from 78% on March to 80% on June, according to data from the CNI/Ibope polls released June 9. The percentage of respondents considering the Lula administration very good or good also improved: it went up from 64% to 68%. The rates of those disapproving the Lula administration fell from 19% to 16%”.Certainly, the respondents were not asked...

American freedom lovers studying the reign of Obama have been in a constant state of anxiety over the administration's assault on capitalism and America's very solvency, its thuggish political style, its PR war against America's history, its radical social policies and its Carteresque foreign policy. But for the first time, there are signs that America is starting to wake up. The latest daily Rasmussen Reports Presidential Tracking Poll has Obama slipping into negative net approval territory, with more Americans strongly disapproving of his performance (34 percent) than strongly approving (33 percent). Just 54 percent of voters say they at least...

The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have two articles in today’s papers that tell essentially the same story. The headline from the Times is “Poll Finds Unease With Obama on Key Issues.” It’s followed by this: A substantial majority of Americans say President Obama has not developed a strategy to deal with the budget deficit, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, which also found that support for his plans to overhaul health care, rescue the auto industry and close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, falls well below his job approval ratings.

Heard on a DC talk radio show...in answer to the question: Why does this president remain so popular?

Question: Why are liberals so upset with Glenn Beck? Answer: Because he’s popular and it is a popularity based on ideas and humor. In the garbage time slot of 5 p.m. Eastern, he outdraws Keith Olbermann in prime time. Wrote Greg Pollowitz at NRO: “What really scares the pants off of liberals when you mention Glenn Beck is how fast his show on Fox has become a hit.” So they have their knives out for him just as they do Republican Gov. Sarah Palin. Perhaps liberals realize that as their ideas become realities, the people are going to turn on...

Where Ronald Reagan tore down a wall, Barack Obama has hit one – and it’s made of bricks. European support for the American president is suffering. As Gregor Peter Schmitz asserts in Der Spiegel, “it has become clear that the most contentious issues [between the U.S. and Europe] have been shelved.” This means Obama is no longer asking Europe to replicate his idea of a stimulus plan and he’s not pushing for military help in Afghanistan. On both issues European leaders have declared, “No we can’t.” And people say Bush squandered the world’s sympathy? Anyone remember nuggets like this from...

The difference how the troops received President Bush and Obama.

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama enjoys widespread backing from a frightened American public for his ambitious, front-loaded agenda, a new poll indicates. He is more popular than ever, Americans are hopeful about his leadership, and opposition Republicans are getting drubbed in public opinion, the new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll suggests.

While the number of Americans who approve of Barack Obama’s job performance remains steady and high, the number who Strongly Approve has slipped. Following Congressional passage of the stimulus bill, consumer confidence has fallen to another all-time low. ... Twenty-six percent (26%) of all voters now Strongly Disapprove to give Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of +10. That Approval Index rating is also the lowest yet for the President (see trends).

Barack Obama's foreign tour loses him ground back home Tim Reid in Washington Barack Obama denied yesterday that he was ignoring the concerns of ordinary Americans while he tours the world, amid signs that the adulation he is receiving abroad has alienated some US voters. After the Democratic presidential candidate holds meetings with Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron in London today, the last leg of his nine-day international tour, he returns home to a general election campaign with new polls showing him in a tightening race against John McCain, the Republican candidate. Mr McCain and his surrogates have...

Economics -- to most people as useful a course of study as ancient Bulgarian literature -- is really the study of human behavior. This kind of behavior is labeled “emergent” -- meaning it is a large-scale pattern that emerges spontaneously out of the interactions of numerous individuals each independently following a more local program. (In the case of the economy, this more-local program is the perceived self-interest of each of the millions of people within the economy.) Because of the huge number of factors involved, and the constant feedback of one factor on another, predicting emergent effects is as difficult...

I am really curious on this one. I became a fan in 1975, with 'Born To Run', and was dazzled by the force, power, Spector-like grandeur. It was the epitome of 'Americana' for me. I saw him live three times, last in 1987. However, my fandom abated around 1990 or so, but I kept following what he did. Uneven albums, band changes, divorce, a new and happy marriage. Like any other artist, he has his shortcomings, one of these being a tendency towards bombast, pathos, a bit too much of 'grandeur'. But I think he does have his heart in...

A new study reveals that for teens, it's not whether you're really popular. It's whether you think you are. Perhaps no period of life is more fraught with obsessive worries about popularity, social hierarchies and reputations than that treacherous, three-year period known as middle school. The social anxieties of adolescence have driven plotlines from "The Wonder Years" to "Hannah Montana" where teens and pre-teens spend entire hours and episodes agonizing over what their peers think. Figuring out whether you'll end up being a cool prom king or queen bee--or the kid who eats alone in the cafeteria--is an integral part...

IN LOS FELIZ, across from a 7-Eleven on North Vermont Avenue, a few dozen men in their early 20s to late 80s share a dinner behind closed doors. Some wear full tuxedos with bow ties and jeweled cuff links, some have shoulder-length hair, and others wear open-collared shirts that reveal the slightest filigree of tattoo arching across their chests. Over Italian food, retired lawyers and judges sit elbow-to-elbow with owners of scrap metal yards and vintage clothing boutiques. They hold forth on philosophy, the weather; they rib each other and joke about saving room for cannoli. As they reach for...

-- snip -- The real lesson in the years since 9/11 is different from what the Democratic candidates imagine: It is easy to be loved when you are a victim. It is harder to be popular when you act decisively to protect yourself and others. A successful president should strive for America to be liked -- and expect, on occasion, for America to be resented in a good cause.

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Republican Fred Thompson, Hollywood celebrity and former Tennessee senator, went from hot to not in short order. Now, he's trying to create another popularity burst in the presidential race, this one perfectly timed. His voice and expression serious, Thompson told Iowa voters this past week: "I would ask people to think of one thing _ when our worst enemy's thinking about what he can do to the United States of America, who do you want sitting on our side of the table representing you? That's probably the guy you ought to elect president." It was Thompson...

The job of Democratic Senate majority leader can be a dangerous one, as a major spokesman for the party. Former Sen. Tom Daschle lost a reelection bid after his tour as majority leader as the folks in South Dakota apparently came to think he wasn't paying enough attention to his home state. Reid has never been the most popular politician in Nevada. The last time he had a serious Republican opponent -- John Ensign in 1998 -- the results were very close in Reid's favor. Two recent newspaper polls found that 49% and 51% of voters disapprove of Reid's job...

According to the Kremlin's opponents, the president's standing -- his approval ratings now exceed 80 percent -- is an artifice. They say it is built on an increasingly autocratic political system and fueled by a tidal wave of petrodollars that may not last. With a slavish press, a docile parliament, a restricted menu of political parties and a willingness to smother dissent, Putin is glassed off from real democratic competition, his critics argue. "Everything is based on the oil pillow," said Yuli Nisnevich, a political scientist at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow. "But the system itself is not...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's appeal among Nevadans has plunged dramatically in a new Review-Journal poll, which finds him viewed unfavorably by most likely voters in his home state. Reid is still slightly more well-liked than Gov. Jim Gibbons. Both the Democratic senator and the Republican governor are less favorably viewed than President Bush. "Fortunately for Reid, he doesn't have to run for re-election for a while," said Brad Coker, managing partner of Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc., the Washington, D.C.-based firm that conducted the poll. If they decide to run again, Reid's name won't be on the ballot until...

The Sky Isn't Falling in China The day after the Shanghai stock market fell, we saw again all the same warnings about the Chinese system and the odds of its collapse. By Fareed Zakaria, of NewsweekFor some years economists and analysts have been wondering what it would take to scare financial markets. Wars, coups, soaring commodity prices, increased energy costs, unwinding housing markets—nothing seemed to do it. Last week we got one answer: China. The sharp plunge in the Shanghai stock market caused jitters around the world. But while the reaction pointed to the increased importance of China in global...

This survey comes after an earlier poll in January A majority of people believe that Israel and Iran have a mainly negative influence in the world, a poll for the BBC World Service suggests. It shows that the two countries are closely followed by the United States and North Korea. The poll asked 28,000 in 27 countries to rate a dozen countries plus the European Union in terms of whether they have a positive or negative influence. Canada, Japan and the EU are viewed most positively in the survey. 'Traditional divides' In January, the BBC World Service revealed polling...

Popularity of South Korea's ruling party nosedives 1 hour, 36 minutes ago The popularity of South Korea's ruling Uri party has fallen to an all-time low of 8.8 percent, a news report has said. A survey sponsored by two Internet firms showed strong support for the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) of 44.3 percent, the Korea Times reported. The minor opposition Democratic Party won 8.5 percent while the leftist Democratic Labor Party took 8.4 percent, according to the survey conducted on November 22, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percent. Uri secured its highest approval...

A supporter of the French football club Paris Saint Germanin was shot and killed by police Thursday night after a UEFA-cup game against the Israeli team Hapoel Tel Aviv. The tradgedy occurred outside the stadium Parc de Princes in Paris after PSG had lost against Hapoel with 2-4. According to police sources a lonely Hapoel fan was surrounded by 150 fans from the Parisian club on a street outside the areana. A policeman hurried tthere and fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. He then fired two live rounds. Two PSG suporters were hit and one of them was killed....

RALEIGH, N.C. - When introducing former vice presidential candidate John Edwards at a book signing this week, a family friend mentioned a bumper sticker she'd seen around town: "Edwards-Obama." The giddy audience roared with approval. Both Edwards and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama insist they have yet to decide whether they are running for president, but both are drawing big crowds as they follow the modern script of a White House candidate and head out on nationwide book tours. The self-promoting promenades give both an excuse to tour early 2008 primary states — without having to publicly commit to a campaign....

Democrats' rise in popularity at risk of being undone by Left By Toby Harnden Last Updated: 2:20am GMT 14/11/2006 An anti-war icon of the Vietnam era will address Democrats in Congress today as the party struggles to prevent its victory in the mid-term elections being marred by bitter divisions and a lurch to the Left over Iraq. Senator George McGovern, who led the Democrats to a disastrous defeat in the 1972 presidential election with a platform of American withdrawal from Vietnam, will urge an immediate pull-out from Iraq at a meeting due to be attended by more than 60 senators...

CHINO - When the sun finally sets and the fast of Ramadan ends for the day, Luqman Malik joins the faithful at the Baitul Hameed Mosque for a feast of chicken, rice, potatoes. And Mexican food. Islam is a tapestry, says Imam Shamshad A. Nasir, a religion that attracts men and women of many cultures. More Latinos are embracing the faith, said Hussam Ayloush, a Corona man who is spokesman for the Southern California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. While he has has no exact numbers, he said the shift is clear. "Go to the mosque in downtown...

LOS ANGELES – Last year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger backed a federal plan to build a stretch of border fence between San Diego and Tijuana. This week, he said walling off hundreds of miles of the California-Mexico border is a strategy from the Stone Age. It's not the only example of his complex – and sometimes shifting – views on illegal immigration, an issue that has given rise to a national movement during his time in office. California's governor certainly should have a role in the debate over leaky borders and the not-so-invisible illegal labor economy. The state has more illegal...

Police and school officials in Mt. Lebanon, Pa., are investigating a list ranking 25 high school females based on explicit descriptions and categories. The document was uncovered as it circulated through the high school and into the community, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Titled the "Top 25 in 2006," it ranks students at the school based on various body parts and in sexual terms, so bad that one father of a student on the list called it "the equivalent of written rape on our daughter."

US President George W. Bush's popularity has hit a new record low since he took office in 2001, a poll published tonight by The Washington Post found. 60 per cent of those surveyed disapproved of the job Mr Bush was doing, and 38 per cent gave him a favourable rating, according to the Washington Post/ABC television poll done April 6-9. Mr Bush's approval rating slid 3 per cent in one month. His Republican Party also was not faring well: 35 per cent of those surveyed said they were happy with the job the party was doing running Congress. 55 per...

Belief In Bush India not dubious about Dubyaland Press Trust of India Posted online: Wednesday, March 01, 2006 at 0928 hours IST Updated: Wednesday, March 01, 2006 at 1043 hours IST Houston, March 1: While United States favourability ratings have plunged in many countries, Indians are significantly more positive about the US now than they were in the summer of 2002, a new opinion poll has said. The 2005 pew global attitudes survey found that 71 per cent of Indians have a favourable view of the United States and 54 per cent admire President Bush in handling world affairs. What...

The United States has improved its standing in the eyes of the world during the past year, according to a BBC World Service poll. It is now the second least popular nation in the world, beating out Iran with 13 out of 33 countries polled saying the US has a "mainly positive" influence and 17 saying its influence is "mainly negative." Iran, by comparison, polls 5 for "mainly positive" and 24 for "mainly negative." The survey asked 39,435 people in 33 countries for their opinions of Britain, China, Europe, France, India, Iran, Japan, Russia, and the United States. Those from...

Republican activists and elected officials downplayed divisions over Gov. Schwarzenegger at a meeting in Riverside Saturday and predicted that the party would eventually unite behind him. Some conservatives are urging the state GOP to withdraw its endorsement of Schwarzenegger at next month's state party convention in San Jose. Among other things, they are upset with Schwarzenegger's appointment of longtime Democratic activist Susan Kennedy as chief of staff and his proposal for $222 billion in bonds to pay for highways, schools and waterworks. But during a speech to the California Congress of Republicans at the Mission Inn, former U.S. Treasurer Rosario...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's approval rating is showing signs of recovery after tumbling late last year, according to a poll released Thursday. The new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California found Schwarzenegger's job approval among likely voters climbed from 38 percent in October to 45 percent in January. The poll is good news for the governor, who faces a tough re-election campaign this year. But the rebound is modest compared to where he was a year ago, when he enjoyed a 60 percent approval rating among voters. The governor's standing has improved among Democrats and independents but he's still...

Merkel's 'small steps' bring giant leap in popularity By Tony Paterson in Berlin (Filed: 22/01/2006) Angela Merkel, Germany's Chancellor, has confounded her critics by emerging as the country's most popular leader for more than a decade - only two months after being elected. Dismissed only six months ago as a humourless and dowdy East German, Mrs Merkel is riding a wave of unprecedented public approval that last week placed her at the top of Germany's key opinion poll rating for politicians. Angela Merkel's image has changed for good The monthly survey conducted by the ZDF television channel found voters rated...

SACRAMENTO - After Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's special-election defeat, his advisers set out to rejuvenate his image, emphasizing the more moderate aspects of his political philosophy in the months before voters decide whether to show him the door or re-elect him. With several savvy moves made two weeks into this crucial election year, Schwarzenegger appears to be making headway -- either by returning to his natural bipartisan roots or else by mimicking Democrats, depending on one's perspective. "He's gone a long way toward resurrecting himself," after calling a November special with an agenda too conservative for voters, said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe,...

A recent poll shows the born-again "moderate" Republican governor has gained back some popularity, especially in the Bay Area, and is now in a dead heat with Democratic competitors. "Our survey demonstrates that Schwarzenegger's retreat from the more conservative rhetoric and agenda he brandished during the latter part of 2005 has paid off among middle-of-the road voters," said Melinda Jackson, director of the Survey and Policy Research Institute at San Jose State University. The governor's job performance rating among voters in a Democrat-leaning state has climbed from 36 percent positive and 53 percent negative in September, to 40 percent positive...