Your morning jolt: Obama arrives in Georgia with a 41% approval rating
The Savannah Tech auditorium is readied Monday for President Barack Obama's visit Tuesday. Carl Elmore/Savannah Morning News
Savannah – On his first trip to Georgia as president this morning, Barack Obama hopes to recapture the buzz of his cash-for-clunkers program.
Call it cash-for-leaky-old-houses. Homeowners would get instant rebates of $3,000.
The cost of the economic stimulus package is still being negotiated with Congress, but is expected to come in at $6 billion or so. Focused on energy-saving repairs and upgrades to existing homes, the idea is to create jobs for small contractors and reduce utility costs for homeowners at the same time.
My AJC colleague Bob Keefe has more info on the program here.
Obama will face a skeptical audience. A WSB-TV/InsiderAdvantage poll just out puts the president’s approval rating at 41 percent in Georgia, with 55 percent rating him unfavorably.
Take a look at Mike Luckovich’s cartoon this morning, and tell me whether it has a double meaning.
Here’s the view from inside-the-Beltway, via the Washington Post:
Obama plans to visit this charming coastal city on Tuesday to lead a day of meetings aimed at highlighting his economic policies and shoring up support for his ambitious but endangered domestic agenda.
Success could ultimately turn on his ability to reshape perceptions of a stimulus plan that the White House says has pumped more than $130 million into the local economy, but many here grumble about what they see as its lack of effectiveness.
In Savannah, as elsewhere, that view is feeding a broader distrust of government that threatens to undermine the president’s ambitions and political support.
“I think that people don’t see the impact because it is not there,” said Rep. Jack Kingston (Ga.), who like nearly every Republican in Congress voted against the stimulus measure a year ago and opposes much of the rest of Obama’s domestic agenda.
Even some supporters of the president’s policies complain that the stimulus money is not flowing fast enough.
“The speed in which the applications have been approved has really been a little frustrating,” said Savannah Mayor Otis S. Johnson (D), who nonetheless praised the plan for saving teaching and other public service jobs while providing funding for long-overdue projects.
“We are at the end of the first year of the stimulus, and we would think that more of the money would be out now,” the mayor said.
Savannah is the right hand of a one-two Southern punch for the Obamas this week. On Wednesday, First Lady Michelle Obama will be in Mississippi with Gov. Haley Barbour to tout anti-obesity programs at a pair of public schools.
Also in that WSB-TV/InsiderAdvantage poll, Roy Barnes and John Oxendine still lead Democratic and Republican fields of gubernatorial candidates.
The GOP breakdown: Oxendine, 27%; Karen Handel, 13%; Nathan Deal, 9%; Eric Johnson, 7%; and undecided, 36%.
The Democratic breakdown: Barnes, 36%; Thurbert Baker, DuBose Porter and David Poythress all under 7 percent; and undecided, 48%.
This tidbit on U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal’s Monday resignation from my AJC colleague Aaron Gould Sheinin:
“Nathan simply acted on pressure by prominent Republican leaders to drastically recommit himself to winning out of growing concern that the insurance commissioner could win the Republican primary on name ID alone and Roy Barnes beats the shakedown artist Oxendine like a drum in November,” said Chip Lake, chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.), a Deal supporter who has recently feuded publicly with Oxendine.
Congressional Quarterly takes out another candidate whose candidacy for the 7th District congressional race had been a topic of speculation:
A spokeswoman for Gwinnett County Sheriff Butch Conway said her boss would not be a candidate despite the development of a “draft Conway” movement on Facebook.
“The sheriff is not going to be running for that seat,” said Stacey Bourbonnais. “While he appreciates the support, he feels he can best serve the citizens of Gwinnett county and the needs of the county in the position he currently holds.”
With state Sen. Don Balfour (R-Snellville) now a formal candidate in the 7th District race, state Rep. David Casas, a four-term Republican from Lilburn, immediately announced his candidacy for Balfour’s senate seat on Monday.
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77 comments Add your comment
Madison
March 2nd, 2010
9:00 am
Luckovich is not smart enough to draw a cartoon with a double meaning.
Isis
March 2nd, 2010
9:02 am
I can’t wait to read a positive article about our President without a but after the positive that goes to the negative. It occurs 24/7 and its getting old not conditioning.
Madison
March 2nd, 2010
9:07 am
ISIS, If you don’t want to read the truth then go to MSNBC for your Obama fix.
Nick
March 2nd, 2010
9:07 am
That’s still almost double what W. had when he left office. W had an approval rating of 22% at the end of his presidency. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/16/opinion/polls/main4728399.shtml
In 8 short years, W brought this country to it’s knees. Obama has been in office just over a year and basically saved the government from financial ruin. The stimulus worked. Give the guy a break!
Ga Dawg
March 2nd, 2010
9:07 am
Isis…you can’t wait to read a positive article about our President???!! Neither can I. BUT, Obama will have to take responsibility for that. I find the AJC to be so wrapped up in PRO Obamanism that it got old for me several months ago. I would think you would want the truth to read, not propaganda.
W's Economy
March 2nd, 2010
9:10 am
Jack Kingston sits up in the cheap seats claiming “no effect” from the stimulus. What would the economy look like without it Jack? Oh, you mean the free market would have kept everyone employed? Somehow I don’t think the rich bankers at Goldman or the greedy execs at AIG give a flip about people in Savannah keeping their jobs. Say Jack, next time you want my tax dollars to help expand the port in Savannah, you can just go with your hat in hand to your free market friends.
Liberallily
March 2nd, 2010
9:11 am
Considering the fact that Georgia is a predominantly Republican/Conservative/Religious (with a Racist past) state, it should not be a surprise that his approval rating here is 41%. This approval rating means nothing and proves nothing.
Jim
March 2nd, 2010
9:12 am
Remember, that 41% can be attributed to two (2) things:
It’s all Bush’s fault.
Georgia is racist.
Trudy
March 2nd, 2010
9:13 am
The President’s so-called low ratings in GA are due to the ignorance of its citizens.
Trudy
March 2nd, 2010
9:14 am
JIM: I agree! Racism is rampant in GA.
Madison
March 2nd, 2010
9:14 am
Yes Trudy, you truly are.
bg
March 2nd, 2010
9:16 am
Considering Obama received only 47% of the vote in GA in 2008, a 41% approval rating isn’t that much of a drop.
Madison
March 2nd, 2010
9:17 am
If it wasn’t for the racism in Georgia Obama’s approval rating would be around 35%!
Roekest
March 2nd, 2010
9:18 am
So, Obama took our “hope” not too long ago; maybe he’s coming over to leave us the “change”. HA! I’m funny.
It’s also funny how quickly a conversation on the AJC blogs turns to race. Looks like a whole group of people just…..can’t…..seem…..to move……forward.
RGB
March 2nd, 2010
9:18 am
Eight years from now leftists will still be blaming things on Bush. I read that Obama recently honored Bush by naming the tectonic plates under Haiti “Bush’s Fault.”
It’s perpetual victimhood. Revel in it and maybe another stimulus check will be heading your way shortly.
Question for Obama followers: How many years will have to pass before the economy becomes Obama’s responsibility? Simple question–please provide a coherent answer.
Neal Kelley
March 2nd, 2010
9:20 am
we better name the great recession after.. bush….
Cherokee
March 2nd, 2010
9:25 am
RGB how many years did it take you and your fellow cons to stop blaming Clinton for problems over the past decade?
Pedro
March 2nd, 2010
9:26 am
Considering Georgia is about 21% black and 99% of that ethnicity are supportive of Obama, That puts his numbers pretty low among us tea-bagging, God fearing, gun loving, free market, ignorant racists. Ah, now I feel better.
Morrus
March 2nd, 2010
9:29 am
Vote out the incumbents and start over
Ferguson
March 2nd, 2010
9:35 am
This President can’t change America’s situation in a year. Any reasonable thinking person should be able to draw this conclusion. He is really trying to make things better and these people who are blocking his agenda and making negative remarks about him are doing everything they can possibly do to make him fail.
Audrey in Georgia
March 2nd, 2010
9:36 am
On behalf of Perdue, Issakson, and Chambliss, please accept our sincere apology for not
showing up in Savannah to greet President Obama because we are too busy delaying and
destroying education, transportation, and health care. Please forgive our arrogance and
woeful disrespect to the President of the United States of America.
Madison
March 2nd, 2010
9:37 am
If Perdue had shown up do you think Obama would have bowed to him?
Robert Kornegay
March 2nd, 2010
9:42 am
Based on the comments on this message board,President Obama should not visit GA or any southern state. The hatred generated by terriost groups like the “tea party” (aka Klan repackaged) uses these community outreach programs to rally their members to “fan the flame” of racism.
Mitchell
March 2nd, 2010
9:47 am
It’s snowing.
Madison
March 2nd, 2010
9:48 am
I don’t consider myself arrogant but as a former citizen of Chicago I can assure you I have No respect for Obama.
Got Stomach
March 2nd, 2010
9:52 am
Georgians don’t care for equal pay for women, more money for colleges, an economy at 5.9% for the last quarter of ‘09, calling credit card companies on the carpet for their tricky practices, money for nuclear power, the dow gaining, less in COBRA premiums for people between jobs, a tax cut for 95% of working Americans, tax breaks for small businesses, homeowners able to renegotiate their mortgages, tax breaks for first time home buyers, Afghanistan raising its flag over a Taliban stronghold, missile strikes on Al Queda targets in Yemen, captured Taliban leaders in Pakistan, incresed cooperation from Pakistan, increased drone attacks in Pakistan, Gen. Patraeus saying Mr. Obama is more analytical than Mr. Bush. No, Georgians like catchy phrases like “you are for us or against us”; “how’s that hopey changey stuff working”; “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job”; “put God back in schools”; “give creationism equal footing with evolution”; “tax the upper income earners less so they can create more jobs for us.” Georgians want the president to appear folksy even if he attended an elite prep school in Hawaii, traveled abroad as a child, attended Ivy league schools, graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard Law, married a Harvard trained woman. Mr. Obama is not folksy, and his background dictates that he not be folksy. If he tried to come across as folksy it would be a feeble attempt at best.
Army Brat
March 2nd, 2010
9:52 am
Well…At least the President is not cutting 4-H and college classes like the State Legislature is doing. We have bigger issues in this state and you all better wake up. That crew at the state capitol is hurting us bad…beginning w/ Perdue.
Cera
March 2nd, 2010
9:54 am
To answer the question on how long will it take for president Barrack Obama to own the economic situation? Well lets see, it took 8 years to get us into this mess, so I think with his greatness he can pull us out in half the time. Also you would have to have your head in the sand to think there are not powerful forces out there doing nothing for the economy specifically because of their disdain and racial feelings and wishes for the Obama presidency to be considered a failure. They don’t care how much they lose at the moment because they are somewhat sheltered from what the common families have to face. So they lose a couple billion here or there, it still does not alter their way of life. We are like ponds on a chess board when it comes to the haves and the have not’s. Then we get trapped into this socialized credit system where if you screw up with one of them, they all pounce on you with higher rates, further controlling your mobility. One may ask? Who has this controlling arm? Well it is certainly not the African American society in the U.S., so it must be the Caucasian folks.
GoOx
March 2nd, 2010
9:56 am
Man man Ox, up again in the polls. The liberal AJC can’t keep him down.
Kim
March 2nd, 2010
9:57 am
RGB, at least four would make sense.
By the way, just curious, in your opinion what did GW do that was good for this country?
Madison
March 2nd, 2010
10:01 am
Cora, Your ponds on a chess board is all wet. Highly educated liberal no doubt.
No more kicking the can down the road
March 2nd, 2010
10:02 am
With just over a quarter of his first term behind him, the President will be in office for quite some time. Our challenges are too great to wait until January of 2013 or January of 2017 (when we can or will have a new chief executive).
As a citizen, what are YOU doing to help the President and our leaders? According the comments on this blog I’d say not too much. If this President fails, as many of you seem to want, then our country fails. Could we please work together instead of having these constant, childish, useless, verbal attacks?
Road Scholar
March 2nd, 2010
10:04 am
Our Legislature always seems to amaze me! Cutting college enrollment, the ability to teach , and removing services that many of our youth and laid off workers need is their solution to the recession. More people need to gain additional skills and knowledge to “reinvent” themselves to be more marketable in today’s labor market. But stuck on stupid, the legislature will not raise tuition to cover the actual costs of education. You get what you pay for.
Maybe now the legislature will now cut ALL building projects at ALL schools. Shoot, we won’t need the extra space since they seem intent on keeping Georgia stupid! How is that new vet building at UGA in the budget doing for you? Perdue probably hopes they name it after him so that he has it and his horse barn as his legacy!
Can our state be ranked lower than 50th in education?
ALesure
March 2nd, 2010
10:05 am
Anybody wondering why Georgia is at the bottom when it comes to Education in the nation? Read some of these comments! At least the United States has a thinking President. Enjoy your visit President Obama!
Peace
Hayek
March 2nd, 2010
10:18 am
41%–I’m surprised it’s that high.
zeke
March 2nd, 2010
10:28 am
Obama has a 41% approval rating? Then 41% of those polled are idiots! And Roy Barnes leading democrat candidates for governor? I thought the voters finally wised up when they put him out of office 8 years ago! Can they be so stupid as to vote him in again?
East Lake Ira
March 2nd, 2010
10:36 am
You folks that believe the Stimulus bill hasn’t helped the economy are probably the same folks that point to the recent snows as evidence that Climate change is not occuring.
I laugh at you and your mouth-breathing Tea Party comrades…
Please keep it up! We need you!!!
Rafe Hollister
March 2nd, 2010
10:38 am
I get so tired of reading that “you can’t change the sad state of affairs in only one year”. So Barry Believers, picture this, you are out to sea in a sinking boat, and one of your bright companions says “trust me, I can save this sinking boat”. He then begins drilling holes in the hull, with supreme confidence. You are then going to stand around and applaud his efforts to let some of that water out.
Russell Alexander
March 2nd, 2010
10:42 am
Cera has it right. However, I have a lot of friends who are self-proclaimed conservatives. They are as afraid of Obama as I was of Bush, saying that he’s “arrogant” and leading us down the “wrong path”. I point out that anybody who believes they should be President of the greatest country on earth (MHO) has to be at least somewhat arrogant – you have to believe in yourself to an extreme degree. What elected President wasn’t? Even Washington, the greatest President we ever had, was accused of arrogance.
There’s a lot of dis-information going around, a lot of scare tactics, and the amount of twisting going on with poll numbers has rendered them meaningless. If you don’t support Obama in everything (who does?), see if there’s ANYTHING you agree with him on. Then see what the pundits are saying about that issue, and you’ll figure out who is twisting things around just so that they have something to talk about. This applies to Lynn Samuels as much as Limbaugh or Beck.
Remember – all talk show hosts survive on controversy. If there isn’t one, they’ll create one, or else they’re out of a job. If people are foolish enough to believe that AOL will send them a check for $50,000 for passing on an e-mail, what else are they likely to believe from their main source of information – talk show hosts?
James
March 2nd, 2010
10:49 am
Rafe Hollister is right. In their final year, the last administration proved you can make incredible changes in just one year. They turned the boat into a colander.
Not fo Obama
March 2nd, 2010
10:51 am
Enter The Three Stooges ……. Obama, Pelosi and Reed ……. Wonder how much of the stimilus package is coming back to them? It’s been over a year and the only thing positive coming out of this administration are the negative numbers predicted by the people who did not fall for Obama’s grin and sly talking. We can only hope that he is a one time Prez and that Calf. dumps Pelosi and AZ does the same for Reed.
lmno
March 2nd, 2010
10:53 am
Sounds like a great program that could have some immediate benefits.
Some tax incentives to buy some new products and hire locals to work on them is great. I do wish that the incentives would also steer people to buy american made products though.
RGB
March 2nd, 2010
10:53 am
“We are like ponds on a chess board….”
At least this powerhouse provided an answer to my question: four years.
Question Two: Explain how quadrupling U.S. debt helps small businesses expand such that they hire people. Explain how increasing taxes will let consumers keep more of the money they earned so these people can buy from small businesses while providing for their families. Further, when your household is heavily indebted, how do you respond to this indebtedness–do you spend more money? If so, how’s that working for you?
RGB
March 2nd, 2010
10:55 am
“There’s a lot of dis-information going around….”
Can you provide examples?
Rafe Hollister
March 2nd, 2010
10:56 am
Be hard for AZ to dump Reid as he is the senator from Nevada, but he needs to go by whomever dumps him.
Ferguson
March 2nd, 2010
10:59 am
Sometimes I wander if some of you people who dislike President Obama so much aren’t really just unhappy with life in general and need to find somebody to take out your frustrations on.
I am sure he would prefer that you like him, but Hey the man is the President of the United States whether you like it or not and his life is good now and will continue to be good long after leaves that dam White House. You Dig!!! Get a f… life you miserable ass holes.
James
March 2nd, 2010
11:00 am
“There’s a lot of dis-information going around….” “Can you provide examples?”
Just search for any post by “RGB” on these blogs. This clown regurgitates moronic radical right wing talking points like he’s channeling his messiah and prophets; Hannity, Limbaugh, Coulter, Beck etc.
Not an original thought to be seen in a single “RGB” post.
Real Athens
March 2nd, 2010
11:05 am
RGB
“Can you provide examples?”
Read your posts.
RGB
March 2nd, 2010
11:08 am
I didn’t think so.
RGB
March 2nd, 2010
11:09 am
Hey moveon.orgers, when in doubt move a “pond.”