http://washingtontimes.com/news/201...tance-massachusetts-race/?feat=home_headlines Obama keeping his distance from Massachusetts race Coming off stinging election losses in Virginia and New Jersey -- not to mention Copenhagen, where he failed to win the 2018 Olympics for his hometown of Chicago -- President Obama is staying away from what could become another painful loss. Even though the campaign of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has been making quiet entreaties, the president has no plans to visit her in the last week of the special election to fill the Senate seat once held by the late Edward M. Kennedy. "It's not on our schedule to go to next week," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said matter-of-factly. With Mrs. Coakley flagging in the polls and Republican Scott Brown closing fast -- one recent polls puts him 2 points ahead -- Mr. Obama has decided to keep his fingerprints off a race that would be an embarrassment for Democrats should they lose, given that Mr. Obama won the state in 2008 by a 27 point margin.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/New-jobless-claims-rise-more-apf-1551827594.html?x=0&.v=6 Retail sales fall unexpectedly; jobless claims up Retail sales drop 0.3 pct in December, plunge for year; new jobless claims rise WASHINGTON (AP) -- Retail sales unexpectedly fell in December, leaving 2009 with the biggest yearly drop on record and highlighting the formidable hurdles facing the economy as it struggles to recover from the deepest recession in seven decades. In another disappointing economic report, the number of newly laid-off workers requesting unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week as jobs remain scarce.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100114/D9D7AN7O0.html Record year for foreclosures as unemployment rises MIAMI (AP) - A record 2.8 million households were threatened with foreclosure last year, and that number is expected to rise this year as more unemployed and cash-strapped homeowners fall behind on their mortgages. The number of households that received a foreclosure-related notice rose 21 percent from 2008, RealtyTrac Inc. reported Thursday. One in 45 homes were sent a filing, which includes default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions and bank repossessions. In December, more than 349,000 households, or one in 366 homes, were hit with a foreclosure-related notice. That represents a 14 percent spike from November and a 15 percent jump from December 2008. Banks repossessed more than 92,000 homes, up 19 percent from November. That increase was likely due to lenders working to clear their books at the end of the year, RealtyTrac said. Stemming the tide of foreclosures is an important step for the real estate market and the economy to recover. Because foreclosures are usually sold at heavy discounts they can lower the value of surrounding properties. Cities lose property tax dollars from empty foreclosures and declining home values, straining local economies. Home prices have stabilized in some cities, but are still down 30 percent nationally from mid-2006. The foreclosure crisis isn't letting up. Between 3 and 3.5 million homes are expected to enter some phase of foreclosure this year, said Rick Sharga, senior vice president of Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac, which began tracking the data five years ago.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/01/joe-biden-update.html Joe Biden update: He meets on transparency today. But the meeting is closed
http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2010/01/majority_would.php Majority Would Vote Against Obama By Reid Wilson A year into his tenure, a majority of Americans would already vote against Pres. Obama if the '12 elections were held today, according to a new survey. The Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll shows 50% say they would probably or definitely vote for someone else. Fully 37% say they would definitely cast a ballot against Obama. Meanwhile, just 39% would vote to re-elect the pres. to a 2nd term, and only 23% say they definitely would do so. Obama's first year in office has been marked by an unemployment rate that surged to 10%, an increased commitment of troops to Afghanistan and a health care battle that has taken a serious political toll on the WH. Obama's approval rating is down to 47%, the poll showed, a 14-point drop since the April survey. 45% disapprove, up 17 points from April. Only 41% say they trust Obama more than Congressional GOPers, while 33% pick the GOP over the WH. That 8-point gap is down from a 21-point edge Obama sported as recently as Sept. Just 34% say the country is moving in the right direction, down 13 points since April, and 55% say it is off on the wrong track, up 13 points over the same period. But as GOPers focus on taxes and spending, that message seems to be causing Obama the most harm. Among those who believe Obama's policies have moved the country in the wrong direction, 45% cite spending and government regulation as a top cause for their opposition. Meanwhile, those who think Obama's policies are moving the country down the right track largely cite long-term benefits of his initiatives. In the meantime, health care legislation is by no means popular, but a majority of Americans don't oppose the legislation yet. 44% said they support the legislation under consideration, down 5 points from the last poll in Sept., while 46% oppose it. The poll, conducted by Financial Dynamics, surveyed 1,200 adults between Jan. 3-7 for a margin of error of +/- 2.8%. For more on the Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll, see Ron Brownstein's take on a distrustful America and the withering green shoots after a year under the Obama admin. Full poll results are available here [pdf].
This is actually good news for Obama, or it could be very bad news for him - it's up to him. Twice in Bill Clinton's career, he went through similar periods. The first time, he had been elected governor of Arkansas and then ran a left-wing agenda administration and was not reelected. He figured out that he needed to govern right of center and won reelection and did a good job. The second time, he had a democratic congress the first two years of his first term as president and ran a left-wing agenda administration, including raising taxes and a miserable failure of a national health care bill. Republicans took over both houses of congress for the first time in over 50 years and he ended up governing from the right of center. Turned out to be one of the best presidents in history from that point forward. So the ultimate question is whether Obama figures it out. I actually do hope so, because I do want him to be successful. On the other hand, if he keeps going the way he is, he will go down as the worst president in history and will be a one term president. As it stands now, he's up there with Jimmy Carter for being one of the worst ever. There's three years to go and it's up to him.
[video=youtube;n0BXFdwtiNY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0BXFdwtiNY[/video] It doesn't look like he's figured it out.
ill save u the hassle- obama is terrible at the job that americans gave him the mandate to do as reported by the right wing media crane reads. if there is anything more polarized than the american public, its the republican party. would they nominate a sensible, moderate like ridge or a psychopath like palin. im personally hoping for a tea party favourite like palin because if there is anyone who injects life into blacks, hispanics and educated white ppl- its sarah palin.
