From 2000-2003, Americans were generally satisfied with the position of the U.S. in the world. That changed in early 2004, nearly a year into the Iraq war, and opinions continued to grow more negative through February 2008, when 30% were satisfied. Since then, the United States has elected a new president and has ended its mission in Iraq, but continues to fight a war in Afghanistan and endure a sluggish economy. Further, Americans believe China has overtaken the U.S. as the world’s leading economic power.

Article Source: Gallup.com Posted By Jeffrey M. Jones.

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Americans Dissatisfied With U.S. Position in World is a post from: Be Elected- Politics and Legal News

Article Source: Gallup.com Posted By Lydia Saad.

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Obama’s Low Economic Approval Rating Improving Incrementally is a post from: Be Elected- Politics and Legal News

This will definitely be a hard sell for Team Obama with unemployment actually increasing during this time and stubbornly wedged in the eight-percent range.  The Democrats’ clear strategy this time around is a rehash of its 2010 election year strategy- deflect the focus away from the troubled economy and from promises unkept, and instead put the spotlight on the disagreeable personalities in the GOP. Simply put, draw a distinction between the likeable Obama  and his unlikeable opposition.

It logically follows from this plan to have President Obama come off as optimistic (even Reaganesque!) in an attempt to blunt the mountain of negative advertising and questioning that will be aimed at his presidency.

This plan was on display during Tuesday’s State Of The Union speech when Obama emphatically stated the America had not lost its promise. Interestingly, Gallup has just released a poll that asks the electorate about their feelings on this issue and there seems to be a disconnect between Obama’s speech and the mood of the country. As Gallup stated:

Americans’ assessment of the country is not as positive as Obama’s. Fewer than one in five Americans — 18% – are satisfied with the way things are going in the country generally, while 80% are dissatisfied — far worse than the historical average for this measure.

Article Source: Be Elected Posted By Lou

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Gallup: Americans’ Don’t Share Obama’s State Of The Union Assessments is a post from: Be Elected- Politics and Legal News

Full Story

Article Source: Gallup.com Posted By Jeffrey M. Jones.

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Gallup: Romney, Santorum Tie for Lead in GOP Positive Intensity is a post from: Be Elected- Politics and Legal News

The U.S. political and economic environment at the start of 2012 is a challenging one for President Barack Obama as he seeks re-election. However, Gallup trends suggest that it is too soon to make any firm predictions about the outcome.

The following is a rundown of where some key indicators stand in January, and how trends today compare to years when previous incumbents sought re-election.

Presidential Job Approval

Obama’s job approval rating has averaged 44% in Gallup Daily tracking since the start of January. That is below the approval rating of seven out of eight previous incumbents at a comparable point in their presidencies. It exceeds the ratings of only one — Bill Clinton — in early January 1996.  Full Article

Article Source: Gallup.com Posted By Lydia Saad.

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Obama Faces Challenging Re-Election Climate is a post from: Be Elected- Politics and Legal News

In contin­­uing her efforts in this area, Mrs. Obama continues a traditional path of a first lady who focuses more service toward non-political charitable causes and transcending the rough-and-tumble world of politicking.

With this in mind, it is understandable to see how Mrs. Obama may not really want to relinquish her current charitable role in favor of a more political First Lady posture. This impulse was on display this past week in Michelle Obama’s frank interview with CBS’s This Morning where the First Lady revealed that, like any children, hers find their parents ‘not cool’ and that daughter Malia, 13, has her own cell phone in an attempt to live as normally as possible outside the political spotlight. Viewers didn’t have to read to hard between the lines to see that Mrs. Obama was likely projecting her own feelings onto her discussion of her children’s lessening appetite for the rigors and demands of political life.

How this ends up affecting the coming competitive race to save Barack Obama’s presidency will be an interesting sidebar to what will certainly be the most interesting story this year.

Article Source: Beelected.com Posted By Louis.

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Michelle Obama And Childhood Obesity: Campaign 2012 is a post from: Be Elected- Politics and Legal News

In recent Republican presidential nomination campaigns, the results of the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary have often made Republicans nationwide re-evaluate their preferences for the nominee, with the most change occurring in 1980 and 2008. Since 1976 — the first year in the modern nominating era in which there was a competitive Republican contest — the leader after New Hampshire has ultimately won the nomination.

Now does this sound like an assertion of unpredictability in the GOP race? Apparently not. When all is said and done, it serves to look at the Obama campaign’s desperate efforts to frame Mitt Romney in a negative light while mainly ignoring the rest of the GOP field. The Obama campaign clearly has the most vested of interests in the GOP contest and their action reinforce the notion that the GOP nominating process in 2012 will follow a familiar path.
Article Source: Beelected.com Posted By Louis.

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Gallup May Have Jumped The Shark With It’s Latest GOP Assessment is a post from: Be Elected- Politics and Legal News

Egyptians who say they are “living comfortably” on their present income were in September as likely as those who say they are finding it “very difficult” on their present income to expect their lives to improve as a result of President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation. Among those who were living comfortably, optimism about the personal effect of Mubarak’s ouster dropped sharply between August and September. This reality erases the class divide Gallup found on this measure in previous surveys this year.

Perceptions among those “getting by” or finding it “difficult” to get by on their present income also followed this same trend of declining optimism. Gallup documented this declining optimism before the latest round of parliamentary elections in Egypt. Since then, the country has witnessed a surge in violent clashes between protestors, some of whom demand the immediate resignation of the country’s ruling military council, known as SCAF, and security forces. More than 80 have died in the clashes since October.

As a result, major political forces within the country and SCAF are now debating renewed calls for an earlier presidential election that would fast track Egypt’s transition to a civilian executive power.

Yet in September, it did not appear that Egyptians’ faith in the democratic process itself had been lost. A majority of Egyptians told Gallup they planned to participate in upcoming presidential elections, now tentatively scheduled for the summer of 2012, on par with what Gallup recorded throughout the year.

Article Source: Gallup.com Posted By Mohamed Younis and Ahmed Younis.

Gallup: Egyptian voters feeling less secure is a post from: Be Elected- Politics and Legal News

This predictability stems from the pattern in the GOP Presidential nominations of election years past that almost always went to the runner-up candidate from the previous nominating cycle: McCain in ’08, Dole in ’96, GHW Bush in 1988, and Ronald Reagan in 1980. Only George W. Bush in 2000 broke this chain of runners-up elevated to GOP standard-bearer four years later.

Now in 2012, it seems that the previous runner-up Mitt Romney is having trouble cementing his support to make a winning push this early on in the nomination cycle. However, recent polls leading into the Iowa caucus are indicating Romney may indeed snatch a victory away from Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, and the lately surging Rick Santorum.

As Gallup has stated, the lead in the current GOP race has changed seven times which has led them to liken this contest to the Democrats in 2003 but this parallel seems premature when one considers that the GOP nomination in 2008 seemed likely to deny its previous runner-up John McCain, only to fall into McCain’s hands in predictable fashion.

Article Source: Beelected.com Posted By Louis.

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Why Gallup Is Wrong To Say GOP 2012 Equals Democrats 2004 is a post from: Be Elected- Politics and Legal News

The lead in the Republican nomination race has thus far changed seven times since May in Gallup polling. Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, and Newt Gingrich each held the top spot at various points in 2011, with Romney’s standing rising and falling as other candidates surged and faded.

Mike Huckabee led the Republican field, or tied Romney and Sarah Palin for the lead, in Gallup polls at the start of the year; however Huckabee and Palin ultimately declined to run.

The volatility in Republican preferences this year most closely resembles changes in Democrats’ preferences in 2003 when Joe Lieberman, John Kerry, Tom Daschle (not an announced candidate), Dick Gephardt, Howard Dean, and Wesley Clark each had their turn as front-runner, before Kerry took command of the race at the start of the primaries in 2004. The lead changed hands nine times in Gallup polling throughout 2003.

Article Source: Gallup.com Posted By Lydia Saad.

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Gallup Poll: GOP 2012 Like Democrats 2004 is a post from: Be Elected- Politics and Legal News