Obama's Popularity Decreasing, According To New National Poll

By Linn Grubbstrom - Talk Radio News Service

According to a new national conducted by Quinnipiac University, President Barack Obama’s job approval rating has dropped to 44 percent, his worst net score since he took office.

“New presidents have a honeymoon and that’s to be expected. For instance, a year ago President Obama was getting a fair-able job approval rating from 24 precent of Republicans. Now it’s 12. That’s not unexpected,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute at a press conference Wednesday.

Brown said there are several reasons for the low numbers. The economy, fallout from the oil spill and the administration’s public spat with Arizona over its new illegal immigration law have all contributed to negative marks for Mr. Obama. However, said Brown, public dissaproval with the President doesn’t necessarily indicate that Americans believe that Republicans are doing a good job.

“It’s not that the Republicans are doing better, it’s that President Obama is doing worse. And that always leaves a possibility in the end, if voters aren’t happy with their alternative they might not vote or they might stay with what they have,” he said.

The survey was conducted with more than 2,000 voters. 48 percent said they don’t believe Mr. Obama deserves re-election in 2012, and 37 percent responded by saying they would vote for a Republican candidate in two years.

Recovery Act Saved Jobs And Boosted The Economy, Says Romer

By Linn Grubbstrom - Talk Radio News Service

Dr. Christina Romer, the White House’s chief economist, argued Wednesday that the Recovery Act is responsible for key improvements within the U.S. economy.

“The Recovery Act has increased real GDP, relatively to what it otherwise would have done, by between 2.7 and 3.2%,” Romer said during a conference call coinciding with the release of a report on the Act’s effectiveness. “It increased employment, relative to what otherwise would have happened, between 2.5 and 3.6 million.”

The Recovery Act was designed to boost economic growth and employment in the U.S. Republicans have chided the $787 billion stimulus package as too costly and unable to curb unemployment.

Allegations Surface, BP May Have Arranged Release Of Terrorist For Oil Deal

By Linn Grubbstrom - Talk Radio News Service

Sens. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) sent a letter Tuesday to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking her to investigate reports accusing BP of arranging the release of convicted terrorist Abdelbaset al-Megrahi in order to finalize a $900 million drilling deal with Libya.

“If BP is found to have helped free this mass murderer… [then] any money it makes off that oil is blood money,” said Menendez during a press conference Wednesday.

The Scottish government freed the Megrahi on compassionate grounds in August 2009, 2 years after BP started exploring the possibilities of drilling in Libya. The quartet of Senators is pushing the State Department to investigate the situation and to reveal exactly what role BP played in Megrahi’s release. 

“We have a clear message for BP. Until this deal is properly investigated this project off the coast of Libya should not break ground. If BP is truly dealing in good faith and has nothing to hide, it should cooperate with such an investigation,” said Lautenberg.

BP is set to begin drilling off the Gulf of Sidra next month.

Report Could Prevent Next 9/11, Says Military Official

By Linn Grubbstrom - Talk Radio News Service

Implementing ideas contained in a 2008 report put out by a top Washington think-tank would protect the U.S. from the next big terrorist attack, said a top military official on Friday.

The report entitled, “Measuring Progress In Conflict Environments (MPICE),” provides the DOD with a framework of ideas aimed at bringing stability to war-torn nations, like Iraq and Afghanistan. A co-editor of the report, Col. John Agoglia, Director of the Counterinsurgency Training Center in Kabul, Afghanistan, said it would have sped up progress during the Iraq War.

“I think we would have cut the stabilization pace in Iraq by at least half, if not two-thirds,” he said via telephone from Kabul during a discussion held by the United States Institute of Peace on Friday. 

“Hopefully for folks who are sitting there for the next 9-11 - hopefully there won’t be one, but let’s not kid ourselves, there probably will be - they will have a process by which they can sift through what’s going on, identify what are the causes of instability that resulted in the conflict that we’re in and articulate to the policy-makers what challenges we face, what resources it costs and more importantly, how much time it will take,” he said.

The full report is online and can be found by clicking here.

Fair Elections Now Act Gaining Momentum, Say Advocates

By Linn Grubbstrom - Talk Radio News Service

The Fair Elections Now Act, legislation that allows candidates running for political office to receive public funds and solicit small donations, is gaining considerable support in Congress, according to David Donnelly, the National Campaigns Director with the Public Campaign Action Fund.

“The legislation at this point has 157 co-sponsors in the House and strong bipartisan leadership from Rep. John Larsen (D-Conn.) and Walter Jones (R-N.C.),” Donnelly said during a conference call with fair election advocates Thursday. “We believe that we will win a House vote by the end of this session.”

According to Celinda Lake, a political strategist who joined Donnelly on Thursday’s call, a majority of undecided and independent voters also support the bill.

The legislation would match money raised via small donations with public funds. The advocacy organizations Common Cause and Public Campaign are staging the Campaign for Fair Elections, a multimillion dollar push to promote the legislation.