Republican lies are why Obama's bump in the polls may last a while

A Washington Post/Pew Research Center poll released today showed that President Obama's approval ratings jumped 9 percentage points to 56% in the immediate aftermath of the attack that killed Osama bin Laden. According to the Post this is his highest approval rating since 2009.

Conventional wisdom suggests this bump might be temporary. I am challenging conventional wisdom for two simple reasons, the American people are waking up to the lies being told about our nation's first African American president and he is distinguishing himself as a mature, calm, cool and confident leader.

Two significant developments last week, the bin Laden raid and the release of the long form birth certificate, made many Americans look at Obama differently. Additionally Obama supporters, like myself, are encouraged by the swagger he has displayed since he gave his budget speech on April 13, in which he took Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and the House Republicans to task.

A PARTIAL list of the lies include:

1. He is a socialist
2. He is a Muslim
3. He was not born here and has no birth certificate
4. He is not serious about the war on terrorism
5. He is weak on national security
   
6. He wants to raise taxes on all Americans
7. He doesn't lead
8. He was going to kill granny with death panels
   

Republicans/conservatives/teabaggers can only lie about Obama so much, and when those lies are proven to be false those doing the lying will pay a price, the subject of those lies, Obama, begins to reap benefits.

While the economy continues to struggle and unemployment remains high, the lies being told about him have played a significant role in his low approval ratings. As time goes on Americans are beginning to and will continue to view him differently.

Many people who have been in the "disapprove" column voted for him, they genuinely like him, but they had concerns about him. These concerns have been reinforced by the lies being told. Many of those folks started to believe the lies, but the events of the last few weeks have given him the opportunity to answer his critics and show America he is not the man that the Republicans/conservative/teabaggers make him out to be. Hell, even 70% of teabaggers are beginning to wake up and realize that is the House Republicans who are the enemy of Medicare, not Obama.

They have taken their best shots at Obama and they have done some damage, but he didn't loose his head, he just kept going. His pushback on Ryan's budget, chastising the press for focusing on the birth certificate, comforting of Alabama residents, calling Trump out to his face, while planning to take bin Laden out and succeeding, gave many of his detractors a reason to look at him differently and his supporters a reason to hope again.

The bump might be temporary but even if his normals drop a bit he continue to trend up, Obama is back and America is falling in love with him again.

I'm not one to pass up a Palin bashing opportunity but WTF is the WaPo/ABC News doing polling re: Bristol on DWTS?

Look no further than a recent poll conducted by the Washington Post and ABC News, regarding Bristol Palin on Dancing With The Stars (DWTS), to understand what is wrong with this nation's media. The results are irrelevant. The question is why would two (once) respected media outlets even waste their time and resources on such unimportant crap.

In an article posted tonight Lisa de Moraes writes:

Fifty-four percent of Americans think Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol is one of the finalists on ABC's competition series "Dancing With the Stars" because of large-scale voting by viewers who support her mother, according to a poll conducted by The Washington Post and ABC News.

I love pop culture and I tend to enjoy any article that casts a negative light on the Palins but to conduct a poll about a failed governor/VP candidate's daughter whose lone claim to fame is that she is the most over exposed single mother in America is just ridiculous.

Obama's ND speech: The reviews are in

Chicago Sun-Times:
"Obama's spirit of civil discourse -- 'open hearts, open minds, fair-minded words' -- is a good formula not only for getting stuff done, but for getting along.

The sooner we denounce and abandon the ways of the haters and the professional shouters, the sooner we will become better neighbors, better friends, better opponents."

Click here to continue reading Even foes should appreciate Obama's call for mutual respect

EJ Dionne in the Washington Post:
"It was hard to square that message with the rage directed toward Obama and Jenkins by their detractors. Yet in raising the stakes entailed in Obama's visit, the critics did the president a great service.

By facing their arguments head-on and by demonstrating his attentiveness to Catholic concerns, Obama strengthened moderate and liberal forces inside the church itself. He also struck a forceful blow against those who would keep the nation mired in culture-war politics without end. Obama's opponents on the Catholic right placed a large bet on his Notre Dame visit. And they lost. "

Click here to continue reading Obama Confronts Foes With Faith

Bill Press in the Huffington Post:
"In the end, 2009 Commencement Exercises at Notre Dame ended up making a great day for America, a great day for the University of Notre Dame, but a sad day for the Catholic Church.

How ironic. In the end, it took a non-Catholic to tell Catholic bishops what their faith is all about."

Click here to continue reading Obama Wins One For The Gipper

Who knew? Mike Tyson is Michael Steele's ex-brother-in-law?

Oh by the way we forgot to mention that the Washington Post delves into some potentially bad news for Michael Steele as well.
Steele's Campaign Spending Questioned
Agents Contact Sister After Ex-Aide's Claims

By Henri E. Cauvin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, February 7, 2009; A01

Michael S. Steele, the newly elected chairman of the Republican National Committee, arranged for his 2006 Senate campaign to pay a defunct company run by his sister for services that were never performed, his finance chairman from that campaign has told federal prosecutors.

Federal agents in recent days contacted Steele's sister, a spokesman for Steele said yesterday.

The claim about the payment, one of several allegations by Alan B. Fabian, is outlined in a confidential court document. Fabian offered the information last March as he was seeking leniency for himself during plea negotiations on unrelated fraud charges. It is unclear how extensively his claims have been pursued. Prosecutors gave him no credit for cooperation when he was sentenced in October.
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In one of his allegations, Fabian points to a February 2007 payment by Steele's Senate campaign of more than $37,000 to Brown Sugar Unlimited, the company run by Steele's sister, Monica Turner. Campaign finance records list the expense as having been for "catering/web services." Turner filed papers to dissolve the company 11 months before the payment was received.
Turner, a doctor and the former wife of Mike Tyson, declined yesterday to describe any services she provided to the campaign. "Ah, it's the 'sabotage Michael Steele' story," she told a reporter before closing the door of her home in Potomac. "No, I'm not with that program. . . . I'm not going to do this."
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