When Bush Speaks, Markets Shrug

Obama's making Bush look good

(NEWSER) - George W. Bush left office with the lowest approval rating since Richard Nixon, while Obama took over with stratospheric numbers. But then a funny thing happened: “America woke up from its 2008 trance and is concluding that Bush was never as bad, and Obama never as good, as advertised,” writes Victor Davis Hanson of the National Review . Bush’s favorability ratings have soared—Ohio, for example, would now prefer him to Obama by a 50-42 margin. More»

Ex-Treasury sec says Mac risked putting US economy in freefall for 'political gambit'

(NEWSER) - With the US economy in utter freefall, John McCain suspended his presidential campaign, jetted to Washington, called a meeting to fix the crisis—then did nothing, according the Henry Paulson's new book, On the Brink . In an excerpt in the Wall Street Journal, the former Treasury secretary recounts McCain's odd refusal to speak at the emergency meeting he called, and how the Democrats and Barack Obama pounced. More»

Latest numbers show steady decline for president

(NEWSER) - Only 50% of respondents to a recent poll say they prefer Barack Obama to George W. Bush, with 44% saying they’d like Dubya back. Given Bush’s vast unpopularity at the end of his term, that’s probably the most troubling number for the president in the latest Public Policy Polling results. The poll gives him a 49% approval rating for December, essentially unchanged from November. More»

Obama likely to win re-election, Dems to keep House majority with current numbers

(NEWSER) - Much has been made of President Obama’s 50% job-approval rating, but that number in and of itself is “not particularly newsworthy,” writes Nate Silver for FiveThirtyEight.com. Obama could probably win in 2012 even with approval below 50%: George W. Bush was re-elected with the approval of less than half of the electorate, as did Harry Truman. More»

(NEWSER) - President Obama's job-approval rating slipped to 50% in Gallup poll results out today, a new low for the 10-month-old administration, the Los Angeles Times reports. The drawn-out health care reform debate apparently is dragging down the number, which hit 69% after the inauguration. The disapproval number is 43%. "It's real easy to stay popular in Washington if you don't do anything at all," a White House rep said. More»