When public opinion matters

Both parties play the numbers. It should be no surprise that a big deal is made by Obama's current numbers. After all he won over a guy who had a 38% approval rating.

It is interesting that both Bush presidencies had historically the some of the highest and lowest approval ratings of any presidency.

It didn't help when Obama gave himself a B+ on Oprah's Christmas at the White House show. A B- would have been more appropriate.

The good news is that the Republicans, even if they do take the Hill again will have a hard time rolling back the social progress we made this year.

Historical Highs and Lows:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/behind-the-numbers/2007/07/approval_highs_and_lows.html

Reagan's Presidency graphed out:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8512945

Public forums

The problem with politicians is that the higher they go, the more they lose touch with the general population. The more successful they are, the more they take for granted.

Many conspiracy theories fanned by conservatives have their basis in the 'secret shadows and dark rooms'  involving unelected bureaucratic officials - decisions are made away from prying public eyes and outside of the control of taxpayers. Secretly and quietly Obama is making our country a socialist regime.

If President Obama could do one thing to dis-spell this concern, it would be to hold public summits with very people he already meets with. Sure, hold your private discussions first, but then schedule time in front of the CSPAN cameras for anyone who is interested to watch.

This open forum would go a long way towards improving public support for initiatives and policies.

Arianna Huffington is a poser

Arianna Huffington is not a Liberal or even a Populist Progressive, but is rather a conservative media tongue-wagger with an agenda to undermine Liberal politics.

She boasts about being on Sunday morning pundit shows. If you've ever watched her, she smiles with delight and kisses up to the conservatives at the table when they make their points, frowns when the liberals make theirs.

This is probably no real surprise. Media pundits love to poke holes and Arianna is vying for a more prominent role in the media. The more waves she makes, the more memorable she is, and more likely she'll get picked for a show.

If populist progressives proved anything with William Jennings Bryan, they don't get anywhere. They make lots of noise and rile everybody up, only to alienate the general population. Why? Because most people just want problems to get fixed - they don't care how, they just want it fixed.

And they just want people who make problems to shut up. Where is Newt Gingrich now?

Bottom line for Liberals: Stop wasting time, come together and get the job done.