A new survey of Obama voters by Survey USA found that by a margin of 82%-18% they are more likely to support him again in 2012 if he raises taxes on the rich.

The good news for Obama is that 66% of those who voted for him in 2008 approve of his handling of the economy compared to 27% who disapprove. Sixty three percent of those who disapprove are doing so because they believe that Obama has been too willing to compromise with Republicans. The president’s voters made it very clear what they want. Eighty one percent of those who voted for Obama said that they want to see the president lay out a broad jobs plan next week. Only 16% wanted him to focus on smaller measures.

The economy is tanking and the jobs that could keep us afloat are all heading abroad. 

GIVEN how much sway the Tea Party has among Republicans in Congress and those seeking the Republican presidential nomination, one might think the Tea Party is redefining mainstream American politics.

Polls show that disapproval of the Tea Party is climbing. In April 2010, a New York Times/CBS News survey found that 18 percent of Americans had an unfavorable opinion of it, 21 percent had a favorable opinion and 46 percent had not heard enough. Now, 14 months later, Tea Party supporters have slipped to 20 percent, while their opponents have more than doubled, to 40 percent.

There are 6.8 billion people on the planet. Here are the 68 who matter. 

Will Barack Obama’s fate be written in the numbers?

A 513-point plunge for the Dow, followed a day later by a drop in the nation’s credit rating.

Home values worth one-third less than they were five years ago.

The share of working-age Americans in the labor force — at just 58 percent — lower than it has been since 1983.

Growth under 2 percent, so sluggish that a second dip into recession looks distinctly possible.

That kind of economic data amounts to a formidable headwind for any incumbent president hoping for a second term.

So, it's a little weird that Fox has its own right-wing news site, right? Anyway, this is the "Fox Nation" top story, right now: Charles Barkley ate ribs at the White House. Black people! Hip-hop!

Two U.S. administrations declined in recent years to place sanctions on Syrian officials who now are involved in that country's harsh crackdown on dissidents, despite the officials' involvement in crushing internal opposition previously, according to secret State Department cables obtained by WikiLeaks.

Faramarz.M Persian proverb states: if a king picks an apple from a garden of people without permission, the royal guards will remove the apple tree’s stump! This Persian slang indicates when the ruler breaks the law; there is no expectation of the civilians to follow it.  …

A fascinating story-- lots of details that I hadn't known.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is considered the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, but would he be a serious contender to beat President Barack Obama if he wins the GOP nomination? According to a Harris poll, conducted by Harris Interactive, Obama wouldn’t win a second term if Romney won the GOP nomination.

 

"An Uzbek national who overstayed his student visa was indicted Tuesday on charges of threatening to kill President Barack Obama and illegal possession of weapons, officials said.

 

A grand jury in Birmingham, Alabama indicted him on charges of threatening to kill Obama on four occasions in the week preceding his arrest, and illegal possession of an automatic weapon and a grenade, it said.

Tea Party firebrand Michele Bachmann is soaring in the polls — alarming the GOP establishment, and greatly aiding the president's campaign

James Zogby, the anti-Israel pollster who released these findings today, blames the drop in support for Obama in the Arab world on Obama’s failure to put the amount of pressure on Israel the Arab world wanted and expected.

The actual Reuters Headline:

"Obama: Seniors could be hurt without debt deal

The Fox News Headline:

"Obama Threatens to Withhold Social Security Checks from Seniors and Vets

U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta says the United States is very concerned about Iran providing weapons to militants in Iraq, as he prepares to meet with Iraqi leaders about the future of U.S. troops in the country.

Panetta told a group of U.S. soldiers in Baghdad Monday that the U.S. cannot allow the arming of Iraqi insurgents to continue, and will address the situation directly.

U.S. officials accuse Iran of supplying Shi'ite militiamen with weapons that killed most of the 15 U.S. troops killed in June.  It was the deadliest month for U.S. forces in Iraq in two years.

A Somali militant linked to Al Qaeda was held and interrogated for two months on a U.S. Navy ship — the first publicly known example of the Obama administration secretly detaining a new terrorism suspect outside the criminal justice system.

Gaddafi urged NATO to halt its bombing campaign or risk seeing Libyan fighters descend on Europe "like a swarm of locusts or bees."

. . . attack your homes, your offices and your families, which will become military targets just as you have transformed our offices, headquarters, houses and children into what you regard as legitimate military targets . . .

Get ready, America. This upcoming July 4 is about more than simply celebrating our nation’s founding.

Video of President Obama from the 2008 meeting of AIPAC personally guaranteeing to never offer any proposals to divide Jerusalem. AIPAC is the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee. President Obama broke this promise Thursday, May 19th 2011 in a speech on Middle Easy policy.

To an outsider, UNRWA may appear to be a humanitarian group providing education, social services and other aid to Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Luca Anceschi (lecturer in International Relations, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia): "Given NATO's Libyan intervention has been far from successful it would not take much to persuade Western leaders to abstain from getting involved in Syria.

The United Nations endorsed the rights of gay, lesbian and transgender people for the first time ever Friday, passing a resolution hailed as historic by the U.S. and other backers and decried by African and Islamic countries.

The prime minister's speech was briefly disrupted by a heckler, who was quickly escorted out by security. Netanyahu said about the heckler, "I appreciate that protesting is aloud" [sic] adding "this is the real democracy."

Whole thing

"The Obama administration is openly supporting the anti-government demonstrations shaking the Arab Middle East, a stance that is far less tempered than the one the president has taken during past unrest in the region.

"Glenn Beck has been railing against 78-year-old CUNY professor Frances Fox Piven for weeks now, claiming she co-authored a devious plan to overthrow the government in the 1960s. Now, some of his fans are issuing death threats against her.

"According to the New York Times, Piven has been receiving death threats after being villainized on Beck's show. "Somebody tell Frances I have 5000 rounds ready and I'll give My life to take Our freedom back," wrote one user on Beck's news site, The Blaze.

Professor Niall Ferguson (Harvard University): "Throughout history the rise and fall of empires isn't slow or cyclical, as we like to think, but arrhythmic...it mostly happens very, very suddenly.

"In turning to the Security Council, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also defied President Barack Obama and risked offending the United States, the Palestinians' most crucial ally in their quest for statehood.

""This is part of the strategy, we are going to do it whether the Americans like it or not," said Nabil Shaath, an Abbas aide.

"President Barack Obama, has today...condemned recent attacks against Christians in both Iraq and Egypt in his proclamation for Religious Freedom Day 2011 which is due to place on this Sunday, (January 16th).

'A White House statement issued afterward said Obama had commended Hariri for his "steadfast leadership and efforts to reach peace, stability and consensus in Lebanon under difficult circumstances."

"The efforts by the Hezbollah-led coalition to collapse the Lebanese government only demonstrate their own fear and determination to block the government's ability to conduct its business and advance the aspirations of all of the Lebanese people," the statement said.

"WikiLeaks has brought to light a series of disturbing insinuations and startling truths in the last year, some earth-shattering, others simply confirmations of our darkest suspicions about the way the world works. Thanks to founder Julian Assange's legal situation in Sweden (and potentially the United States) as well as his media grandstanding, it is easy to forget how important and interesting some of WikiLeaks' revelations have been.

"The following is a list of the more impactful WikiLeaks revelations from 2010, grouped by region.

""We tell the American President Barack Obama to embrace Islam before we come to his country," said Fuad Mohamed "Shongole" Qalaf.

Al-Shabab has not yet launched an attack outside Africa but Western intelligence has long been worried because the group targeted young Somali-Americans for recruitment. About 20 have traveled to Somalia for training and at least three were used as suicide bombers inside Somalia.

"The Obama administration on Thursday proposed special energy zones on public lands in six western states deemed good locations to build utility-scale facilities to produce electricity from solar power.

"The 2010 census report coming out Tuesday will include a boatload of good political news for Republicans and grim data for Democrats hoping to re-elect President Barack Obama and rebound from last month's devastating elections.

"It's a fashion first . . . lady.

Michelle Obama is once again setting the style world abuzz -- wearing a thrift-store dress to the "Christmas in Washington" concert, which was taped Sunday and airs on TNT tonight.

The secondhand 1950s piece -- believed to be the first vintage dress worn by a first lady to a public event -- was made by American designer Norman Norelli, who died in 1972 and was among the most influential designers of his time.

Time's editors' picks-- do you agree?

"Somewhere in Texas, former President George W. Bush must be smiling.

"When President Obama and the Republican leadership reached a deal on extending all of the Bush tax cuts, including a generous exemption for estate taxes, the current president ratified a key policy from the former administration."

"A federal judge in Virginia ruled Monday that a key provision of the nation's sweeping health-care overhaul is unconstitutional, the most significant legal setback so far for President Obama's signature domestic initiative.

U.S. District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson found that Congress could not order individuals to buy health insurance.

"Ralph Nader, liberal activist and two-time third-party presidential candidate, lambasted President Obama in a Wednesday interview, and called for a liberal alternative to challenge in him in the 2012 presidential campaign.

"More than 50 percent of Americans say they are worse off now than they were two years ago when President Barack Obama took office, and two-thirds believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, a Bloomberg National Poll shows

Fox news commentators explaining why they think the U.S. should assassinate Assange...(video)

"Here's a short reprise of President Obama's appearance on Mythbusters last night, courtesy AP"

"If you were first astonished at the outlines of President Obama's tax cut compromise with GOP leaders on Monday and then angry yesterday when Obama called liberals "sanctimonious" for suggesting that he compromised too soon, you weren't alone. MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann came out last night with guns blazing, and spared few shots.

"If you want to know what President Obama sounds like when he's pissed off watch this

"President Barack Obama's dash to Afghanistan amounted to more than a feel-good mission of thanks to troops fighting for their lives. It was a confirmation that his war plan is here to stay.

"A US drone attack in Pakistan in October is thought to have killed a German citizen. The government of Chancellor Angela Merkel would prefer the case to simply go away, but one parliamentarian is refusing to let it be forgotten.

"Bünyamin E. is believed to be one of three suspected Islamists from Germany who were killed in a US drone attack in the town of Mir Ali in Pakistan's North Waziristan region on Oct. 4.

"• Embassy cables show Arab allies want strike against Tehran
• Israel prepared to attack alone to avoid its own 9/11
• Iranian bomb risks 'Middle East proliferation, war or both'"

Satire from The Onion

"Egypt has accused the United States of meddling in its internal affairs, after Washington called for international monitors to observe the country's upcoming parliamentary elections.

In a strongly worded statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Thursday the U.S. is acting like an "overseer" and not respecting the country's sovereignty.

"At a private meeting on Tuesday afternoon, George Soros, a longtime supporter of progressive causes, voiced blunt criticism of the Obama administration, going so far as to suggest that Democratic donors direct their support somewhere other than the president.

"General Electric Co. plans to sink more than $2billion into its efforts in China through 2012. The conglomerate has shifted more production from the U.S. to China and also looks to build new partnerships there.

""As soon as Obama took over, he said he would do this and that -- a lot of things. But he still hasn't met a single goal," said Saad Zaki Khalil, 56, who was selling cigarette lighters in central Cairo.

Seventeen months after Obama's Cairo University speech, al Qaeda is still threatening the West, peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians remain stalled over the issue of West Bank settlements and U.S. troops remain in Iraq and Afghanistan.

""I tried to prevent (being touched) with my hands but Mrs. Michelle held her hands too far toward me (so) we touched," Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring told tens of thousands of followers on Twitter.

"Who was the big loser Tuesday? The easy answer is President Obama and his fellow Democrats on this day of epic GOP victories in the House, the Senate and U.S. statehouses.

But there is a bigger loser: Washington.

"Like converging thunderstorms, two distinct trends collided Tuesday night to power the Republican Party to the largest midterm gains for either party since 1938."

"Two years ago, the University of Miami could not get enough Barack Obama. The campaign rally he held here felt like a rock concert, his face appeared on T-shirts all over campus, and pro-Obama volunteers registered 2,000 new voters.

"Meetings of the College Democrats that attracted 200 people in 2008 now pull in a dozen. New voter registration is way down, too, and free posters of President Obama — once "the Michael Jordan" of politics, as one freshman put it — are now refused by students.

Some of you may recognise me. I'm the guy that puts up all of those fishing industry story's, and once in a while, I'll attempt an article.

Premier to convene his Forum of Seven for a session on Tuesday over new moratorium in exchange for U.S. guarantees; if majority are in favor, he plans to bring the matter to political-security cabinet at once for a vote.

A large part of the people who inhabited it were Armenians - it had once been at the heart of a great Armenian empire.

Today there are almost none.

The only two buildings still standing there are mosques. Of the dozen or so churches, there is no trace.

The story of how the Armenians vanished from their historic homeland is not discussed in Van today.

At least half, maybe much more, of the original population died, in what many historians call the modern world's first genocide.

"Obama says he came to his Christian faith as an adult because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to him in terms of the kind of life he wanted to lead. Obama says human beings are flawed and make mistakes, but that he tries to see God in others and does his best to help them.

"The increased tension is a result of an Iraqi government in limbo as American troops prepare to leave the country after more than eight years of war. Underscoring the insecure time, Iraqi wariness of Iranian aggression is on the rise, especially after two major Iranian incursions in less than a year.

"Although 68 House Democrats have petitioned the Obama administration to refrain from extending the court battle to sustain "don't ask, don't tell," the Justice Department has announced that it will challenge a federal judge's order to immediately end the military's ban on openly gay service.

"The Obama administration sought Friday to block a lawsuit over the scope of its targeted killing program for suspected terrorists, in a case that challenges the government to define the limits of its global battlefield against extremists.

"President Obama ripped into Iranian strongman Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Friday for his "offensive, hateful, and inexcusable" rant at the UN blaming America for the 9/11 attacks.

"US and EU delegates walk out during President Ahmadinejad's UN address

The US and other Western delegations at the 65th UN General Assembly have walked out in protest at the speech of the Iranian president.

"It is not exactly the year of the angry man, but it may be something close to that. A recent New York Times/CBS News poll found a sharp difference in the way men and women say they are going to vote in November.

"Men say they will vote for the Republican candidate rather than the Democratic candidate in their districts by a margin of 45 percent to 32 percent. The numbers are nearly reversed for women, with 36 percent saying they will vote Republican and 43 percent saying they will vote Democratic.

"On Tuesday, Ahmed Jaabari, leader of Hamas' military wing, issued a rare statement threatening a wave of violence intended to derail the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

"One Palestinian was killed and at least four were injured on Tuesday after the IDF returned fire in response to a terrorist attack in the northern Gaza Strip.

"The top Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip rejected compromise with Israel in a fiery speech Wednesday, a day after gunmen killed four Israelis.

In an address to Hamas members, Gaza strongman Mahmoud Zahar said the movement would resist peace efforts and criticized the Palestinian president for joining the negotiations.

"Speaking after his talks with Mr Netanyahu, Mr Obama promised continued US support for Israel's security.

"I want everybody to be very clear," he said.

"The United States is going to be unwavering in its support of Israel's security. And we are going to push back against these kinds of terrorist attacks.

Seldom do I see an ad that I can relate to in some way while hysterically laughing at the same time. But then GEICO unleashed its latest ad, and it deserves an Addy award:

"President says any attempt at a solution other than the two-state solution would be dangerous; praises Obama, Mubarak.

"In Peres's perception, a one state solution would be dangerous, because judging by what is happening in other states in the region, it would be a spring board for conflicts within itself. A three state solution would be equally dangerous he said, because of the three, the one in Gaza, would be a state of terror.

"Kenyan officials today welcomed Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to a signing ceremony for Kenya's new constitution, in direct contravention of the state's legal obligations as an International Criminal Court signatory, to arrest the indicted sitting head of state. Bashir is wanted by the ICC for multiple counts of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Have the citizens of America gone mad?

"More Americans now disapprove of President Barack Obama than approve of him as high unemployment and government spending scare voters ahead of November's congressional elections, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Tuesday."

"The Obama administration asked Friday that the only person convicted for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 be returned to a Scottish prison.

John Brennan, President Barack Obama's counterterrorism adviser, told reporters accompanying the vacationing leader that the U.S. has "expressed our strong conviction" to Scottish officials that Abdel Baset Al-Megrahi (AHB'-dehl BAH'-seht AH'-lee ahl-meh-GRAH'-hee) should not remain free. The comments came on the first anniversary of Al-Megrahi's release.

"President Barack Obama has personally warned Turkey's prime minister that unless Ankara shifts its position on Israel and Iran it stands little chance of obtaining the US weapons it wants to buy.

"The United States has approved a long list of arms sales to friendly Arab countries in the Persian Gulf aimed at countering Iran's growing influence in the region.

The unprecedented sales could reach over $60 billion in pending deals with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Obama's decision to upgrade the PLO mission in Washington signals that he is willing to consider accepting a Palestinian state formed outside the framework of a peace deal with Israel.

"The State Department released its Country Reports on Terrorism for 2009 on Thursday. As expected, Iran "remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism" in 2009. In particular,

"Tehran continues to sponsor terrorists who kill American servicemen in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"France has declared war on al-Qaida, and matched its fighting words with a first attack on a base camp of the terror network's North African branch, after the terror network killed a French aid worker it took hostage in April.

The declaration and attack marked a shift in strategy for France, usually discrete about its behind-the-scenes battle against terrorism.

The British Guardian newspaper, called the disclosures one of the biggest leaks in U.S. military history. The New York Times and the German weekly Der Spiegel were the other news organizations to receive documents.

(Opinion):

"I haven't returned to Peshawar since 2000, but it's a good guess that the same conversations are to be had, though undoubtedly in greater variation, since jihadist violence has now savaged Pakistan. It's an odd situation: Throughout the greater Middle East, frank discussions about Islam are easier to have than they are in Washington, D.C.—especially among government officials. Ask someone in the Obama administration about jihad and, unless the official knows the conversation is off the record—and sometimes even if it is off the record—that official likely will become a bit panicked, nonplussed, and try to change the subject.

"In a rare divergence from administration policy, President Obama used the term "radical Islam" to describe the African-based terror group that took credit Monday for killing 74 people in Uganda "

"The United States will provide $73 million in aid to Zimbabwe, President Obama announced Friday after meeting with Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai at the White House.
President Obama (right) praised Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai at the White House on Friday.

President Obama (right) praised Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai at the White House on Friday.

"I obviously have extraordinary admiration for the courage and tenacity that the prime minister has shown in navigating through some very difficult political times in Zimbabwe," Obama said.

"The Justice Department filed suit Tuesday against Arizona, charging that the state's new immigration law is unconstitutional and requesting a preliminary injunction to stop the legislation from taking effect.

"Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah probably refrained from expressing at least half this sentiment in his meeting today with President Obama: On June 5, he reportedly told French Defense Minister Hervé Morin that "There are two countries in the world that do not deserve to exist: Iran and Israel."

"A senior US lawmaker has angrily blocked billions of dollars in aid to Afghanistan, vowing not to give "one more dime" until Afghan President Hamid Karzai acts against corruption.

"Representative Nita Lowey, who sits on the powerful committee in charge of the budget, said she would hold hearings into allegations that top Afghan officials flew suitcases full of cash from US aid to foreign safe havens.

""I do not intend to appropriate one more dime for assistance to Afghanistan until I have confidence that US taxpayer money is not being abused to line the pockets of corrupt Afghan government officials, drug lords and terrorists," she said.

"Even some of McChrystal's staunchest backers in Afghanistan said the derisive comments the general and his staff made about the Obama administration to a Rolling Stone reporter leave him open to dismissal.

"But relieving McChrystal of his command on the eve of a major offensive in Kandahar, which White House and Pentagon officials have said is the most critical of the war, would be a major blow to the war effort, said military experts. The president has set a July 2011 deadline to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, creating massive pressure on the military and McChrystal to make progress in stabilizing Afghanistan this summer and fall when troop levels are at their peak.

"Gen. Stanley McChrystal has submitted his resignation, Time magazine's Joe Klein told CNN, citing an unnamed source. CNN is working to confirm Klein's information.

"Al-Qaida's U.S.-born spokesman warned President Barack Obama Sunday that the militant group may launch new attacks that would kill more Americans than previous ones.

"It seems every President since the early 70's has been making this same promise.

Democrats and Republicans are all the SAME.
A lot of talk and very little follow through."

"U.S. intelligence showing Iran likely would have the capability to attack Europe with "scores or even hundreds" of missiles factored into the Obama administration's decision to overhaul missile defenses, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday.

"A year ago Friday, President Barack Obama stood in Cairo and vowed "a new beginning" in a speech about how he'd change U.S. relations with the Muslim world. Egyptian vendors sold T-shirts portraying Obama in King Tut regalia, and Muslims throughout the region thrilled at his middle name: Hussein.

"Now, many Muslims in Egypt and the rest of the Middle East say they're dismayed that the promise of the speech has fizzled into U.S. policy-as-usual toward the region: civilian deaths in Afghanistan, an unstable Iraq, no pressure for reforms on Washington-friendly autocrats, no resolution for Guantanamo prisoners and no end in sight for the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

"As President Barack Obama attempts to redefine the US relationship with the Muslim world, he has made a point of throwing out old, Bush-era rhetoric. This has proved especially true in the volatile arena of counterterrorism.

In fact, those pesky terms like "Islamist," "jihadist" and even "terrorism" don't seem to fit in his vision of a US security strategy at all, a point that was made clear late last month with the release of Obama's new National Security Strategy (NSS) document.

Readers of my commentaries know that I usually send one a week. Last week, however, I sent two because the Helen Thomas incident occurred after I had finished my regular weekly article, and I thought the Thomas affair required a response from me.

"The Obama administration Wednesday added several dozen Iranian individuals and organizations to its sanctions blacklist, its first steps to intensify international pressure in the aftermath of international sanctions adopted last week by the United Nations Security Council.

"On Saturday night, the White House released a letter Obama sent to congressional leaders of both parties asking for nearly $50 billion in emergency aid to state and local governments to fend off "massive layoffs of teachers, police and firefighters" and to prevent a possible double-dip recession.

"Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is opposed to lifting the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip because this would bolster Hamas, according to what he told United States President Barack Obama during their meeting at the White House Wednesday. Egypt also supports this position.