Northwest Indiana Discussion

Ben Affleck says he had high hopes for then-candidate Barack Obama in 2008 but his record in the Oval Office hasn’t been all the Hollywood star had hoped.

“I voted for Obama last time although he got to be all things to all people then,” Affleck told the Associated Press. “And now he’s got a record which makes it really different … I obviously have more complicated feelings.”

Unhappy with President Barack Obama‘s support of same-sex marriage, a group of African-American faith leaders have announced a campaign aimed at stripping 25 percent of the black vote that went to Obama in 2008 (95 percent).

The newly formed nonprofit group, God Said, will begin targeting voters in Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Florida with television and radio advertising, as well as a grassroots campaign to encourage people to consider the gospel when they enter the voting booth.

“The black community is among the most religious in America and we are offended that President Obama has announced his support of same-sex marriage, that the NAACP has blindly supported the secular views of the Democratic Party, and that their national platform plainly supports same-sex marriage,” said Apostle Claver Kamau-Imani of RagingElephants.org, and a God Said founder, in a statement. “I am confident that this message will be well received and acted upon on Election Day.”

CNN Ohio poll: Obama 51, Romney 47

By ALEXANDER BURNS |
10/9/12 4:04 PM EDT

Even after the fallout from last week's presidential debate, Barack Obama retains a 4-point lead in the state of Ohio — and pulls a majority of the vote in a poll released this afternoon by CNN.

Obama leads Romney in the state, 51 percent to 47 percent. The president has consistently led in the battleground state in credible public polling and internal surveys on both sides of the 2012 race.

The results from the CNN poll underscore the continuing challenge the Electoral College poses to Romney: while he has gained in national presidential polls, Romney has only the narrowest of paths to winning 270 electoral votes if he cannot improve his standing in Ohio. The CNN survey is the first widely trusted poll to emerge from the Buckeye State since the debate last week.

Four years ago, on September 11, Barack Obama made the pilgrimage to Harlem to have lunch with Bill Clinton. The meal was the first tête-à-tête between the soon-to-be president and the former one since the unpleasantness of the Democratic nomination contest, and feelings on both sides were still raw and fraught with suspicion. Clinton’s staff had wanted to include a Harlem stroll and photo op as part of the visit, but Obama’s people demurred—a standoff that led each camp to ascribe race-related motives to the other. Eager to avoid awkwardness, Obama kept the conversation focused on governance, not politics. But at the end, Clinton offered to hit the campaign trail for, or with, the nominee. Obama, fighting a stomach bug, said okay and then beat a hasty exit to avoid upchucking on Clinton’s shoes.

Clinton, being Clinton, had plenty of advice in mind and was desperate to impart it. But for the first two years of Obama’s term, the phone calls Clinton kept expecting rarely came. “People say the reason Obama wouldn’t call Clinton is because he doesn’t like him,” observes Tanden. “The truth is, Obama doesn’t call anyone, and he’s not close to almost anyone. It’s stunning that he’s in politics, because he really doesn’t like people. My analogy is that it’s like becoming Bill Gates without liking computers.”

The latest polling from Rasmussen Reports shows that President Obama’s net approval rating is lower today than it was two years ago. Today, Obama’s net approval rating among likely voters is minus-3 percentage points (48 percent approval to 51 percent disapproval), while his net approval rating among those who feel “strongly” (either way) is minus-14 points (29 percent approval to 43 percent disapproval). On October 19, 2010, Obama’s net approval rating was minus-1 point (49 percent approval to 50 percent disapproval), while his net approval rating among those who felt “strongly” was minus-10 points (30 approval to 40 percent disapproval).

So, over the past two years, Obama’s net approval rating has dropped 2 points (from minus-1 to minus-3), while his net approval rating among those who feel “strongly” has dropped 4 points (from minus-10 to minus-14).

President Obama has not played golf in more than two and half months, an indication the White House and the Obama campaign have determined that Obama’s golf is a political liability that had to come to a temporary halt.

Obama last played golf on his birthday, August 4. The 81 days that have elapsed since then easily represent the longest time he’s gone as president without playing while the weather is warm.

It’s unlikely that Obama’s absence from the fairways is due solely to the time consuming demands of campaigning and being president.

The presidency itself is a demanding job, and yet Obama has found time to play golf 104 times since Inauguration Day. Defenders of Obama’s golf say it relaxes him and makes him a more effective president, which should be true for a candidate as well.

In the latest CBS/New York Times poll likely voters disapprove of Obama’s handling of the Libya attacks by a margin of 51 percent to 38 percent. Among independents disapproval is even higher at 57 percent.