[icopyright one button toolbar]
Dana Milbank makes a good point. Obama was a teensy bit overmuch at one point in his State of the Union address to Congress when he ragged on about his two big wins.
But he wins. Like, get used to it:
His cocky, colloquial cadence was a bit much, but it’s hard to deny Obama a victory lap now that Americans are optimistic about the economy after six years of misery. This isn’t necessarily the result of his policies — but neither were the six years in the doldrums his fault. This president, like all presidents, gets the blame when the economy is weak and the credit when it is strong.
In that sense, people may not appreciate the extent to which Obama is likely to be ascendant in his final two years in office. It happened rather suddenly in the past couple of months, but the lame-duck path Obama was on now looks more like Ronald Reagan’s in 1987 and 1988. If the economy continues on its current trajectory, as most expect, he’ll leave office a popular president and leave the 2016 Democratic nominee with a relatively easy path to victory. ...Milbank,WaPo
We can but hope. And we’d better hope if this is the GOP’s latest plan:
Top Senate Republicans are considering gutting the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees — a move that could yield big rewards for whichever party controls the White House and Senate after 2016.
The move, still in its early stages, reflects growing GOP confidence in its electoral prospects next year. …Politico
One issue that could damage the President’s popularity is Keystone. The National Journal the other day reported changes in polling about the Keystone issue.
An NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey released Tuesday shows that 41 percent favor construction of the pipeline to bring crude oil from Canadian oil sands to Gulf Coast refineries, while 20 percent oppose it and 37 percent did not know enough to weigh in.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll unveiled Monday, meanwhile, asked whether Congress should pass legislation approving the project or wait until the Obama administration completes its review. Sixty-one percent favored completing the review before deciding, while 34 percent backed authorizing construction now. …NationalJournal
Republicans have been beating the drum for Keystone from the start, and have faulted the President for not making up his mind. Obama remained — and remains — cool. Which has given the rest of us time to make up our minds. Evidently recent spills and plenty of opposition have gotten through to vague supporters of this noxious “job creator” of a pipeline through one of our most important sources of water.
The latest opinions show, as the National Journal suggests, not so much unanimity in support for dumping the pipeline as they show support for the process of deciding how useful and how safe the pipeline really would be: “It was about process, asking whether Keystone should be approved right now or whether the administration’s review to determine if it’s in the ‘national interest’ should proceed.”
Let’s not forget: Breaks in pipelines are not infrequent and they are dangerous… deadly.
A Montana town’s water supply, contaminated by oil from a breached pipeline over the weekend, became safe for drinking again Friday, state officials said, after tests showed a drop in concentrations of a cancer-causing petrochemical.
“The Water Treatment Plant is providing clean water,” reads a notice on the city of Glendive’s website. “Confirmation sampling of the distribution lines shows that the water meets federal drinking water standards. The final step is for residents and businesses to do any final flushing of their systems.”
The contamination is linked to last Saturday’s spill into the Yellowstone River of an estimated 1,200 barrels of crude oil from a pipeline that ruptured several miles upstream of Glendive, in northeastern Montana. ...AlJazeera
Voters may surprise both parties in 2016. A higher value is being placed on democratic process — the ability of Congress to work with a duly elected president no matter which party (s)he represents.
In the end, economic security — the issue that has given President Obama a serious lift in poll numbers lately — is what matters to most voters.
Barring shocks and catastrophe, though, the rising confidence in the economy also bodes well for a win in 2016 by Hillary Clinton or another Democratic nominee. As a general rule, the party of the incumbent president will win an election if the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index is above 100. The index was at 92.6 in December, up from 44.9 in 2008 and 71.5 in 2012.
Barring the unforeseen, the index will soon rise above 100 and remain there for the rest of Obama’s term. His opponents may not think it fair, but the return of the American consumer’s long-suppressed optimism will keep a swagger in the presidential step. …Milbank,WaPo
Cross posted from Prairie Weather
graphic via shutterstock.com