Quinnipiac: Still no bounce for Obama

The latest Quinnipiac poll shows Obama has not gotten a bounce from his health care legislation passage. In fact, his latest numbers show him at the lowest approval since his inauguration:

"President Barack Obama's approval rating hovers at an all-time low. The White House had predicted passage of the health care overhaul would boost his fortunes, but that has not been the case, and that legislation itself remains decidedly unpopular," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

"At this point Americans are slightly more confident than not that President Obama will make a good choice for the Supreme Court, but they split with 42 percent saying the nominee will be too liberal and 42 percent saying the nominee will be about right," Brown added.

As baffling as it might seem, some Americans still have faith Obama will make the right choice to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by John Paul Stevens' retirement. This is less baffling, however, when you examine who still has faith in Obama's judgement. Jennifer Rubin sifts through the poll data and finds Obama has all but lost the coalition that elected him:

Obama’s broad-based ideological coalition has fractured. Among liberals, 77 percent approve of his performance (accounting, no doubt, for high approval among Jews and African Americans, who are more liberal than the population as a whole), while 54 percent of moderates and only 38 percent of independents, 10 percent of Tea Partiers, and 11 percent of Republicans approve of his job performance.

Obama has essentially lost the carefully assembled, broad-based majority that elected him. He is now kept from drifting into George W. Bush–like polling by the loyalty of devoted African Americans, Jews, and liberals. It’s not a winning model for re-election, but then he hasn’t governed in a way to maintain a majority of support from Americans.

The good news for Obama, the media  will continue to cheerlead for him.  Instead of focusing on Obama's lost coalition we will see headlines gleaned from polling data that touts confidence in his ability to choose the right nominee compared to Senate Republicans.  CNN writes, "Poll: Majority say Obama will make right choice on nomination." From The Hill, we see "Voters trust Obama over GOP to make right SCOTUS pick." Perhaps Quinnipiac, CNN and The Hill haven't been made aware of the fact but Senate Republicans are not responsible for picking Supreme Court nominees.  I remain dumbfounded why any pollster bothers to survey such questions.

Health care remains decidedly unpopular with 53% disapproving of the legislation while 39% approve.  Perhaps this explains why Obama has stopped talking about health care.  No doubt his cheerleading media will oblige him and drop the issue from their headlines.

Just what we need, a "liberated" Obama

Just what we need,  Obama reported to be feeling liberated by the realization no matter who he chooses for the Supreme Court, his pick will be met with opposition by Republicans in the Senate. This is "freeing" him to choose a candidate that might otherwise seem a counterintuitive choice in the face of midterm elections and a polarized nation. In other words, he is free to choose someone from his neck of the liberal woods, far far from center:

President Obama thinks Republicans will engage in a full battle over his Supreme Court nominee regardless of the person's ideological leanings, and in some ways "that realization is liberating for the president" to choose whomever he pleases, an administration official told TPMDC.

In comments that are at odds with the conventional wisdom about what Obama needs to do to make sure the Senate confirms his nominee to replace John Paul Stevens, a White House official involved in the confirmation process tells TPMDC that the President isn't taking a cautious approach to selecting a nominee. Despite having one less Democrat in the Senate than when Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed last year, the administration isn't limiting itself to reviewing only centrist candidates for the court vacancy, the official said.

He is counting on Senate Republicans to roll over in the end because Democrats were so agreeable to Bush nominees according to the TPM report. Hello anyone remember Miguel Estrada? Some conservative groups are cautioning Obama shouldn't be so quick to dismiss the possibility of a filibuster:

Case in point: Tom Fitton of the conservative Judicial Watch group told me in an interview that all of the names on Obama's so-called short list so far are unacceptable and seem to be reliable liberal votes.

Fitton's theory is that progressive groups bemoaning the potential shift in the court makeup are doing so in a "strategic" fashion. "Most progressives will be perfectly happy with who he nominates," Fitton said.

Fitton also thinks that Obama is walking on dangerous ground when it comes to the filibuster -- and said the president took a "very radical" approach to health care.

"If he approaches the judicial pick like he approached health care he can expect a filibuster," Fitton said.

 There seems to be no end to the pain and misery Obama is willing to inflict on the majorities he holds in Congress before November.  Considering the fact many were willing to walk their political careers off the plank with health care, I wouldn't put it past Obama to ask them to take another walk for an ultra liberal nominee as well.  The only thing stopping Obama may just be a filibuster.  Come November there needs to be way more that stands in the way of Obama and his liberal agenda, namely a GOP controlled House and a split Senate.