In 'fiscal cliff' fight, Obama gets better marks than Boehner
Source: Associated Press
If you picture the “fiscal cliff” struggle between the Democratic White House and the Republican House of Representatives as hand-to-hand political combat between the President and Speaker John Boehner, you’d have to score it as advantage Obama by a wide margin.
Mr. Obama’s approval rating is at a three-year high. Mr. Boehner’s is at an all-time low – even lower than Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker Boehner ousted when Republicans took over the House in 2010. Meanwhile, a majority of Americans now say the GOP is too extreme.
Depending on what happens with the automatic tax increases and across-the-board spending cuts that define the fiscal cliff just ten days off, that could change, of course. Public attitudes toward Washington are never very far from “a pox on both your houses.”
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Fifty-three percent of those surveyed in a new CNN/ORC International poll say they view the policies of the GOP as too extreme, up 17 points from two years ago. Only 37 percent say they view the policies of the Democratic Party as too extreme.
Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/fiscal-cliff-fight-obama-gets-better-marks-boehner-183808361.html
Here is the great irony. Boehner, who is extremely right wing, is being attacked from the right because he has entertained raising a miniscule amount of taxes. Thus, his speakership is in serious jeopardy, and he may very well get replaced by someone who is even more outspokenly right wing.
Indeed, the one thing that Boehner tried to do was to take the edge off of some of the Republicans' more strident sounding positions. In other words, Boehner presented a sane sounding face to the public. Perhaps the general public will get to see some of the craziness up front and center.
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