by Mark Silva
Talk about riding a wave of good will:
Three in four Americans surveyed on Inauguration Day voice more optimism about the nation's future with the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
The new president has spoken of "spending'' some of his capital on causes such as health care, and he starts with a lot of it.
Even among Republicans, an Associated Press-Knowledge Networks poll has found, only 29 percent of those surveyed felt more pessimistic now that Obama is sitting in the White House -- roughly the same percentage of Republicans, 30 percent, voicing more optimism. So, yes, the Democrats are tipping this scale.
A somewhat smaller proportion of the overall survey who said they saw or heard Obama's inaugural address on Tuesday -- 51 percent -- called it a good speech.
The poll was conducted Tuesday, with online interviews of 835 adults, and has a possible 3.4 percentage point error rate.
Comments
What a day. Hope and optimism once again emanate from the White House.
Posted by: Doug Zook | January 21, 2009 8:36 AM
You're joking, right? This guy has been in crisis mode from the get-go. He's a fearmonger, trying to scare Americans into ceding ever more of their rights to the federal government. Optimism? Give me a major break!
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspirator | January 21, 2009 8:46 AM
No, "Vast Right Wing"-- Bush is not President anymore. The Bush-Cheney power grab is over.
Posted by: Flo | January 21, 2009 11:01 AM
It seems as though Hope, inspiration, and optimism are words not understood by the right. But fear certainly is.
Posted by: bill r. | January 21, 2009 11:50 AM
The Wyden-Bennett health care bill would give every American the same coverage Congress has. The challenge for Democrats is whether they again let the best be the enemy of the good.
Posted by: Good Luck | January 21, 2009 11:59 AM
"Hope" would be the more appropriate word. We The People are in serious trouble in a number of ways, and we certainly hope that things get better soon. That's not the same as optimism, or the realistic expectation of things getting better soon. I hope I don't lose my job. I'm not optimistic about it though.
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Our problems didn't happen over night they will likely outlast the Obama presidency. Even Obama has said as much.
Posted by: MJ | January 21, 2009 12:58 PM
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspirator | January 21, 2009 8:46 AM
Yeah, what's up with that? There's no crisis. None at all. Things are just fine in this country. The economy is hummming along, we are at peace with the world, everyone has healthcare coverage and we provide all our own energy needs. Why on earth would Obama act like there is need for government action? If we had just elected a good Republican, they'd know that nothing needs to be done. They wouldn't be in crisis mode at all, they be honest abpout the perfect utopia we have as things are.
Posted by: Delusional Righty 2 | January 21, 2009 1:03 PM
Bill R. wrote: "It seems as though Hope, inspiration, and optimism are words not understood by the right. But fear certainly is."
No, Bill, I understand these concepts far better than most of you nutjobs on the left. Just go watch a bunch of Ronald Reagan speeches and you'll start to get a clue. That man understood inspiration and optimism in a way that Obama only pretends to.
But more importantly I understand where hope and inspiration and optimism come from, and it is NOT from the federal government. Quite the contrary, Fedzilla is the biggest drain on hope, inspiration and optimism that I know of, and the Messiah only promises to give us more of the same.
The socialist onslaught is about to be unleased. When its inevitable effects begin to show, then we'll see how hopeful and optimistic and inspired you are. Not so much, I think.
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspirator | January 21, 2009 1:23 PM
reagan was a bumbling fool and the most over-rated president in history.
Posted by: crud | January 21, 2009 1:33 PM
But more importantly I understand where hope and inspiration and optimism come from, and it is NOT from the federal government.
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspirator | January 21, 2009 1:23 PM
Gee....I forgot you understand the word "nutjob" also. Please...by all means....tell us where hope, inspiration, and optimism come from and why it is a bad thing. I hardly think mentioning Reagan proves that fact. His record setting budget certainly is in contrast to his big bad government talk.
Posted by: bill r. | January 21, 2009 1:57 PM
Reagan was an actor and a tool. He was a Democrat until he married his 2nd wife, Nancy Davis. Do you all remember Nancy whispering in his ear?? Falling asleep at meetings??Beiruit, Lebanon?? Iran-Contra?? The man was a fraud.
Did you see the movie where Ronnie played George Custer??
Posted by: Doug R. | January 21, 2009 2:06 PM
No time or clout to waste on tax breaks for cronies or don't ask don't tell (there, I covered both sides of the aisle)...
Posted by: Kenny Bunkport ✌ | January 21, 2009 3:17 PM
Crud, Doug R.:
More than one observer has compared Obama to Ronald Reagan. One example:
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http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2008/0708_obama_reagan_west.aspx
...and by the way, so did Obama himself:
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/16/obama-compares-himself-to_n_81835.html
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You may not like Reagan's agenda, you might question his intellectual sophistication, but you can't reasonably deny three things:
1) That he had communication skills that most politicians envy.
2) That he was able to tap into the collective national mood.
3) That he profoundly effected the nation and the world.
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Now you may debate whether or not that was for the good, but the fact remains that every person who enters the Oval Office hopes to do those three things. Most of them fail. Reagan didn't.
Posted by: MJ | January 21, 2009 5:44 PM
Reaganomics weren't near as good as his admirers like to think; and he did raise taxes after lowering them. But MJ is pretty accurate in what he says. Yes, Obama described him as transformational, as I recall. I guess I'm in a 'maverick' mood today; but only partially--this Vast Right Wing person is an idiot.
Posted by: Flo | January 21, 2009 7:29 PM
all three of those things are easily deniable because they are nothing more than vague and subjective assertions.
here are three things you can't deny:
1) iran contra happened under his nose, and only a fool would believe he was not aware of it.
2) thousands of people died needlessly because of his protracted and morally objectionable response to the aids epidemic.
3) nearly tripled the deficit.
and for those of us who paid attention, he was a partisan bumbling fool.
Posted by: crud | January 21, 2009 9:34 PM
"here are three things you can't deny..."
Posted by: crud | January 21, 2009 9:34 PM
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WelL Duh! I didn't deny them, block head.
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And yet those "vague and subjective assertions" that make you so uncomfortable are what everybody should want in a president. If you support Obama, you should want to see those characteristics in him.
Posted by: MJ | January 22, 2009 5:39 PM
obama has those characteristics.
reagan was a bumbling fool.
Posted by: crud | January 22, 2009 9:55 PM