Opinion: Good news for Obama: A few more people like his job; Bad news: A bunch more don’t like his healthcare

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Nearly a week after Joe How Ya Doin’ Biden made his effing stupid effing remark on-air, President Obama’s job approval ratings have inched back up to 51%.

A year ago the Democrat’s work was approved by 64% and disapproved by 34%.

A new CNN / Opinion Research Poll today finds that instead of 46% approving of his job, now the slimmest possible majority does. Of course, with a margin of error of 3%, the Democrat could still be at 48%. And 48% still do disapprove. But after flying 26 hours for six hours of events and meetings in Afghanistan, anything positive looks good.

This week’s favorable rating puts Obama back where he was in early January before Biden’s latest cursing gaffe. Obviously, the only way to interpret the new survey results is that Americans like foul-mouthed VP’s. So look for more swear words and anatomical references in future speeches and town halls. Maybe even at Tuesday’s re-signing of the healthcare bill.

Of course, because the Obama White House is so focused on delivering the goods for the....

...people of the United States, even the millions still unemployed, it pays absolutely no attention to polls.

But if it did, the bad news for the White House is two-fold: Looking toward 2012, Obama is still tied with any Republican, even a nameless one. And a second CNN poll Monday finds a strong majority of Americans (56%) disapprove of the healthcare legislation, while only 42% like it.

Rasmussen Reports finds 54% of likely voters favors repeal of the healthcare bill, while 42% oppose that. Yet another poll, this one by Gallup, finds that a week into Obama’s healthcare program, 47% like it. But, oops, a solid 50% call it ‘a bad thing.’

Undaunted, Obama will say in a Tuesday morning NBC-TV interview that the massive new $940+billion law is only ‘a first step.’

The bill’s unpopularity could be tied to spreading knowledge of what all is in the nearly 3,000-page legislation. Remember when Speaker Nancy Pelosi said we’d have to pass the bill to find out what’s in it?

Actually, what she said was: ‘We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy.’ In Washington, this kind of statement causes people to nod in assent.

Well, now that so many American families are finding out they’re going to lose that $5,000 medical savings account, as well as some things it currently covers, now comes word the bill also orders the Food and Drug Administration in Washington to develop a new national standard for restaurant menus.

Many of us were unaware of the need for federal regulation of local menus. But apparently the Democratic congressional majorities and the Smoker-in-Chief believe their bureaucrats must assist health-conscious Americans who are too dumb to figure out that a salad has fewer calories than a triple-burger buried in fries, even if those same stupid Americans were smart enough to elect all these folks in 2008.

This seemingly benign provision will require thousands of food places to have all their foods re-analyzed for calorie content and to post all the numbers even at the drive-thru. Which should keep those lines moving along nicely.

Meanwhile, warning that the healthcare bill will soon cause a shortage of doctors, the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons has become the first medical society to sue to overturn the new healthcare bill. But what the #%&@ would they know?

-- Andrew Malcolm

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