UC Berkeley Journalism: Revisiting Virtual Communities

CBS MarketWatch: Chicago Fed Chief Puzzled at Jobless Recovery

AP/Yahoo News: The share of the U.S. population working or actively seeking a job has fallen to 65.8 percent, the lowest level in 16 years.

I thought other Kossacks might want to know about this.

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) put out a state survey of political attitudes today (PDF available here). Details below...

The poll asked about Bush's approval on the economy, handling of Iraq, handling of terrorism, and general direction of the country, all of which are up among voters in general, Democrats, Republicans, and others. The question that's notably missing from this poll is Bush's re-election numbers; as many of you know, his approval numbers are generally 5-10% points higher than his re-elect numbers.

Frankly I don't think these numbers are anything to worry about. I would boil down the apparent increase in support for Bush to the following: 1) the Gropinator is giving a shiny new face for the Republican party (which I think is temporary given the horrendous budget cuts coming); 2) there's been little or no campaigning from the Dem presidential candidates to remind people of how awful Bush is; 3) the capture of Saddam has made people think the war is over (seee his Iraq approval numbers); 4) people are desperately hoping the CA economy is getting better, because if it isn't the entire country is fucked. Who know, maybe it really is getting better...somewhere.

I'll put some excerpts from the poll in the extended comments. Tomorrow comes the Dem presidential candidates CA Field poll - woohoo!

Theresa in Oakland

President Bush is a "fraud" and a "disaster." He's betraying the Reagan Revolution. He has turned the Republican Party into the "the new welfare state party."

Those are Republicans talking. And that rage from Republicans who favor small government and fiscal restraint, both in Washington and the heartland, could mean trouble for Bush's re-election.

The article provides only anecdotal evidence of more fractures among the right, but there's lots of good quotes. I'm amazed there hasn't been more of this reaction earlier, so I can only say "What took them so long?".

The bad news is that the Newsweek article indicates "prospects are dim, as the committee chairman, Bob Ney of Ohio, is against it." This is the first I'd heard of opposition, so it made me take notice. VerfiedVoting.org is all over this. Their strategy is to get the bill as many co-sponsors as possible to force the bill through committee. Check the Verified Voting.org website to see where your rep stands on the bill. If you're a constituent of one of the reps on the House Administration committee, you're especially needed to get your rep to support Holt's bill.

This issue isn't getting enough traction, but I'm not sure why. Somebody big, like MoveOn or one of the presidential campaigns, needs to make a stink about this NOW. This may be our last chance! We need to all to stop dicking around and take it seriously. I'm pledging to add my words to the debate at MoveOn and the Dean blog. Dare I say this is something all the Democratic campaigns could get behind? Like in a united front even?  Now that would be breathtaking in its majesty.