From the Dept. of the Obvious Dept.: Unpopular Presidents Do Not Make Unpopular Senators Less Unpopular By Continually Pushing Unpopular Policies...

Boy, you'd have to be a super-genius to see this sort of outcome on the horizon:

During his whirlwind visit to Las Vegas two weeks ago, President Barack Obama mentioned U.S. Sen. Harry Reid by name four dozen times, gave him a big hug and talked him up as if he was a long-lost brother.

In remarks that could not have been more laudatory, Obama repeatedly characterized the veteran Democratic leader as a man "made of very strong stuff" who was making the right decisions for the state back in the nation's capital.

But as Reid faces an uphill path to win re-election to a fifth Senate term, Obama's enthusiastic endorsement does not appear to have improved the Senate majority leader's standing among constituents, according to a new poll conducted for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Reid got no bounce from Obama's visit on Feb. 19, when the president spoke highly of him at Green Valley High School and to business leaders at CityCenter, polling indicates.

Really? But he's the Great Communicator, isn't he? That can't be right. Can it?

A larger percentage of voters surveyed (17 percent) said they would be less likely to vote for Reid following the president's visit than said they would be more likely to vote for him (7 percent). Seventy-five percent said Obama's visit would have no effect on how they vote.

Gee, you'd think lots of cheery visits would make up for lots of shitty policies, wouldn't you?

"Reid was not helped, and Obama was not any more popular than he was before he came to the state," said Brad Coker, managing director at Mason-Dixon Polling & Research.

Obama's day in Vegas "did not have much of an effect" on Reid's re-election chances, notably among independent voters, Coker said.

"The independents hold the key to Reid, and for Reid there is no sign he is cracking them right now," he said.

Oh well, no biggie. I'm sure ramming Obamacare down everybody's throat via reconciliation should set everything to rights. After all, this is the Obama presidency: What could possibly go wrong?

Comments

[JeffS]

So a Republican Congress is going to do things so much better. What's your beef?

Judging by the awesome levels of obtuseness in that short post, Lefty is posting as "anon".

[Dennis the Peasant]

Could be, but they tend to all sound the same these days.

[Arcadian]

A Republican Congress will not be better. A TRUE CONSERVATIVE Congress will do things better. We've had a Republican Congress before. They spent trillions too.

2011 will be different.

[J West]

1. Don't disagree with anon.
2. Inaction is probably the sanest course, for the moment.
JWest