Rick Perry leads Obama, Rasmussen Poll, September 1, 2011, 44 percent to 41 percent
From Rasmussen September 1, 2011.
“Perry 44% Obama 41%; President Leads Other GOP Hopefuls”
“For the first time this year, Texas Governor Rick Perry leads President Obama in a national Election 2012 survey. Other Republican candidates trail the president by single digits.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows Perry picking up 44% of the vote while the president earns support from 41%. Given the margin of sampling error (+/- 3 percentage points) and the fact that the election is more than a year away, the race between the two men is effectively a toss-up. Just over a week ago, the president held a three-point advantage over Perry. (To see question wording, click here.)
Perry leads by nine among men but trails by five among women. Among voters under 30, the president leads while Perry has the edge among those over 30. The president leads Perry by 16 percentage points among union members while Perry leads among those who do not belong to a union.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney currently trails the president by four percentage points, 43% to 39%. That’s a slight improvement for the Republican compared to a week ago. Earlier in the year, Romney held a one-point edge when matched against the president. Prior to today’s release, that was the only time a named Republican has held any kind of lead over President Obama. A Generic Republican currently leads the president 48% to 40%.
If Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is the GOP candidate, the president leads 46% to 38%. Unlike Perry and Romney, Bachmann’s numbers are a bit weaker now than they were a week ago.
Finally, if the Republicans were to nominate businessman Herman Cain, President Obama would attract 42% of the vote to Cain’s 35%. (Want a free daily e-mail update? If it’s in the news, it’s in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The match-up surveys of 1,000 Likely Voters were conducted August 23-30, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error for the surveys is +/- 3% with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.”
Obama Iraq speech, Obama truth, Obama takes credit Bush deserves
From Fox News.
“President Obama’s Oval Office address Tuesday evening was timed to mark the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq, though it also came two months before midterm congressional elections that could hinge on the state of the domestic economy — and Obama didn’t shy from drawing links and contrasts between the two.
Obama portrayed the end of the U.S. combat role in the Iraq as an opportunity to shift more focus to rebuilding the economy, which some economists say is increasingly in danger of falling back into a recession.
“We have spent a trillion dollars at war, often financed by borrowing from overseas. This, in turn, has short-changed investments in our own people, and contributed to record deficits,” he said, adding that too many middle-class families are working harder for less.
The troops in Iraq “have met every test that they faced,” Obama said. “Now, it is our turn. Now, it is our responsibility to honor them by coming together, all of us, and working to secure the dream that so many generations have fought for — the dream that a better life awaits anyone who is willing to work for it and reach for it”.
But Republicans refused to allow Obama to move on without noting the credit they say was due to President Bush for the troop surge in 2007 that ultimately saved a losing war effort. Although Obama had opposed the surge as a senator, Republican leaders said he should have given Bush kudos for its success.
John McCain, the Republican senator who ran against Obama in the 2008 presidential election, called it “a real lack of generosity of spirit.”
“What he should have said: ‘I opposed the surge. I was wrong. I made a mistake and George W. Bush deserves credit for doing something that was very unpopular at the time,'” McCain told Fox News. “Instead he had to say it’s well known that George Bush loves the troops.””
“Obama was criticized by the Kenyan Government for his 2006 visit
to Kenya when he campaigned for his cousin Raila Odinga and
insulted the government. Now we learn that when Obama met with
Iraqi leaders “He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington,“, stated Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. The NY Post has a breaking news article on Obama’s meeting. Here are some exerpts from the article dated Monday, September 15, 2008:
“OBAMA TRIED TO STALL GIS’ IRAQ WITHDRAWAL“
“WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence.”
“This Youtube video of the town hall meeting in Kingman, AZ on August 22, 2009, hosted by representative Trent Franks, is a must see. What is compelling about this video is the US Army veteran that served in Iraq speaking the truth about our presence there, media bias from the likes of CNN and the fact that the Iraqis voted for the first time. The Army veteran also lauded the US Constitution as the law of the land and went on to praise George Bush as a much better commander in chief than Barack Obama.
Representative Franks held another town hall meeting last night, August 25, 2009. If a video surfaces from that meeting, please forward the info.
“I don’t know this guy, but I want to say thanks. And to all those who serve in the the United States Armed Forces, thank you. You sign your lives away for the freedom of others. There are no greater heroes in this country.””
Several days ago I contacted NC Senator Richard Burr’s office via email and telephone message. I received no response. I was inquiring about a health care forum that was scheduled for today, Tuesday, September 1, 2009. I discovered today by an internet search, that Senator Burr is part of a forum with John McCain and other Republicans. What concerns me is that they are fielding questions from “invited parties.” Senator Burr is against the Obama backed public option and that is good. However, why is Senator Burr not hosting town hall meetings for the public?
From News 14 in the Carolinas:
“McCain brings health care forum to N.C. children’s hospital”
“Sen. John McCain will join a group of fellow republican senators in Charlotte on Tuesday for a discussion on health care reform.
McCain, along with Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kent., will take questions from invited parties involved in the health care debate and discuss ways to make health care more affordable, accessible and available for American families.
The stop at Levine Children’s Hospital is part of McCain and McConnell’s cross-country tour, where they have been discussing health care and taking questions in various cities from those involved in the issue. The GOP lawmakers have challenged the plan offered by President Obama that could create a government option for health care that would compete with private insurers.
Burr’s health care plan would raise money by taxing health benefits, then use the revenue to give people tax credits to buy their own care.”
“This is a Constitutional Town Hall Meeting in Raleigh to which Senators Kay Hagan, Richard Burr, Representatives Brad Miller, Bob Etheridge, & David Price were invited but refused the invitation to…”
From Senator Richard Burr’s website:
“Issues
Reforming the Delivery of Health Care
Today, nearly 47 million people across America do not have health insurance, and this number is growing. In North Carolina alone, there are more than 1.5 million uninsured individuals.
Senator Burr believes we must make health insurance more accessible and affordable so that more families can have peace of mind that they can get quality medical care. As we search for long-term solutions, however, we must make sure people have the ability to choose their own doctor.
While some politicians support government-run health care, Senator Burr has a different approach. In order to give individuals and families choices in their health coverage and to avoid a one-size-fits-all program, we need to give people the means to purchase their own health insurance that fits their needs and the needs of their families. To address the growing problem of employees having limited or no access to employer-provided coverage, Senator Burr believes we should foster a broad choice of health insurance plans that stay with you through job and life changes so that you can access care when you need it. Americans should control their own insurance and not fear losing it with job changes.
As Congress works on proposals to reform health care system, Senator Burr firmly believes that any plan must:
Guarantee that every American can get affordable coverage
Demand we get more value for our health care dollar rather than imposing a new tax or passing on a new obligation to future generations
Transform the health care system so that we focus on keeping people healthy and well instead of only treating them when they are sick
Make health coverage affordable for those with pre-existing conditions
End the current discrimination in the tax code that benefits the wealthy and corporations but fails the poor and those who cannot get coverage through their employer
Guarantee that health care is accessible when people want it, where people want it
Be sustainable so that it will be there for future generations
With these goals in mind, Senator Burr recently joined with Senator Tom Coburn and Representatives Paul Ryan and Devin Nunes to introduce the Patients’ Choice Act, a bill that delivers on the shared principles of promoting universal access to quality, affordable health care, and does so without adding billions of dollars in new debt or taxes.
The Patients’ Choice Act would transform our health care system through the following key reforms:
Puts affordable coverage and choice within reach of all Americans. This is accomplished by first ending the discrimination in the tax code that rewards corporations and employers yet offers no benefit to the unemployed or those who do not have access to coverage through their job. Specifically, the Patients’ Choice Act would shift health care tax benefits to individuals and families, regardless of employment status, in the form of a tax credit worth about $2,200 for individuals and $5,700 for families. Americans would receive this benefit upfront, so they would not have to wait until they file their tax returns to get it. And Americans would be eligible for this benefit regardless of how much they pay in taxes. What’s more, under this plan, if you like the health care you have, you can keep it – but you’ll have more money in your pocket because you will still receive the tax credit.
Prevents cherry picking by guaranteeing access to coverage. The Patients’ Choice Act prevents cherry picking – when insurance companies choose to cover only healthy patients – by adjusting risk across insurance companies through an innovative reform called State Based Health Exchanges, which would be a voluntary, one-stop marketplace of insurance plans. These state exchanges — which would be open to all Americans — would offer a broad range of plans but all would be required to have the same standard benefits as those enjoyed by Members of Congress. Through this innovative reform, no individual could be turned down based on their age or health. This is because insurers who do cherry pick healthy patients would be penalized, and those that cover patients with pre-existing conditions and emphasize prevention and wellness would be rewarded.
Strengthens the health care safety net. Currently, about 40 percent of doctors and hospitals do not accept Medicaid patients because payments are so low. This means that needy moms and kids may have health coverage, but poor access to health care. The Patients’ Choice Act would remove the stigma from Medicaid recipients by giving them the ability to purchase the health coverage and care they need from any provider. We also provide simple new opportunities for automatic enrollment to help people who need coverage.
The United States currently spends twice as much on health care per person than other industrialized nations, yet we are not twice as healthy. The solution is not for the federal government to spend and tax Americans more, the answer is to get more value for our health care dollar through more choices. And this is exactly what the Patients’ Choice Act would accomplish.
Senator Burr understands the growing cost of health insurance, and as a Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, he will continue to work on solutions to this problem.”
Citizen WElls 