Things in U.S. better or worse than one year ago?
(PHOTO CREDIT: STAN HONDA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Things are still bad in the U.S. - but not nearly as rotten as they were a year ago. At least that's the headline from a new national survey.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll shows 67 percent of those surveyed say things are going badly in this country... but that's down 10 points from a year ago. 32 percent now say things are going well.
The poll indicates optimism appears to have peaked last November - when 37 percent of Americans said things were going well.
As you might expect, this survey also shows a big partisan divide... With a Democratic president and Congress in charge, half of Democrats say things are going well... compared to just a quarter of Independents and even fewer Republicans.
With the national unemployment rate at just under 10 percent - jobs remain the top issue on many Americans' minds. And even though the economy is showing some signs of turning the corner… just today the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, said we still face a long road toward recovery:
"We are far from being out of the woods."
Bernanke highlighted unemployment, along with home foreclosures and weak bank lending as reasons why the economy will take time to rebound. But he said he's optimistic employment will slowly decline throughout the year, which should increase optimism for consumers.
Here’s my question to you: Do you think things in the U.S. are better or worse than one year ago?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Pres. Obama's new nuclear policy a good idea?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Iran continues to thumb its nose at the U.S. - this time by ridiculing President Obama's new nuclear strategy.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/04/07/art.obama.jpg caption="A landmark nuclear arms treaty between the U.S. and Russia imposes sweeping cuts on deployed Cold War-era nuclear warheads and missiles. Pres. Obama and Russian Pres. Dmitry Medvedev will sign the new pact in Prague tomorrow."]
In a speech to thousands of Iranians, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said: "Mr. Obama, you are a newcomer to politics. Wait until your sweat dries and get some experience.... American officials bigger than you, more bullying than you, couldn't do a damn thing, let alone you."
He was referring to Mr. Obama's new nuclear policy - in which the U.S. pledges to stop developing new nuclear weapons and not to use existing weapons to attack non-nuclear states that follow non-proliferation agreements.
The administration believes the greatest threat to security is no longer nuclear attacks between nations... but instead nuclear terrorism by extremists.
To that end - they're singling out states like Iran and North Korea... saying that if they don't play the rules "all options are on the table"... which is probably the part that punk in Iran was whining about.
Some experts suggest that by targeting Iran and North Korea, the U.S. could unintentionally strengthen hard-liners in those countries who say nuclear weapons are the only way to protect themselves.
Meanwhile - critics, including some Republicans, believe just the opposite - that the president isn't applying enough pressure on these state supporters of terrorism. They have a point. Remember Obama's so-called deadline for Iran's nuclear program that came and went last year? Iran ignored it. We did nothing.
The announcement of this new strategy comes just days before Pres. Obama is set to sign a new nuclear arms treaty with Russia - that would reduce both countries' nuclear weapons stockpiles.
Here’s my question to you: Is Pres. Obama's new nuclear policy a good idea or does it reduce the deterrent value of our arsenal?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
@jackcafferty on Twitter
Recent Comments