Can President Obama win re-election without the support of independents?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
President Obama has a serious problem with independents - and it just might cost him a second term.
A new CBS/New York Times poll shows only 31% of independents have a favorable opinion of Mr. Obama.
Compare that to 2008, when Mr. Obama defeated John McCain by winning 52% of the independent vote.
According to this poll:
2/3 of independents say the president has not made real progress in fixing the economy, the nation's top issue.
More than half say they don't have a clear idea of what Mr. Obama hopes to accomplish if he is re-elected.
6 in 10 independents say the president doesn't share their priorities for the country.
None of this is good news for the president. It's no coincidence Mr. Obama is out with his first major TV advertising campaign today in several battleground states. One of the targets of this campaign: the crucial swing voters.
The news is not all bad here for Mr. Obama, though. There could be an opening for the president to win back some of these independents.
Although Republicans think Mitt Romney has the best chance of beating Mr. Obama - and it's looking more and more like Romney will be the nominee - almost half of independents say they haven't formed an opinion of him yet.
Nevertheless, for the time being, many independents are disappointed and disillusioned with President Obama and the state of the country. They think the president has failed to deliver on many of his promises of four years ago; and if the election were held today, a lot of them wouldn't vote for him.
Here’s my question to you: Can President Obama win re-election without the support of independents?
Tune in to the Situation Room at 4pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.
And, we love to know where you’re writing from, so please include your city and state with your comment.
When is the proper time to release a potentially damaging interview with one of Newt Gingrich's ex-wives?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
What's that phrase of which Republicans are so fond? "Family values"?
Just two days before the South Carolina primary, Newt Gingrich's second ex-wife is out with some tawdry details about him that suggest he has the morals of an alley cat.
In fact, Marianne Gingrich tells ABC News that Newt lacks the moral character to be president. Married to Gingrich for 18 years, says she's coming forward now so voters can know what she knows about him.
And here's what she knows:
She says Newt asked for an "open marriage" so he could have a wife and a mistress. That mistress has since become his third and current wife, Callista.
Gingrich reportedly asked Marianne if she would "share him" when he admitted to a six-year affair with Callista, who is a former congressional aide.
Keep in mind this was around the same time that Gingrich was going after President Bill Clinton for his lack of moral leadership during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
Marianne says Newt asked for a divorce just months after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Gingrich divorced his first wife while she was being treated for cancer. Family values.
Meanwhile, ABC News will air the full interview tonight on "Nightline." Apparently there was disagreement at the network over the timing of the interview, given its potential effect on Saturday's primary in South Carolina.
The Drudge Report first leaked word of the interview last night –14 years and a day after Matt Drudge broke the Monica Lewinsky story.
As for Gingrich, so far his response to all this seems to be referring the press to ask his daughters about it. It's part of that whole family values thingy.
Here’s my question to you: When is the proper time to release a potentially damaging interview with one of Newt Gingrich's ex-wives?
Tune in to the Situation Room at 5pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.
And, we love to know where you’re writing from, so please include your city and state with your comment.
@jackcafferty on Twitter
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