With the current mess of the economy, and GOP obstruction sure to come, how much obstruction will the taxpayers put up with? IMO, that is a very important question.

I can understand some obstruction, if the GOP has a valid point on some issues, but they had better be able to defend that point. The GOP, with the help of some Democrats, caused this economic mess. Some of them will be up for re-election in 2 years. Hopefully they will think twice before they play politics. It's time for them to work for this country, not special interests.

The Gerbil post cites the SpendingPulse study, which tracks MasterCard transactions - might it be that more people paid cash for things rather than go further into debt using a credit card? I'm not sure that's a great metric.

Apologies, the above post from me was supposed to go to the article about holiday spending....

Soooooo President Bush is the second most admired man in america?????????????

What to do with an 82% approval rating? Why, make life an absolute hell for Iraqis, of course! It'll be a monumental error if Obama tries to rescue the Imperial vision in Iraq (i.e. wiggle out of the SOFA by re-branding U.S. troops as "advisers" and "trainers" etc. past 2011.) His presidency will end in wreckage too, if he does. Do the right thing America!

I love it--I love this President-Elect. Having been in a cynical anti-government mode for so long, it's incredibly refreshing to actually have hope for our government. Cliched but true...

I wonder if there is a way to find out which of those 82% that like Obama also liked Bush at some point. That union set has to be characterized as people who don't care about policy only, just charisma.

His popularity is a slap in the face to all unpopular democratic specialty interest groups.

Seriously though, I wonder if the legacy of the Bush admin will be to guarantee Obama a reelection in 2012. So many of the news stories these days seem to be about the Bush legacy of failure and the need to fix so much (and it actually fits into actual facts, a media rarity). Bit of a tangent, but anyone remember how much the press said Bush was going to repair the Clinton legacy? Since he supposedly "wrecked" the economy due to the mild recession after the dotcom bubble? Good times...

Seriously, I love the way he treats the press. He's not their buddy and doesn't give them any breaks. He just does frequent, short press conferences and answers questions directly with good English. As it should be.

Bush spent seven years as most admired man?

At the risk of being repetitive and redundant(sic), I will say, once again, that We are the Ones and Now is the Time. Obama is not The One, all by himself. As he has said repeatedly, we are all responsible for the resurrection(my word) of this great nation, and none of us can do it alone.

All the GOP attacks and criticism are a reaction to their failure to recognize the nature of this country's mission and vision: a collaboration of the People, by the People and for the People, in order to form a more perfect Union. A Union is not a separation. Though it is a fictional story, the movie, Independence Day, is a metaphor for global cooperation in time of common threats to our survival. We are facing our own Independence Day and we have to stop fighting over the scraps of our egoic "needs" and embrace our common welfare and the solutions that will ensure it.

Find ways, in your own families and communities, to come together and heal the wounds that have opened in our world. As a mystic once said, who's name I have forgotten: "The cracks are there to allow the Light in." The cracks are the opportunity to create a better world for all of us. We are the Chosen Ones, all of us.

I am committed to Oneness through Justice and Transformation
peace,
st john

Obama is most admired man. Bush is second most admired man. HRC is most admired woman. Sarah Palin is second most admired woman.

Why pay attention to this stuff? It means exactly nothing.

there is not going to be any changes with admin. or the the next....at least Bush did away with late term abortion and brought back the marriage tax...that the Clinton admin. did away with. I wish people would vote on the issues instead of being like a sheep and just follow. I am still
tring to see what all the fuss is about Obama what has he done? Nothing!!

Hmmmm. I'm more interested in the fact that Bush spent 7 years as the most admired man in America? To me this says that either the survey methodology is flawed, or there was something seriously wrong with our country if we could find no one better to admire for seven years? This requires a gin & tonic and some thought.

It's easy to project hope onto a leader who hasn't started yet.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmnew/is_200109/ai_kepm316142/print?tag=artBody;col1

President Bush's Thursday-night speech made Americans feel less fearful and more knowledgeable about the war on terrorism...

The President himself continues to earn high marks. A full 86 percent of those polled say they approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president, an increase from 82 percent last week. Eighty-eight percent approve of Bush's handling of the crisis, virtually unchanged from 89 percent one week ago in the NEWSWEEK poll.

The poll results don't seem like much of an achievement when coupled with "President Bush falls to a distant second after seven years as the most-admired man". If he's been first these past years, then those being polled are so lacking in judgement and reason that the shift to President-Elect Obama is almost insulting.