Nearly six in 10 people disapprove of President Obama´s job performance in a new poll by the Associated Press, the highest rating recorded by the newswire. According to the AP-GFK survey released Wednesday, 59 percent disapprove of Obama´s job performance while 41 percent approve. A similar poll released by the news outlet in January found 45 percent approved of him while 53 percent disapproved. Other recent polling has found Obama´s disapproval rating slightly lower, remaining in the low 50s. A CBS News poll Tuesday showed 50 percent disapproval, while Gallup has his disapproval at 52 percent.◼ Have Obama’s hopes for a ‘Francis bounce’ been dashed? After President describes first ever meeting with Pope as ‘incredibly moving’, Vatican rebuffs him with statement emphasising differing views on birth control - Daily Mail
Pope Francis has a 76 per cent approval rating in the U.S. according to poll
◼ Pope Obamus? - Rich Lizardo/American Spectator
No, not quite. But the New York Times might as well have referred to President Obama with that title in a story by Jason Horowitz this past Sunday that tried to portray the president as being part of the Catholic experience in America.
According to Horowitz (of Romney-was-a-prep-school-bully fame), President Obama began his professional career working in numerous Catholic parishes throughout Chicago's South Side. He worked intimately with priests, bishops, and other Catholic leaders to serve the poor and needy. And despite not letting Catholic doctrine "tempt him," he nonetheless "effectively proselytized for the church."
...The timing of the article is no coincidence. As the story acknowledges, the president is scheduled to visit Vatican City on Thursday to meet with Pope Francis for the first time. And Horowitz is right: "Mr. Obama has far more to gain from the encounter than the pope does" and the pope is probably "wary of being used for American political consumption."
◼ Obama wants halo effect - Politico
