Obama’s 2010 challenge: waking up the liberals, calming down the independents

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With President Obama’s job approval rating at a low near the end of his first year, the Pew Research Center’s Andrew Kohut suggests that ‘what’s really exceptional at this stage of Obama’s presidency is the extent to which the public has moved in a conservative direction on a range of issues.’’

This shift has come as much from ‘the middle of the electorate as from the highly energized conservative right,’’ Kohut reports, with a review of recent findings on cultural and political issues that show significant movements of the needle. ‘Even more notable, however, is the extent to which liberals appear to be dozing as the country has shifted on both economic and social issues.’’

The president’s challenge in 2010?

According to Kohut, it’s waking up the liberals and calming down the independents.

Read more about it in the Swamp.

-- Mark Silva