The Polls Are In

++The polls taken immediately after the President's speech showed 81% thought positively or very positively about it. 18% thought negatively or very negatively about it.


++Observers noted that Joni Ernst bragged about being poor but her family received $450,000 in farm subsidies. 

++ Stan Greenberg held focus groups on the speech. The finding was that unmarried women were the most enthusiastic about equal pay,free community college, gay rights, and climate change. He found that with other voters the climate change portion fell flat and his statements on Iran were fewer negatively. Greenberg found that Independents and Democratic women were most enthusiastic about the specific economic ideas but waned on the over-arching idea of the middle class economy. His focus groups didn't care for President Obama's statements on taxing the rich. Basically, I have seen that Americans really don't care how rich people are and that they imagine they would have a chance to get that rich.

++To counter President Obama on Iran, John Boehner has asked Bibi Netanyahu to address the Congress. As commentators have noted in past speeches AIPAC tapes members to make sure there are standing ovations or AIPAC targets the member the next election. It is a very sophisticated operation. No doubt the invitation is meant to boost Bibi before the Israeli elections so he can cut commercials with the uS Congress standing and applauding him. This is to counter Herzog's recent attacks on Netyanhu saying he has single-handedly destroyed Israeli-American relations.

++It is also a GOP move to bring back terrorism to the forefront of the political debate.