Approval Rating

I'VE KNOWN Tom Corbett since 1995, when Gov. Ridge appointed him to serve out the term of Attorney General Ernie Preate, who had to serve out a term of his own - in prison. Corbett held the post until January 1997, then won it electorally in 2004. I've interviewed him many times, watched him in lots of settings, moderated debates in which he took part, and talked on background over the years with his friends, allies and enemies to get a sense of who he is. I, and most folks with whom I've spoken, regard him as a genuinely decent guy (for a lawyer)

HARRISBURG - Women like him, men think he's doing a good job, Republicans overwhelmingly approve of his work - and so do some Democrats. In fact, according to the latest Quinnipiac poll, Gov. Corbett is growing more popular. The survey, released Thursday, found the first-term Republican got a 50 percent approval rating from respondents, with women in particular giving his popularity a sudden and striking surge. "He is doing profoundly better than other first-term Republican governors in swing states," including Govs.

Gov. Corbett is the most popular he's ever been - except when he was elected - getting a 50 percent approval rating from voters, according to a Quinnipiac poll released Thursday. Both female and male voters gave the first-term Republican better marks this time around, with women giving his popularity a significant surge. The majority of voters said they like the governor as a person - 53 to 12 percent - and Democrats were among them, saying they like him 39 to 19 percent, with 41 percent undecided.

I don't have a solution, but I do wish to propose a different way of approaching the problem. The problem is that first, the economy is in tatters. Unemployment hovers near 9 percent. Standard & Poor's has downgraded the nation's credit rating. U.S. debt stands in excess of $14 trillion. Second, we're suffering political paralysis. A recent study by the National Journal showed that Congress is more polarized today than at any time in the last three decades. And though there seems to be a consensus among econ- omists that addressing the debt will require a combination of spending cuts and tax increases, that does not seem likely to happen in this Congress, in which 236 members of the House and 41 members of the Senate have signed a pledge ruling out tax increases.

By Matt Mackowiak In light of the recent debt deal and an unprecedented downgrade of the United States' credit rating, who has the upper hand in the presidential and congressional election that's only 14 months away? As this election year approaches, the polls don't look good for anyone. Congress' approval rating has never been worse. Only 14 percent of those surveyed in a recent CNN-Opinion Dynamics poll approved of its performance. At this point, we're down to paid employees and blood relatives.

WASHINGTON - Eager to calm a nervous nation, President Obama on Monday dismissed an unprecedented downgrade in the nation's credit rating, insisting investors would stand by the United States even as stock markets plunged. Obama said Washington can fix its ills by showing more political will. "Markets will rise and fall, but this is the United States of America," he said. "No matter what some agency may say, we've always been and always will be a triple-A country. " Investors did funnel money on Monday into Treasurys, a sign of confidence in the United States as a safe long-term investment even after Standard & Poor's had dropped the U.S. credit rating down a notch.

HARRISBURG - Gov. Corbett is more popular these days - and he has women to thank for it. A Quinnipiac University poll released today said changing attitudes among women voters has helped give Corbett a 44-36 percent job approval rating, a cushy boost over his dismal 39-38 percent rating in June. And that's better than a lot of his governor colleagues in neighboring states, the survey found: Ohio Gov. John Kasich had only a 35 percent approval rating, with a whopping 50 percent disapproving, as of last month.

WASHINGTON - President Obama's approval rating has hit its highest point in two years - 60 percent - and more than half of Americans now say that he deserves to be re-elected, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll taken after U.S. forces killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. In worrisome signs for Republicans, the president's standing improved not just on foreign policy but also on the economy, and independents - a key voting bloc in the November 2012 presidential election - caused the overall uptick in support by sliding back to Obama after fleeing for much of the past two years.

WASHINGTON - Some members of Congress are making appointments at CIA headquarters to view graphic photos of Osama bin Laden's corpse. But the American people might have to wait decades to see images of the al Qaeda leader who was killed in Pakistan by Navy SEALs during a daring middle-of-the-night raid. The CIA is allowing members of the House and Senate Intelligence and Armed Services committees to see the photos in a secure room at the agency's headquarters in Langley, Va., a CIA spokeswoman said yesterday.

OSAMA BIN LADEN, in death as in life, is affecting U.S. politics. The ballsy mission to gun down and grab the notorious al Qaeda founder boosts Barack Obama at a time that the president needs it. It provides a positive political push on at least three levels. First, the carefully planned hit, carried out in secrecy near an elite military academy described as the West Point of Pakistan (does anyone think Pakistan wasn't helping hide this guy?), counters suggestions that the president tends to be tentative, soft or unprepared.