Approval Rating

SCRANTON - Former President Bill Clinton's signature campaign song was always "Don't Stop" (thinkin' about tomorrow) by Fleetwood Mac, and, on cue, the anthem blasted off the walls of the Scranton High School gym Tuesday as he campaigned for Democratic Senate nominee Joe Sestak. But mostly Clinton wanted to talk about yesterday - the budget surplus and 20 million jobs created under his administration. It makes no sense to elect Republicans whose policies created the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression because the Democrats have not fixed it yet, Clinton argued.

IT STRIKES ME that in the heat of summer everybody hates everything that isn't water ice or air-conditioned. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Web site, extreme heat can kill "by pushing the human body beyond its limits. " Same can be said of extreme politics. I'm reaching my limits. A midsummer heat wave corresponds with the Sherrod charade and bigots' signs at tea-party rallies, both showing that there's little restraint or intelligence on race inside the White House or out. Congress is horrible.

TRENTON - New Jersey voters are split down the middle in their opinions of Gov. Christopher J. Christie, according to a new poll released Thursday. The Quinnipiac University Poll finds 44 percent of voters approving of his job performance. Forty-three percent disapprove. Forty-four percent describe the first-term Republican governor as a "leader. " Forty-three percent call him a "bully. " "Like him or not, it's clear Gov. Christopher Christie has brought a New Jersey bounce to the governor's office," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

By now, the sequence is familiar: Barack Obama has a political problem. Barack Obama gives a stellar speech that changes the conversation. Barack Obama lives to fight another day. In 2008, of course, it was an oration about race in America that calmed the controversy over his pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. In September 2009, President Obama reframed the health-care debate after weeks of protests of Democrats' overhaul plans. But, no matter what he said last night in his first State of the Union address, it was unlikely that Obama would be able to quickly turn around the mess he finds himself in now, after a year of the realities of governing.

KIMBERLY Garrison's Nov. 5 column says it all. My heart goes out to the Steed family. Traffic laws for bicyclists aren't adhered to, especially in Center City. I was hit by a speeding bicyclist at Broad and Chestnut two weeks ago. My head struck the curb, and all I could think was, "This is it. God wants me now. " But I only suffered a mild concussion plus bruises. The biker stopped and was very cooperative. He realized he was speeding and was sorry. I believe he cut in front of stopped traffic on Chestnut as soon the light turned green in order to make a turn onto Broad.

National Democratic Party leaders are banking on success in several congressional districts in the Philadelphia area to help withstand the expected losses of House seats in other parts of the country during next year's midterm election. "This is a region where we're on offense, while we're going to be on defense in a lot of areas of the country, working hard to hold the line," said U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

The House reversed itself on Friday and approved the $700 billion Wall Street bailout - but only after financial markets were deeply shaken, the measure was re-named a "rescue" package, and an additional $150 billion in pork was stuffed into the bill. After watching Congress in action last week, it is easy to see why its approval rating has dropped to 9 percent. In fact, the bigger question is: Who are the 9 percent who think Congress is doing a good job? On Monday, House lawmakers rejected the $700 billion bailout bill - in what they said was a tough and responsible stand against greedy Wall Street bankers.

I'M BOTH ANGRY at and feel sorry for the Hillary supporters who now say they won't under any circumstance vote for Obama. My anger comes from comments like "I don't care what the Clintons say, I'll vote for McCain. " Do you believe this "boy" should've waited his turn, and you want to teach him a lesson? Hillary lost not because of sexism, although there may have been some from the pundits. Obama didn't win because of race, although racism played its part in this process. My anger continues because I hear people I once respected echo idiotic statements like "I don't know if Obama is Muslim or not, and that scares me. " It continues as I hear falsehood after falsehood about what "a Muslim president will do. " My sorrow comes from the fact that many still don't realize that the McCain running for president in 2008 is not the same McCain from 2000.

The state legislature is suffering from dismal public-approval ratings, and three out of four Pennsylvania voters believe it will not take steps to clean up corruption in the wake of the Bonusgate scandal. Those are among the results of the latest Quinnipiac University poll, which also found that few voters - only one in 10 - believe that House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese (D., Greene) should keep his leadership post. "Voters are fed up with the legislature," said Clay F. Richards, assistant director of the Connecticut university's polling institute.

New Jersey voters, cranky over a souring economy and suspicious of political leaders, are giving increasingly bad marks to their three statewide elected officials, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released yesterday. Gov. Corzine's approval rating fell from 46 percent in December to 37 percent in the poll released yesterday. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), who is seeking reelection this year, had a 42 percent approval rating in December, compared with 39 percent in the new poll.