Daily Political Wire 7-15-2010

George Wenschhof

Today, President Obama will visit a battery plant in Holland, Michigan - he will highlight the 1.5 million the South Korean company received from the Stimulus bill. The company which manufactures compact batteries for electric cars, is expected to employ 300 workers. The Washington Post has more here.

The latest unemployment news shows initial claims for the week ending July 10 to be the lowest in two years. However, continuing claims rose 247,000 to nearly 4.7 million. This does not count those unemployed who have given up. CNN.com has more here.

Until the unemployment figures drop significantly from the near 10% level, the Obama administration and Democrats will face disgruntled voters in the mid term elections this fall.

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New Time poll has Obama at 49% approval, but beating Palin handily - the poll conducted July 12-13 showed voters preferring Obama over former President George W. Bush by a large 53%-33% margin. When up against Sarah Palin, Obama again wins easily 55%-34%. 61% blame the George W. Bush administration for the dismal economy. You can read more here.

While voters are disgruntled with the Obama administration, they still favor him over any viable Republican alternative. With the mid term elections less than 4 months away, voters still prefer a Democratic controlled Congress over Republicans; 43-39%. The Republican mantra of just saying "No" is proving to be not enough for voters.

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Scaled back Energy bill to be pursued by Senate Democrats - with the mid term elections rapidly approaching, the controversial "cap and trade" provision to limit greenhouse emissions has been dropped in hopes of reaching a compromise and approval by the end of August. The NY Times has more here.

Only electric utility companies will be required to limit emissions and they are responsible for approximately one-third of the emissions in the United States.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (S.C.) was invited to the White House for a meeting with the president today. On tap for discussion is this bill which Lindsey originally co-sponsored with Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.). Lindsey withdrew his support in anger over hearing comprehensive immigration reform would be pushed ahead of energy/climate legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will push this a a jobs bill and will introduce it the week of July 26.

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