Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Obama Popularity Increases - a new Washington Post/ ABC News poll shows President Obama now has a 54% approval rating. The poll was conducted January 13-16 and comes on the heels of the president's widely acclaimed speech at the memorial for the Arizona shooting victims. The poll showed 8 out of 10 gave Obama high marks for his response following the tragedy. You can read details of the poll here.

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Palin Continues Contrite and Defensive Response - In an interview on Fox News with Dean Hannity last night, Sarah Palin continued to blame the media for attacking her response to the Tucson tragedy.



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Obama to Use Executive Order to Spur Economy - in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, President Obama says he will use an executive order to trim outdated and ineffective regulations that impede economic growth. You can read the op-ed here.

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Senator Charles Schumer to Introduce legislation on China Currency Manipulation - long an issue impacting jobs and trade in the U.S., the Senator will co-sponsor a bill which could lead to higher tariffs on China imports if China is found to be artificially undervaluing their currency. TheHill.com has more here.

This comes as Chinese President Hu Jintao arrives in Washington for talks with President Obama.

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As House Republicans Prepare to Repeal Health Care, Democrats Fight Back - Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will make a statement to the press today which will include the fact that 129 million Americans have pre-existing conditions which would make them ineligible for health coverage should the bill be repealed. The NY Times has more here.

As time has gone by since the passage of the health care reform bill, more Americans understand it and the Republican attempt to repeal it could easily backfire on the GOP.

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