News Roundup for 5/3/11

Whew!

-Headline of the day-
"Public 'Relieved' By bin Laden's Death, Obama's Job Approval Rises."

After going to Afghanistan and personally beating Osama bin Laden to death with a lamp, President Obama is only seeing a mild bump in the polls. Then again, it's still early. Pew took a look at public's reaction and finds that "relieved" is the most common emotion attached to the event, with 72% using the word to describe themselves.

Overall, the president's approvals stand at 56% approving and 38% disapproving, compared to a 47%/45% split last month. Not surprisingly, Independents make up most of that, with approvals rising 10 points to 52% from last month.

But here's the weird thing: Repblican number have shifted in a way I can only describe as goofy. In April, 16% approved of Obama. In May, 16% approve of Obama -- identical. But last month, 81% disapproved, while today, 79% disapprove. So you can not get a Republican to switch from disapprove to approve. You can only get them to switch from disapprove to no opinion.

Kind of makes them seem like stubborn jerks, doesn't it? (Pew Research Center)


-No comment-



(Reddit)


-Bonus HotD-
"Rep. Peter King: We Should Still Use Waterboarding Because That's How We Captured Bin Laden."

Except it's not. (ThinkProgress)