The Winston Group

In the wake of news reporting that Al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in Yemen last Friday, New York Times’ Jackie Calmes looks at President Obama’s approach to terrorism and foreign policy. His successes haven’t been reflected in his approval approval ratings, however, and The WG’s David Winston explains why:

“While people view what’s occurred as positive, it’s not enough to offset the concern about how he’s handling the No. 1 issue — jobs and the economy. And that’s what he’s being judged on,” said David Winston, a Republican pollster.

To read more, check it out at nytimes.com

WG President David Winston released an op-ed in today’s National Review, looking at President Obama’s and President Reagan’s administrations side-by-side, in terms of unemployment numbers and economic growth. Winston takes a look at the numbers:

After two-and-a-half years of Reaganomics, by this time in 1983, second-quarter growth had hit an astounding 9.3 percent and would be followed by three more quarters of 8 percent or higher growth. In contrast, Obama’s second-quarter growth this year was an anemic 1.0 percent, with no light at the end of the tunnel.

To read the full article, turn to nationalreview.com

While the country is desperate for more jobs, President Obama and House Speaker John Boehnerc can both afford to gain each other’s support, write Carrie Brown and Jake Sherman of Politico. They turned to David Winston for insight, who said that Republicans have a slight advantage:

He pointed to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll that found voters prefer a Republican-controlled Congress by the widest margin, 6 points, in more than a year.

“The House is going to take the proposals the White House put forward, look through them and try to find out where there can be clear common ground, and once that emerges, then we’ll see what the White House’s reaction is to that,” Winston said.

Read more on politico.com

Today’s Washington Examiner featured David Winston in a piece on President Obama’s remarks about jobs in the White House Rose Garden, focusing on national transportation projects and construction jobs. Winston comments that Obama’s speech wasn’t convincing of any solid plans on job creation:

“This was his ‘It’s not my fault’ speech,” said GOP strategist David Winston. “What he’s trying to do is take attention away from the fact that his job approval numbers have tanked.”

Read more at the Washington Examiner

Today’s Politico chronicles President Obama’s Midwestern campaign efforts “to leverage public support for his positions on entitlements, taxes and job creation against the GOP.” The WG’s David Winston says that Obama needs more than just speeches to win the vote of a particular group:

And anxious independent voters, in the words of Republican pollster David Winston, “aren’t looking for a conversation, they are looking for a plan.”

To read more, check out politico.com

Days after the debt-ceiling situation has concluded, Real Clear Politics writes about President Obama’s efforts to quickly move on to the next issue. Poll numbers aren’t promising for Obama at the moment, but neither are they looking good for anyone in Washington. The WG’s David Winston says that Republicans still need to prove themselves if they want to succeed, especially in 2012:

That’s why David Winston said he reminds Republicans that “just because people are unhappy with the president doesn’t mean they’re going to vote for somebody else. The Republican candidates have the challenge to come up with that compelling idea that shows people they’re ready to govern.”

To read the full article, turn to realclearpolitics.com

The WG’s David Winston appeared on todays “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” to comment on President Obama’s remarks at a Chicago function on the economy’s slow progress:

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Sunday’s Politico features a story pitting Paul Ryan’s health care plan against President Obama’s health care law, and features comments from David Winston on public opinion about Ryan’s plan:

At the very least, public opinion on the Ryan plan may be more in flux than it is on the health reform law. “They’re still working through what they think of the Ryan plan,” said Winston, the Republican pollster. “They’ve pretty much worked through what they think of Obamacare.”

Read more: politico.com