Penske drop bid for Saturn, GM to end brand

Buh Bye.

DETROIT (Reuters) - Penske Automotive Group said on Wednesday it has terminated discussions with General Motors Co to acquire the automaker's Saturn brand.

GM said in a separate statement it would wind down the Saturn brand and its dealership network.

Penske, which reached a preliminary deal to buy Saturn in June, said it broke off the talks due to concerns that it might be unable to source vehicles beyond the supply period it had negotiated with GM.

US private sector sheds 254,000 jobs in Sept

More "Green Shoots"...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US private sector shed 254,000 jobs in September, payrolls firm ADP said Wednesday in a survey showing some improvement in the brutal pace of layoffs.

The ADP report came ahead of Friday's monthly report on the US job market, which is expected to show a loss of another 180,000 jobs and the unemployment rate rising from the current 9.7 percent to 9.9 percent.

Obama's European Sheen Wearing Thin

Jack Kelley: "Sarkozy says Obama is incredibly naive and grossly egotistical" Video HERE.

Senate Committee Rejects Public Option for Health Overhaul

Harkin said they had the votes....guess he lied.

One small step for the Senate, One giant leap for the average American.The Senate Finance Committee rejected amendments Tuesday that would add a government-run health-insurance plan to the committee's health-care legislation, but debate over whether to adopt a public plan isn't expected to end at the committee.

By a 15-8 vote, the committee rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D., W.Va.), that would create a public health-insurance option. Under Mr. Rockefeller's amendment, a government-run plan would inherit Medicare's network of doctors and hospitals and pay them based on Medicare payment rates for its first two years.

Germany's election results point to a big win for the center-right

Many parts of Europe have realized the agonizing cost of electing socialists and have moved to the right. Too bad we haven't

The results are in on Sunday’s elections in Germany, and the big news is that it is a big win for the center-right. In the vote for proportional representation (Zweitstimme), Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (the Christian Democratic Union and the Bavarian Christian Social Union, CDU/CSU) got 33.8% of the vote and the free-market Free Democrats (FDP), Merkel’s preferred coalition partner, got 14.6%, for a total of 48.4%. The Social Democrrats (SDP) got only 23.0%, their lowest share in history, while the Greens (Grüne) got 10.7% and the Left (Linke, more or less the former Communists) got 11.9%. The SDP has been willing to enter into a coalition with the Greens, as it did in 1998-2005, and with the CDU/CSU, as it has in the so-called Grand Coalition since the 2005 election, but not with the Left.

Obamacare Continues on Downward Trajectory

Latest from Rasmussen: Just 41% of voters nationwide now favor the health care reform proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s down two points from a week ago and the lowest level of support yet measured.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 56% are opposed to the plan.

A 15% spread is huge.

Bank of America Suspends ACORN Commitments

One of their largest patrons, OUCH!

Bank of America has suspended its current commitments to ACORN Housing, an affiliate of Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), a scandal-hit U.S. liberal grassroots group, the Wall Street Journal said on Monday.

The banking company "will not enter into any further agreements with ACORN or any of its affiliates," pending assessments of the organization's operations, the paper quoted a Bank of America spokesman as saying.

ACORN Housing has worked with Bank of America and other large banks on foreclosure-prevention efforts, the Journal said.

Acorn is Toast

Breaking on Fox:

An Acorn Field Director has flipped and is now working with Nevada Attorney General on case against ACORN. Nevada ACORN offices raided, research manual on how to commit voter registration fraud seized.

Video HERE.

Iran test-fires missiles amid nuclear tension

Memo from Iran to Obama, "Bite Me".

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran test-fired missiles on Sunday to show it was prepared to head off any military threat, four days before the Islamic Republic is due to hold rare talks with world powers worried about its nuclear ambitions.

The missile maneuvers coincide with escalating tension in Iran's nuclear row with the West, after last week's disclosure by Tehran that it is building a second uranium enrichment plant.

News of the nuclear facility south of Iran added a sense of urgency to a crucial meeting in Geneva on Thursday between Iranian officials and representatives of six major powers, including the United States.

An Iranian official warned "fabricated Western clamor" over the new plant would negatively affect the talks at which the six powers want Iran to agree to open its facilities to inspection to prove its programme is for power and not nuclear weapons.

Obama issues ultimatum to Iran on nukes

Double secret probation?

WASHINGTON — Not letting up on Iran, President Barack Obama said Saturday that the Islamic republic must take action to demonstrate its peaceful intentions after the discovery of a covert nuclear facility or it will be held accountable by the world's nations.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama said that evidence showing Iran building an underground plant to enrich uranium that could be used for an atomic bomb "continues a disturbing pattern of Iranian evasion" that jeopardizes global nonproliferation.

U.S. durable goods orders tumble 2.4% in August

Yup, the recession is over....

The incipient recovery in the manufacturing sector stumbled in August, as a big decline in orders for new airplanes pushed total durable goods orders down 2.4%, the largest decline since January, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

The 42% drop in orders for civilian aircraft accounted for most of the 2.4% decline in August. Aircraft orders had soared 98% in July.

Weaker demand wasn't confined to the aircraft sector, however. Excluding the 9.3% drop in transportation orders, orders were flat in August, the weakest showing since April.

Friday Funny

Appears the Senate leader is complicit as well: Reid blocks ACORN probe

Quote of the Day

"The Great Powers do not fear each other because they are armed. Rather they are armed because they fear each other. To imagine that disarmament by itself will bring peace is tantamount to believing that, by going naked, one can prevent winter"

Salvador de Madariaga

Listen up POTUS.

ACORN Sues Filmmakers

This could get VERY interesting.

ACORN and two former employees of its Baltimore office filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit Wednesday against the makers of a hidden-camera video that showed the employees giving tax advice to a man posing as a pimp and a woman posing as a prostitute.

The liberal activist group contends that the audio portion of the video was obtained illegally because Maryland law requires the consent of both parties to record private conversations.

The employees seen in the video, Tonja Thompson and Shera Williams, were fired after it was posted online. Thompson and Williams are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which says they suffered "extreme emotional distress with attendant physical symptoms and injury to their reputations."

UN Declares Dictator Fidel Castro a “World Hero”

The UN has declared Fidel Castro, the longtime Communist dictator of Cuba, the “World Hero of Solidarity.” Castro killed thousands and thousands of people during his rule, torturing some to death (including a few American citizens), and Cuba remains an oppressive dictatorship even today.

The award was presented to Castro by the President of the UN General Assembly, Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann. D’Escoto Brockmann also successfully lobbied the Obama Administration to demand that Honduras allow the return to power of its ex-president and would-be dictator, Manuel Zelaya. (Two months ago, soldiers acting on orders of Honduras’s Supreme Court arrested Zelaya after he systematically abused his powers. After the Court quite legally declared that Zelaya was no longer president, he was duly replaced by Honduras’s Congress with a civilian, the Congressional Speaker). The Obama Administration recently decided to impose sanctions on Honduras, and indicated it will not recognize future democratic elections in Honduras unless Honduras first lets ex-president Zelaya return to power.

What's really worrisome is that so many Americans would agree.

Photoshop of the Day

EXCLUSIVE: Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson photographed at their rather humble abode in rural Arkansas.

Caught Between Barack and a Hard Place

Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's grim assessment of the Afghanistan war has opened a divide between the military, which is pushing for an early decision to send more troops, and civilian policymakers who are increasingly doubtful of an escalating nation-building effort.

Senior military officials emphasized Monday that McChrystal's conclusion that the U.S. effort in Afghanistan "will likely result in failure" without an urgent infusion of troops has been endorsed by the uniformed leadership. That includes Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen and Gen. David H. Petraeus, the head of U.S. Central Command and architect of the troop "surge" strategy widely seen as helping U.S. forces turn the corner in Iraq.

But before any decision is made, some of President Obama's civilian advisers have proposed looking at other, less costly options to address his primary goal of preventing al-Qaeda from reestablishing itself in Afghanistan. Those options include a redirection of U.S. efforts -- away from protecting the Afghan population and building the Afghan state and toward persuading the Taliban to stop fighting -- as well as an escalation of targeted attacks against al-Qaeda itself in Pakistan and elsewhere.

Ain't gonna work and he knows it.

UPDATE: McChrystal to resign if not given resources for Afghanistan

Graphic of the Day

Click on for larger image.

Obama Foreign Policy Advisor Suggests Taking Israeli Jets Out?

Q: How aggressive can Obama be in insisting to the Israelis that a military strike might be in America’s worst interest?

A: We are not exactly impotent little babies. They have to fly over our airspace in Iraq. Are we just going to sit there and watch?

Q: What if they fly over anyway?

A: Well, we have to be serious about denying them that right. That means a denial where you aren’t just saying it. If they fly over, you go up and confront them. They have the choice of turning back or not. No one wishes for this but it could be a Liberty in reverse. [Israeli jet fighters and torpedo boats attacked the USS Liberty in international waters, off the Sinai Peninsula, during the Six-Day War in 1967. Israel later claimed the ship was the object of friendly fire.

"The Big News" Brzezinski has actually gotten more deluded and anti-Israel than when he was with Carter.

Video of the Day

Chris Wallace at his best. Video HERE.

Pic of the Day

New Government Policy Imposes Strict Standards on Garage Sales Nationwide

Oh brother, did they pick the wrong group to mess with.

Americans who slap $1 pricetags on their used possessions at garage sales or bazaar events risk being slapped with fines of up to $15 million, thanks to a new government campaign.

The "Resale Round-up," launched by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, enforces new limits on lead in children's products and makes it illegal to sell any items that don't meet those limits or have been recalled for any other reason.

The strict standards were set in the 2008 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act after a series of high-profile recalls of Chinese-made toys.

The standards were originally interpreted to apply only to new products, but now the CPSC says they apply to used items as well.

They can send in the Blackhawks but it will make Somalia seem like a picnic.

NATO Proposes Linking Its Defensive Missile System With Russia

This makes no sense on so many levels.

NATO and the U.S. will consider linking up their planned missile-defense shields with a Russian system as part of a “new beginning” in East-West relations, alliance Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

In an initiative to flank President Barack Obama’s policy of “resetting” ties with the Kremlin, Rasmussen renewed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s efforts to bind Russia into a system to guard against missile attacks from Iran.

“We should explore the potential for linking the U.S., NATO and Russian missile-defense systems at an appropriate time,” Rasmussen said in a speech in Brussels today.

How to screw your friends in 3 easy steps

House Votes Thumbs Down on ACORN Funding

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) offered the Defund-ACORN bill to the Student Loans bill. The House vote convincingly to cut ALL federal funds to ACORN. Van Jones down, ACORN down.... Glenn Beck, one man wrecking crew.

More HERE.

One word.....TOXIC!

White House distances from activist group

Days after the Census Bureau announced it would cut ties with the organizing group ACORN, and barely 24 hours after the ...

... Senate voted to withdraw funding from the lightning-rod activist group, the White House expressed support for measures to hold the group accountable for "unacceptable" behavior.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs alluded to video, taken by the conservative site BigGovernment.com, showing ACORN employees giving advice to individuals posing as sex traffickers.

"Obviously, the conduct that you see on those tapes is completely unacceptable. I think everyone would agree to that," Gibbs said. "The administration takes accountability extremely seriously."

Sure wasn't a concern HERE where Obama assured them that they would be an integral part of setting the agenda.

Rasmussen Tracks Obamacare Approval at Worst Levels Yet

Ouch!

One week after President Obama’s speech to Congress, opposition to his health care reform plan has reached a new high of 55%. The latest Rasmussen Reports daily tracking poll shows that just 42%now support the plan, matching the low first reached in August.

A week ago, 44% supported the proposal and 53% were opposed. Following the speech last Wednesday night intended to relaunch the health care initiative, support for the president’s effort bounced as high as 51% (see day-by-day numbers). But the new numbers suggest that support for health care reform is now about the same as it was in August.

Seventy-four percent (74%) of Democrats now support the plan while 80% of Republicans are opposed. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 67% are opposed.

Jane Fonda expresses regret over film fest protest

What is it with liberals and signing things without knowing what they're signing?

Jane Fonda expresses regret over film fest protest Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press Jane Fonda is expressing regret over endorsing a protest letter that targets an Israeli film spotlight at the Toronto International Film Festival. The celebrity activist appears to back away from the controversy in a column posted Monday on the Huffington Post website just as big-name performers including Jerry Seinfeld, Natalie Portman and Sacha Baron Cohen added their names to a growing list of the protest's critics. "I signed the letter without reading it carefully enough, without asking myself if some of the wording wouldn't exacerbate the situation

US credit shrinks at Great Depression rate prompting fears of double-dip recession

We're all sitting at the tippy top of a house of cards...

Professor Tim Congdon from International Monetary Research said US bank loans have fallen at an annual pace of almost 14pc in the three months to August (from $7,147bn to $6,886bn).

"There has been nothing like this in the USA since the 1930s," he said. "The rapid destruction of money balances is madness."

Similar concerns have been raised by David Rosenberg, chief strategist at Gluskin Sheff, who said that over the four weeks up to August 24, bank credit shrank at an "epic" 9pc annual pace, the M2 money supply shrank at 12.2pc and M1 shrank at 6.5pc.

"For the first time in the post-WW2 [Second World War] era, we have deflation in credit, wages and rents and, from our lens, this is a toxic brew," he said.

Patrick Swayze Dead at 57

I always liked Patrick Swayze as both an actor and a man. Neither self involved nor presumptuous he lived life as a good and conscientious American. Godspeed

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Patrick Swayze, the hunky actor who danced his way into viewers' hearts with "Dirty Dancing" and then broke them with "Ghost," died Monday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57.

"Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months," said a statement released Monday evening by his publicist, Annett Wolf. No other details were given.

Fans of the actor were saddened to learn in March 2008 that Swayze was suffering from a particularly deadly form of cancer.

He had kept working despite the diagnosis, putting together a memoir with his wife and shooting "The Beast," an A&E drama series for which he had already made the pilot. It drew a respectable 1.3 million viewers when the 13 episodes ran in 2009, but A&E said it had reluctantly decided not to renew it for a second season.

The only "celebrity hearthrob" I've ever been jealous of. My wife was infatuated with him....well, untill she met me.

Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan Assumes Room Temp

Time for a Happy Dance

Somali residents said a helicopter raid on Monday by suspected foreign commandos looked to have killed one of the region's most wanted militants.

Kenya-born Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, 28, was wanted over a 2002 hotel bombing and simultaneous, but botched, missile attack on Israeli airliner leaving Kenya's Mombasa airport.

The March on Washington, What's the Real Story?

It may be weeks before we actually know how many patriotic Americans showed up in Washington DC to protest. The estimates by news organizations range anywhere from 60,000 to 2 million.

How in this day and age can there be "respected" news organizations give such ridiculously divergent opinions. The answer is politics. Wapo, NYT etc will diminish this event to the point of lying. Conservatives will latch on to the highest estimates as fact because the want to maximize the significance of the event.

My personal opinion is the number is far closer to the high number than the low. After comparing photo's of similar events and cross checking verified numbers for those, I believe there were somewhere between 500,000 and 800,000 people in attendance. I believe I'm being conservative in that estimate.

Sooner or later some reputable outfit will give us a legitmate number. Until then know one thing, much of the MSM is intentially belittling the event by calling the crowd "in the thousands", or "10s of thousands" and that in itself is criminally disingenuous.

Pic of the Day

From DC Tea Party.

Wilson’s Fundraising Tops $700,000 After Outburst

In the wake of the controversy Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) sparked by shouting “You lie!” during President Barack Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, a Republican source said the Congressman had raised about $700,000 by Friday afternoon.

Are you watching RNC?

9/12 DC March on Washington

Update: 11:08ET 100,000 people minimum.

Update II:People on the ground are reporting 1/2 million + marchers. That's almost hard to believe but if it's even remotely accurate, this rally is huge by any calculation.

UpdateIII: ABC news reporting 1.5 MILLION, WOW!

Update IV:Michelle Malkin says it's 2 million!

Here's the time lapse video, you be the judge.

Beck Hits the Note

I have been around a lot of years and I have watched television since the original airing of "Leave it to Beaver". I have only been close to tears one time watching a talking head, and that was when I watched the coverage of the first moon landing in 1969.

Beck brought me close with his tribute to 9/11. Video HERE.

Never Forget

Unfortunately after 8 years many Americans have. A list of those that perished HERE.

John Stossel Leaving ABC For Fox

Great get by Fox.

First on TVNewser: John Stossel, the longtime ABC News correspondent and co-anchor of "20/20," is leaving ABC to join Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network. TVNewser has learned Stossel will host a weekly, one-hour program for the 2-year-old business channel. He's expected to signed a multi-year deal with Fox which will include regular appearances on Fox News Channel during daytime and primetime. He'll also host four, hour-long specials on Fox News, much like the business/consumer specials he'd hosted for years on ABC.

Stossel, a libertarian, has been appearing on Fox News for years as a guest on shows including "The O'Reilly Factor," "Hannity & Colmes" and "The Big Story."

Stossel joined "20/20" in 1981 and was upped to co-anchor in 2003. TVNewser has learned there was a window in Stossel's ABC contract which allowed him to jump to Fox.

Now if they can't just get rid of the malignant mustache.

The Best Obama Speech Synopsis

Powerline has the best analysis I've seen. Read it all, it's fairly written and pretty much dead on.

Birthers get their day in court

A minor burr in Obama's saddle that just won't go away...

Americans’ who do not believe President Obama is a U.S. citizen won a huge decision in California as a judge set three court dates, one of which will require the President to prove his citizenship.

The case will be heard by U.S. District Judge David Carter in Southern California, it is the first time the merits of the President’s citizenship will be argued in open court.

According to Jeff Schwilk, who was in the courtroom, the judge was solid as a rock. “The audience of about 45 was nodding and giving thumbs up to each other on almost all of his decisions.”

“He (the judge) is determined to get Obama to prove he is eligible,” Schwilk explained. “Things are going to move very fast.”

Quote of the Day

"Van (Jones) should sue for DEFINITION OF CHARACTER".

jessduntno at FR, nicely done.

Socialized Medicine at it's Finest

'Doctors Told Me It was Against the Rules to Save My Premature Baby'

Doctors left a premature baby to die because he was born two days too early, his devastated mother claimed yesterday.
Sarah Capewell begged them to save her tiny son, who was born just 21 weeks and five days into her pregnancy - almost four months early.
They ignored her pleas and allegedly told her they were following national guidelines that babies born before 22 weeks should not be given medical treatment.

Miss Capewell, 23, said doctors refused to even see her son Jayden, who lived for almost two hours without any medical support.
She said he was breathing unaided, had a strong heartbeat and was even moving his arms and legs, but medics refused to admit him to a special care baby unit.
Miss Capewell is now fighting for a review of the medical guidelines.

Anecdotal, yes, indicative, likely.

Toomey calls Obama speech 'inspiring'

But as he (Toomey) seeks to win over independents and moderates in his Pennsylvania Senate campaign, Toomey is taking a markedly different approach: Even as conservative critics accused the president of trying to indoctrinate students with a back-to-school speech, Toomey called the president’s speech to high school students “inspiring” and “moving.”

Bowel moving maybe.

Personally I thought the speech was self indulgent and disingenuous.

No Obama For You!

Our local elementary school in rural Illinois has opted out of Obamas speech because it is not "historical in nature". The speech will be available to all on CD if so desired.

They're leaving the "lesson planning" up to the teachers but by all accounts, they can't afford to take time away from existing daily requirements to endulge Obama's curriculum.

Pretty reasonable way to handle it.

Obama Hits New TA Low -10 Day Moving Average

47.5% approval, 52%disapproval.

Reader Jeff aptly points out that I neglected to inform you that this data is from Rasmussen. It was E-mailed to me this morn and I posted in haste.

The original chart was produced by Interceptpoint on Free Republic.

Labor Day 2009

Sgt Joe Friday "Schools" Obama

Video HERE.

Obama 'green jobs' adviser quits amid controversy

Too bad, I would've enjoyed another couple of days to beat up on this scary clown.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's adviser Van Jones has resigned amid controversy over past inflammatory statements, the White House said early Sunday.

Jones, an administration official specializing in environmentally friendly "green jobs" with the White House Council on Environmental Quality was linked to efforts suggesting a government role in the 2001 terror attacks and to derogatory comments about Republicans.

The resignation comes as Obama is working to regain his footing in the contentious health care debate.

Why has the press ignored hate crime against a white teenager?

Must we go over this again??? Repeat after me: Blacks are incapable of hate crimes, blacks are inacapable....

A recent mob-beating of a Buffalo, NY teen has caused a great deal of outrage within the community, and while the crime has been covered locally, the national mainstream press has completely ignored the story. The victim is white and the assailants were black.

On August 18, Brian Milligan Jr., 18, was walking home when he was reportedly attacked at the corner of Genesee Street and Floss Avenue, by between 10 to 15 black men. In addition to being punched and kicked, Milligan’s attackers hit him in the back of the head with a brick.

Amazingly, despite his severe injuries, Milligan managed to stumble the remaining five blocks to his house where he collapsed.

Van Jones Hearts Meg Whitman

Yep, we need one more just like her....

There's a guy over in Oakland, I think his name is Van Jones. And he and I were on a cruise last summer in the Arctic, on climate change. And I got to know him very well. And a lot of the work he's doing to enfranchise broader communities I'm a big fan of. He's doing a marvelous job... I'm a huge fan of his. He is very bright, very articulate, very passionate. I think he is exactly right.

Unemployment Jumps to 26 Year High

Anxiously waiting to see how Obama and the MSM try and spin this into a positive

U.S. payrolls have dropped by 6.9 million to 131.2 million since the recession began in December 2007, the government data showed. Unemployment has increased by 7.4 million during the recession to 14.9 million.

The 216,000 decline in payrolls was close to market expectations of a 233,000 drop, but the unemployment rate rose higher than the 9.5% level expected. The unemployment rate was 9.4% in July.

That Which is Old is New Again

Obama 50 years ago HERE.

This Obamacare Supporter No Vegan

THOUSAND OAKS -- A 65-year-old man had his finger bitten off Wednesday evening at a health care rally in Thousand Oaks, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Department.

Sheriff's investigators were called to Hillcrest and Lynn Road at 7:26 p.m.

About 100 protesters sponsored by MoveOn.org were having a rally supporting health care reform. A group of anti-health care reform protesters formed across the street.

Crazy Uncle Charlie Pulls Race Card

They just can't help theselves...

First it was Gov. Paterson. Now the dean of New York's congressional delegation has played the race card -- and just as the governor did, he's using President Obama to do it, the New York Post reported.

Rep. Charles Rangel said Tuesday that "bias" and "prejudice" toward Obama are fueling opposition to health-care reform.

Those incendiary comments came on the heels of Paterson's controversial comments about race that also mentioned the nation's first black president.

According to Van Jones 60% of Americans are A-holes

Van Jones, the Obama administration's "green jobs" adviser, told a group of listeners earlier in the year that the reason Republicans are stonewalling the president is because they're "assholes."

Jones' remarks were recorded in a video from February that was posted to YouTube.

He made the remark during an energy lecture in Berkeley, Calif., after a woman in the audience asked him why President Obama and congressional Democrats were having trouble moving legislation -- even though Republicans, with a smaller majority, didn't have as much trouble earlier in the Bush administration.

Classy guy.

Pic of the Day

Cracks me up.

Rassmussen poll of Republicans

1. Over the past several years, have Republicans in Congress done a good job of representing Republican values? Or have Republicans in Congress lost touch with Republican voters from throughout the nation?

16% Republicans in Congress have done a good job of representing Republican values
69% Republicans in Congress have lost touch with Republican voters
14% Not sure

2. Looking to the future, is it more important for the Republican Party to stand for what it believes in or to work with President Obama?

51% To stand for what it believes in
42% To work with President Obama
7% Not sure

3. Is the average Republican in Congress more conservative than the average Republican voter, more liberal, or about the same?

26% Average Republican in Congress is more conservative than the average Republican voter
37% More liberal
28% About the same
9% Not sure

Thanks to reaganaut1 at FR for doing the legwork.

The other side of the coin does not bode well for Comradery Democratico: The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 43% would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate while 36% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent.

That represents the lowest level of support for Democrats in recent years, while Republicans have tied their highest level of support for the third straight week. The previous low for Democrats over the past year was 37%.

The most accurate pollster constrasted with the farcile... Poll: Obama Approval Rating Dips Slightly

Rasmussen: Obama Hits New New Low (Updated and Bumped)

Overall, 46% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. That’s the lowest level of total approval yet measured for Obama. Fifty-three percent (53%) now disapprove.

Appears that disappearing to Martha's Vineyard hasn't helped him any.

Update: 9/1 all time low: 45% approve
53% disapprove

Crazy Uncle Charlie, Crazy Like a Fox

Full story HERE.

Original report HERE and HERE.