Focus Group Rates Obama's Answers

(AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

As President Obama gobbled up an hour of primetime television real estate Tuesday night with a press conference, CBS News gathered a few dozen participants to rate his performance word by word.

Not surprisingly, Republicans in the group, gathered in a room in Las Vegas, had mostly negative reactions to the president's answers while Democrats were generally positive.

Mr. Obama, however, earned bipartisan praise for his response to a question over his delayed reaction to news of AIG bonus payments: "It took us a couple of days because I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak," he said.

However, the mere mention of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner produced a "decided dip" in support amongst viewers.

For more on the focus group's reactions, watch CBS News correspondent John Blackstone's report:



Full Coverage Of Obama's Press Conference:

• By Topic: Budget | AIG Outrage | Tax Increases | Race | Mexican Drug Cartels | Israel | Funding For Veterans | Sacrifice


• Full Transcript


• Fact Check: Obama Having It Both Ways?


• Analysis: Philosophy Of Persistence | Grades From Marc Ambinder | Instant Reaction | Focus Group Weighs In


• Video:
  Recession To Recovery
  |
  Sacrifice
  |
  Budget
  |
  Stem Cells
  |
  Homeless Crisis

[dnsallday]

We need to measure how people 'feel' about every single word the President has to say on a given day?

How about analyzing how the policies are effecting peoples lives? I guess if you spend too much time actually educating the electorate, the media would hold a lot less sway than they do in formulating opinions.