All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

President Obama's job approval rating sits at 50 percent in the latest CBS News/New York Times poll, the lowest level it has reached in CBS News polling.

The president still has a net favorable rating, with 50 percent approving of his performance and 39 percent disapproving. But as Mr. Obama has confronted challenges ranging from the economy to the war in Afghanistan to health care, public perception of his handling of his job has steadily fallen.

In April, Mr. Obama's approval rating was 68 percent. By August, it was down to 56 percent. It dropped to 53 percent last month before falling another three points in the latest poll.

Democrats still largely back the president, with 82 percent expressing their approval. Just 19 percent of Republicans approve of his performance, however, and independents are split: 43 percent approve of his performance and 41 percent disapprove.

Americans cite the economy as the issue most important to them, and on that issue the president's approval rating has been in decline. It now sits at 47 percent, down two points from last month and down seven points from October.

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Last week President Obama outlined his new strategy for the war in Afghanistan, which includes the deployment of 30,000 more troops and the beginning of a troop withdrawal in July 2011.

A new CBS News/New York Times poll finds that Americans narrowly approve of the president's decision to send more troops to the country, with 51 percent offering their approval. Forty-three percent disapprove.

There is a clear partisan divide on the issue, and it reflects the fact that Mr. Obama's decision to deploy more troops has garnered more support from the opposition party than from his own.

Two in three Republicans back the troop surge, while just 27 percent disapprove. By contrast, just 42 percent of Democrats approve of the decision to deploy more troops, while 53 percent disapprove.

Independents are roughly evenly divided.

The president did not set a specific date for full withdrawal of troops in his speech, but he said troops will start coming home in July of 2011. Asked if setting a deadline for troop withdrawal is a good idea, just 41 percent of those surveyed said yes. The majority – 55 percent – called it a bad idea.

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A House subcommittee this morning passed legislation that would force college football to switch from the current Bowl Championship Series to a traditional playoff system.

"There are quite a few steps to go still in this process, but today's subcommittee vote is important because it will help the BCS finally start to respond to overwhelming public sentiment in favor of a playoff," Matt Sanderson, spokesman for the anti-BCS Playoff PAC, told CBSNews.com.

Bowl Championship Series Executive Director Bill Hancock emailed a statement countering that claim, arguing that "the consensus among the presidents, athletics directors, coaches and faculty from the 120 major universities is that the current system is the best."

"With all the serious matters facing our country, surely Congress has more important issues than spending taxpayer money to dictate how college football is played," he added.

That argument was echoed by some lawmakers, including Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga.), who said before the vote "I really think we have more important things to spend our time on," according to the Associated Press. That sentiment was also expressed by Democratic Reps. Zach Space and Bart Stupak.

The bill, which passed by voice vote, would make it illegal to promote a NCAA Division I game as the national championship if it did not result from a playoff.

A Gallup poll taken a couple years back found that 85 percent of college football fans prefer a playoff system to the current bowl system.

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More Americans than ever believe the war in Afghanistan is going badly for the United States, a new CBS News poll finds.

Sixty-nine percent now say things are going badly for the U.S. in Afghanistan, a sharp increase from the 53 percent who said so in September. Just 23 percent say things are going well, down 12 points from September.

The findings reflect the most negative assessment of the war ever measured in CBS News polls.

Special Report: Afghanistan

Assessments have declined in particular among Republicans and independents. In September, 47 percent of Republicans thought the war was going well for the U.S.; that figure has now fallen to 27 percent. Among independents, positive assessments of the war have fallen from 34 percent in September to 21 percent.

The new poll also suggests that Americans have become increasingly skeptical about President Obama's handling of Afghanistan. Just 38 percent now approve of the president's performance on Afghanistan, down from 43 percent in October and 58 percent in April. Forty-three percent disapprove, an increase of nine points from last month.

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The Obama administration appears to be going against public opinion with its decision to try five terrorist suspects – including self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed – in a civilian trial in New York City.

A new CBS News poll finds that only 40 percent of Americans believe suspected terrorists should be tried in an open criminal court. Fifty-four percent say such suspects should be tried in a closed military court.

There is a correlation between where people stand on the trials and their political beliefs. Roughly six in ten Republicans and independents favor closed military trials, while 54 percent of Democrats prefer open civilian trials.

Read the Complete Poll

The suspects have been held at the Guantanamo Bay prison facility, which the Obama administration has promised to close. Americans have become increasingly resistant to doing so, according to the poll: fifty percent now say the facility should be kept open, while 39 percent back the administration's plan to close it.

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A slim majority of Americans believe the U.S. military had information that could have prevented the shootings at Fort Hood Army post, a new CBS News poll finds.

Fifty-one percent of Americans say the military had sufficient information to prevent the shootings, while 29 percent say it did not. Another 20 percent are not sure.

Republicans and independents were slightly more likely than Democrats to say the military had sufficient information, though the percentages were relatively stable across the political spectrum.

Forty-eight percent of Americans – including 65 percent of Republicans – deem the shootings an act of terrorism, while 38 percent say it was not terrorism. Fourteen percent say they don't know if the attack, allegedly carried out by Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was terrorism.

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President Obama spoke at a memorial service for those killed in the attack, and he gets relatively high marks for his performance in the wake of the incident. Fifty-seven percent say they approve of how Mr. Obama dealt with the shootings, while just 18 percent disapprove. One in four aren't sure how they feel.

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The president is what would is called a "key employee" in corporate America. While his compensation isn't other worldly ($400,000 per year), his influence in the world order is immense. If he were to become ill or incapacitated, the country and the connected planet would be destabilized to some degree.

CBSNews.com Special Report: H1N1

Therefore, protecting the president against natural and unnatural threats to his wellbeing is a very high priority. Apparently, that priority doesn't include getting vaccinated as soon as possible against the H1N1 flu virus.

The logic offered by the White House is that as a healthy adult with no underlying conditions, Mr. Obama doesn't fall into a priority group designated to receive the H1N1 flu vaccination at this time. He received the plain-old flu shot earlier this month, but will wait until the H1N1 flu vaccine is available to the general population before he gets the promised immunity given by the vaccine.

Given the issues around supply and demand for the vaccine, determining what constitutes "general availability" to the U.S. population will be an interesting call.

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First Lady Michelle Obama's office said Tuesday that Malia and Sasha Obama have received the vaccine for the H1N1 flu, otherwise known as swine flu.

A spokeswoman for Michelle Obama, Katie McCormick Lelyveld, tells the Associated Press that Sasha, age 8, and Malia, age 11, got the shot from a White House doctor last week after it became available to schoolchildren in the Washington area.

President and Michelle Obama are going to wait to get the H1N1 shot until members of higher priority groups have received their shots. The whole family, however, has gotten the seasonal flu shot.

CBSNews.com Special Report: H1N1

Tension is palpable among Democrats and Republicans on the House Oversight Committee that is (sort of) investigating Countrywide Mortgage's sweetheart loans to VIPs.

The Democrat in charge of the Committee, Edolphus Towns of New York (left), has himself received loans from Countrywide and has for months refused Republican requests to subpoena records in the case. Today, as Committee Republicans — led by Rep. Darrell Issa — were poised to force an open vote on the subpoenas at a Committee business meeting, the meeting was abruptly cancelled. Only Republicans showed up and Democratic chairs remained empty.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) During The Committee Meeting

Republicans voiced suspicion that Chairman Towns cancelled the meeting to avoid the subpoena vote. Democrats countered by saying the meeting was cancelled due to "disagreement among Democratic members (on) whether to subpoena records on the mortgage industries' political contributions to Republicans."

A Republican staffer captured video of Democrats leaving their own separate meeting during the time the Committee business meeting was supposed to be convened.

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The government's effort to distribute H1N1 vaccine throughout the U.S. is "a little bumpy" but should improve later this month, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Wednesday.

Speaking to CBS' "The Early Show", Sebelius said "we won't have as much as everybody wants right away" but the nation would have "good supply" of the specialized flu vaccine in October and urged people to prepare for vaccinations.

A nasal spray version of the vaccine was made available this week, but not to everyone. Those at risk for flu complications – such as pregnant women, children under age 2 and people over 49 – are not eligible for the spray vaccine, Sebelius said.

"It's a fairly limited group," she said.

The injectable vaccines are, however, recommended for five primary groups – pregnant women, caregivers for children under 6 months, health care workers, people age 2 to 24 and older Americans with underlying health conditions.

Sebelius said an injectable vaccine will be available by the end of the week.

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