Nothing can possibly compare to the devastation caused by the massive 7.0 temblor, or the ensuing catastrophe, which has struck Haiti.  While much of the world, including U.S. Marines (despite the objections of Hugo Chavez), struggle to save the missing and protect the survivors, a quaking of another sort is going on to Haiti’s north.

Here in the U.S., following the landmark GOP win of Scott Brown in the special election to fill the open U.S. Senate seat of the late-Ted Kennedy, the rumbling which began in Massachusetts can now be felt from coast to coast.  What follows is a brief synopsis:

…A report released yesterday, according to the AP, found that home sales in December had plummeted by 17% last month, the largest single drop in four decades.  Analysts were quick to place blame on a recent act passed by Congress extending the deadline for home buyers to take advantage of a tax credit, but less cheery is the equally-strong notion that sales for homes were down in December for the same reason retail sales were down for the holidays: America is still deeply mired in a recession.  With the unemployment rate holding around 10% and the outlook for new job creation grim, fewer families are making long-term purchases – while conversely, record numbers of homes continue to be foreclosed.

…According to a report out of Wisconsin, divorce is rapidly on the rise.  The culprit?  Once again, blame rests on the economy.  As Jeff Starck reports, “[I]n a recession, financial stress affects almost every marriage.�

…Every quarter, analysts and subscribers to Bloomberg are surveyed as to their opinions on economic and political issues.  Among the noteworthy findings of the latest survey, 77% of respondents said they considered President Obama to be “too anti-business�.  Conversely, embattled Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke earned a 68% approval rating in the survey.

…Not surprisingly, President Obama’s approval ratings continue to suffer as a result of the ongoing economic turmoil.  According to Rasmussen’s latest tracking poll released yesterday, 25% of respondents strongly approved of the president’s job performance while 41% strongly disapproved, a “-16 score� on Rasmussen’s presidential index.

…Last but not least, President Obama isn’t the only politician on the hot seat.  Here in sunny Arizona, from where I report weekly, U.S. Senator John McCain appears to be drawing a noteworthy Republican primary challenger: conservative talk radio host and former congressman J.D. Hayworth.  In a state where Border Security ranks just behind the economy among issues important to the electorate, McCain has outraged many GOP voters with his steadfast support for legislation offering amnesty to illegal immigrants – as well as for his leadership on campaign finance reform and opposition to the Bush tax cuts.  Hayworth’s challenge will be to raise the resources to compete against McCain’s deep campaign coffers, but it may prove to be a surprisingly competitive race.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 2:55 am and is filed under 2010 Elections, Barack Obama, Congressional, Issues, News Commentary, polling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.