Room To Move

by digby

Whether due to enthusiastic support or a desperate hope (or some combination of the two), the public is behind Obama in huge numbers.

President-elect Barack Obama gets soaring marks for his handling of the transition and his choices for the Cabinet, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, even at a time the public is downbeat over the economy.More than three of four Americans, including a majority of Republicans, approve of the job Obama has done so far — broad-based support he’ll need as he faces tough decisions ahead.By 69%-25%, those surveyed approve of his pick of New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, his former Democratic primary rival, as secretary of State.By an even wider margin, 80%-14%, they favor his decision to ask President Bush’s Pentagon chief, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, to stay on the job.[…]In the poll, Americans by more than 3-1 say they trust Obama more than Bush to handle the economy. By 58%-33%, they support Obama’s plan for a huge spending package to spur economic growth.

Regardless of whether you agree with the majority on these specifics, this is a huge advantage that should give him a honeymoon regardless of how sharply the media turns.

Bloggers have been wondering whether or not the administration was planning to scale back it’s support for the Employee Free Choice Act (based upon some rather broad hints and pundit speculation) and they say they aren’t. This is important, especially at a time of such economic insecurity. Businesses need help and it’s liberals, rather than conservatives, who are supporting strong government measures to do that. But they also refuse to allow this crisis to be used to exploit workers in standard Shock Doctrine fashion. It’s really not too much to ask that business owners and their workers at least be given equal consideration by the government.

With the kind of support Obama’s got going in, EFCA is something that’s both achievable and necessary. Despite the hysterical commentary from the right these days, the fact is that unions strengthen the economy not weaken it.