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Politico:

Add Iowa Gov. Chet Culver to the list of Democratic governors seeing their approval numbers in free-fall, with the economy continuing to struggle in states throughout the country.

Culver has seen his approval rating dip to a new low and he now trails two prospective Republican opponents, including his leading challenger by 24 points, according to a newly-released Iowa Poll commissioned by the Des Moines Register.

Iowa voters are clearly taking their economic anxieties out on the governor. A 57 percent majority of voters believe the state is headed in the wrong direction, while only 34 percent believe it’s headed on the right track.

Culver trails former Iowa governor Terry Branstad, 57 to 33 percent, an ominously low number for a sitting governor who’s not dealing with any personal scandals. He also trails conservative businessman Bob Vander Plaats by seven points, 45 to 38 percent.

Tags: Branstad, culver, governer

Sarah Palin could expect a lot of support in Iowa’s Republican caucuses if she launched a campaign for the 2012 presidential nomination, according to The Des Moines Register’s Iowa Poll.

But the rising national figure, who is scheduled to stop in Iowa next month on her national book tour, would also have to contend with a lot of doubts about her — unlike her potential rivals, the poll found.

The first public poll to test Palin’s favorabilty in the leadoff nominating state found 55
percent of all Iowans hold an unfavorable opinion of Palin a little more than a year after the last election. Only 37 percent feel favorably about her.

And those feelings are intense: The percentage of Iowans who view Palin very unfavorably is more than twice as large as the percentage who view her very favorably.

But more than two-thirds of Republicans like what they see, making her a credible candidate for the 2012 caucuses should she decide to run for president, strategists say.

Palin fares well against possible rivals

Sixty-eight percent of Iowa Republicans view Palin favorably. That’s close to the 70 percent who hold favorable views of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who won the 2008 caucuses, and it’s higher than the 66 percent who view former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich favorably. Palin’s number is also higher than that of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, runner-up in the 2008 caucuses, who is viewed favorably by 58 percent of the state’s Republicans.

Huckabee, Romney and Gingrich are considered 2012 presidential prospects.

“With those kind of numbers, if she were to become a candidate, while it’s not a sure thing, she would be starting out in a very good position,” said veteran Iowa GOP strategist David Roederer, who ran McCain’s 2008 Iowa campaign.

Tags: 2012, iowa, palin

Courtesy of BigGovernment.com

This will make Steve King no friends in the White House. Rep. King has been increasing his visibility lately and, as a result, has become a favorite target of the left. Much like Michele Bachman
Washington News Observer interviewed Congressman Steve King (R-IA) on Obama’s senior advisor – Valerie Jarrett.

Ms. Jarrett has known President Obama for several decades and moved to Washington, DC following the successful election of her candidate. Currently, Ms. Jarrett is is a senior advisor and assistant to the president for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs.

Tags: Steve King

From the NYT [Video at Link is worth a watch]:
The bloom is off the rose. Some Iowans are evidently learning that Obama is not quite the transformative political figure the media made him out to be. Turns out he wasn’t the Messiah after all, just a Chicago politician. Lack of leadership, too eager to play the blame game, Iowans have soured on Obama

One year after winning the election, Mr. Obama has seen his pledge to transcend partisanship in Washington give way to the hardened realities of office. A campaign for the history books, filled with a sky-high sense of possibility for Mr. Obama not just among legions of loyal Democrats but also among converts from outside the party, has descended to an unfamiliar plateau for a president whose political rise was as rapid as it was charmed.

Interviews with voters across Iowa offer a window into how the president’s standing has leveled off, especially among the independents and Republicans who contributed not just to his margin of victory in the caucuses here but also to the optimism among his supporters that his election would be a break from standard-issue politics.

In Iowa, Ms. Pauline McAreavy, retired school nurse and Obama supporter, fears that the president’s health care plan will shortchange her Medicare benefits and mean infrequent mammogram examinations. She worries that his decision on Afghanistan will mean that her son, a member of the Iowa National Guard, will return to the battlefield. And she believes that too many of Mr. Obama’s actions are rooted in Democratic politics.

“All my Republican friends — and independents — are sitting back saying, ‘Oh, what did we do?” Ms. McAreavy said. “I’m not to that point yet, but a lot of people are.”

A social studies teacher who saw Mr. Obama on his maiden visit here wonders whether momentum from the election is gone forever. A retired electrical engineer who became a Democrat to support Mr. Obama believes that the president too often blames others for his troubles. And a teacher who voted for Mr. Obama because she was fed up with President George W. Bush does not trust this administration any more than the previous one.

As a candidate, Mr. Obama soared, several people said in interviews, but as a president, he often has come across as cautious, tentative and prone to blame his troubles on others.

Tags: obama