The baby kissing effect begins to fade for Obama?

Thanks to Clarrie Rivers for the photo

US President Barack Obama scored a 68% approval rating for the first three days in office according to Gallup and 69% for the next three days.

John F. Kennedy is the single modern president who appears to have started his presidential life with a higher approval score, but his popularity was not polled so early in his presidency.

However, Obama scored a whopping 83% approval rating during his president-elect transition period so this latest poll (with its 14 to 15 point drop) while clearly showing that his honeymoon with the American people is not yet over does indicate that it may be on the wane.

Strangely the main stream media appear to be largely silent on this rather dramatic plunge in the polls except to characterise it in an historical context or refer to it as normalising the figures.

Only Iran Press TV and The Daily Mail pointed out that the new figure actually represented a decline, though a small number of news blogs also mentioned the percentage as a drop in approval.

In the U.S. Real Clear Politics tells us that across six polls conducted over 11-24 January, between 52-79% of those polled believed America was heading in the wrong direction.

What we need here is Possum Comitatus to decipher the apparent change in voter sentiment after Obama's comfortable election win.

'No Drama' Obama now 'Back-up' Barack?

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Seems hard to believe that one simple 35-word sentence could be so publicly scrambled doesn't it?
But what is really hard to believe is that Barack Obama had to take the presidential oath again just so that the rumours would not start flying that he was actually not the US 44th President and Commander-in-Chief.

Obama is not the first president to have to repeat the oath however - Calvin Coolidge and Chester Arthur also mangled the original swearing in and had to repeat the process behind closed doors according to The Washington Post last Wednesday.

What I did notice particularly was that there was no Obama stumble over the additional phrase "So help me God".
That should upset the great number of atheists and agnostics around the globe.

It also gives me pause for thought - if the wording of the oath is mandated by the US Constitution why is it not thought to be an improper oath if additional words are added?

Betting odds on Obama's inauguration - from godliness to weather - and afterwards

It appears that almost anything to do with US President-elect Barack Obama is worth betting on.

This time around its the January inauguration over at BetUS Sportscover:

How many past presidents will Obama reference in his inaugural speech?
Over 4½ -120
Under 4½ -120

How many times will Barack Obama refer to God in his inaugural address?
Over 2½ -140
Under 2½ Even

Will there be precipitation during Barack Obama's inaugural address?
None 3/2
Rain 2/1
Snow 5/4

Which former president will be mentioned first?
Abraham Lincoln 10/11
George Washington 3/1
Franklin Delano Roosevelt 3/2

How many times will Bill Clinton's name be mentioned?
Over 2 -120
Under 2 -120

But what is even more amusing is that the books are open for betting on the 2012 presidential election.

While over at Paddy Power they are betting on what will happen first under an Obama presidency:

Andy Borowitz outs Obama's change of direction

Because North Coast Voices has been silent on the subject of President-Elect Barack Obama lately I take this opportunity to present the Borowitz Report on this prominent politician.

In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack Obama has broken with a tradition established over the past eight years through his controversial use of complete sentences, political observers say.

Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's appearance on CBS' "Sixty Minutes" on Sunday witnessed the president-elect's unorthodox verbal tick, which had Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually every time he opened his mouth.

But Mr. Obama's decision to use complete sentences in his public pronouncements carries with it certain risks, since after the last eight years many Americans may find his odd speaking style jarring.

According to presidential historian Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota, some Americans might find it "alienating" to have a President who speaks English as if it were his first language.

"Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in agreement," says Mr. Logsdon. "If he keeps it up, he is running the risk of sounding like an elitist."

The historian said that if Mr. Obama insists on using complete sentences in his speeches, the public may find itself saying, "Okay, subject, predicate, subject predicate - we get it, stop showing off."

The President-elect's stubborn insistence on using complete sentences has already attracted a rebuke from one of his harshest critics, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.

"Talking with complete sentences there and also too talking in a way that ordinary Americans like Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder can't really do there, I think needing to do that isn't tapping into what Americans are needing also," she said.

Dikipedia also has an updated entry on the new president-elect which ends with:

Barack Obama is married to Michelle Obama (nee Robinson), with whom he has five children: Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa and Rudy.

Bookies uncertain if Obama will make the White House?

It certainly says a lot about our cynical world when one of the largest corporate bookmakers Sportsbet mentioned assassination as one of the reasons it may not have to payout on an Obama win as per their contract with punters.
Aussie punters have no such worries with Centrebet as it pays out on the political party not the candidate and will be sending out winnings this week.

Stone the crows! In the US of A do they really expect that someone would place a bet then grab a rifle or do they just think that Obama is hated that much by white supremacists?

Update:
According to Gambling911, in the U.K. and Ireland Paddy Power and the punters are even sicker.
"Ireland's biggest online bookmaker, Paddy Power, has been raked through the coals for offering a bet on which it will pay out should president-elect Barack Obama be assassinated during his first term in office, write Patrick Griffin and Allison Bray of the Independent.
And people are betting it. Odds have been slashed from 16-1 yesterday to 12-1 Friday morning."

Punters who backed Obama should front up to their bookies now

Some of the punter who backed Barack Obama to win the US Presidential Election can front up to their bookie right now and collect their winnings.

In what is indeed a most magnanimous gesture (well, that's how the bookies probably describe it) punters who wagered on Obama with Australian bookmaker Centrebet can get in the queue and collect their winnings now.

Yes, that's correct! Punters do not have to wait until Inauguration Day on 20 January 2009 to collect their winnings.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Centrebet announced it would today begin paying out more than $2 million in winnings to punters who backed Senator Obama to win the US election.

This comes after Centrebet was one of two bookmakers that yesterday told media that it would not pay out until the inauguration in January as part of a long running condition.

Sadly, the news for punters who put their hard-earned on Obama with Sportsbet is not so exciting.

Sportsbet said it would not pay out until the January inauguration and this was clearly stated on its terms and conditions.

Centrebet media director Neil Evans said that it had decided to change this long-running policy and begin paying out successful punters from today because it was "the right thing to do''.

The Herald reported Sportsbet could not be reached for comment.