Obama’s efforts to woo independents derailed by debt-ceiling agreement

THE HILL, 8/24/2011 by Ian Swanson - The unpopular debt-ceiling deal has significantly hampered President Obama’s effort to win over independent voters. ✧ Since Democrats were thumped in the 2010 midterm elections, Obama repeatedly has sought to burnish his reputation with independents, often at the sake of his Democratic base. ✧ Yet a Gallup poll this week found Obama trailing not only the two leading GOP candidates — former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry — among independent voters, but long-shot candidate Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) as well. The poll found that Obama leads Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), but only by a 6-point margin, 48 percent to 42 percent. Read more at The Hill...