Pollster John Zogby reports in our weekly White House report card that while President Obama scored a solid victory helping Terry McAuliffe win the Virginia governor’s mansion, he fumbled over his false promises on Obamacare.
"The president won a little and lost a lot this past week. He began the week by campaigning for Democrat Terry McAuliffe in Virginia, who won the state's race for governor. But an even weaker candidate — Republican Ken Cuccinelli — actually picked up steam rallying GOP voters after Obama's visit.
“Cuccinelli's position on social issues alienated moderate voters but he found his campaign sea legs by attacking Obamacare. He ended up doing a lot better than expected. More than half of Virginia's voters said they opposed Obamacare and Cuccinelli drew more than four in five of them.
“Speaking of the president's signature law, the Affordable Care Act, by week's end he was forced to apologize for misrepresenting a key fact to the public, namely that Americans would not have to change their present insurance policies if they wanted to keep them. Following the website glitches that have marked the launch of Obamacare, the president's lame apology was unsettling. Blaming Republicans for this failure just won't work. He is on his own this time."
Grade — D