Pat Dollard

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The Hill:

President Obama sought to promote his administration’s accomplishments on the economy this past week after spending it mired in the controversy over Shirley Sherrod.

Obama made remarks early Friday afternoon touting the Wall Street reform legislation and unemployment insurance extension he signed into law this week, part of a three-pronged strategy to bolster the economy.

“We made enormous progress this week,” Obama said in remarks at the White House.

But the president’s words sought to escape the shadow of the controversy involving the firing of Sherrod, an Agriculture Department official who received an apology from Obama himself after she was mistakenly forced to resign.

That controversy dominated the news cycle on Wednesday, when Obama signed Wall Street reform into law, and to a lesser extent on Thursday, when he signed the unemployment benefits into law after a long Senate impasse.

The president’s remarks were a late addition to his Friday schedule, and he used the opportunity to push lawmakers to send a small-business package to his desk for signature.

“Ultimately our goal is to make sure that people who are looking for a job can find a job,” Obama said. “And that’s why it’s so important for the Senate to pass the additional steps that I’ve asked for to cut taxes and expand lending for America’s small businesses, our most important engine for hiring and for growth.”

He singled out Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and two Republicans, Sens. George Voinovich (Ohio) and George LeMieux (Fla.), for their assistance on that legislation.

“I was heartened that Senators LeMieux and Senator George Voinovich crossed party lines to help pass this lending provision last night,” he said. “And I hope we can now finish the job and pass the small- business jobs plan without delay and without additional partisan wrangling.”

“…The small-businessmen and -women who write to me every day and the folks who I’ve met with across this country, they can’t afford anymore political games,” the president added. “They need us to do what they sent us here to do. And they didn’t send us here to wage a never-ending campaign.”

The Hill:

Americans’ approval of President Obama’s handling of the economy reached a new low this week, the latest CNN/Opinion Research poll showed.

Americans’ approval of President Obama’s handling of the economy reached a new low this week, the latest CNN/Opinion Research poll showed.

Fifty-seven percent of respondents said they disapprove of his handling of the economy as opposed to 42 percent who approve of it. Obama’s numbers are down from CNN’s last survey in March, when Americans registered their disapproval at 55-44 percent.

In August of last year, 49 percent of voters said they approved of his handling of the economy, as opposed to 51 percent who disapproved.

The poll numbers came as the president signed into law two measures designed to bolster the economy both in the short-term and the long-term; an extension of unemployment benefits and a sweeping reform of the country’s financial regulations.

But the jobless rate is still hovering at 9.5 percent despite six straight months of private sector job growth. Obama has said his economic agenda, which includes the $787 billion stimulus, is putting the economy back on track. But he has said he will not be satisfied until more people are put back to work.

Forty-seven percent rated the economy as the most important issue facing the country, putting it in front of all other issues.

The Wall Street bill and the benefits extension were top priorities of the Obama administration, but the controversy surrounding the firing of a black USDA official, Shirley Sherrod, over a speech she made on race partially overshadowed the legislative victories.

The poll was taken between July 16-21 and has a margin of error of 3 percent.