All Three Networks Fret Over Obama Not Getting 'Credit' for 'Better' Economy

Minutes before the President began his State of the Union address Tuesday night, hosts on ABC, NBC, and CBS all worried that Obama was not getting the "credit" he deserved for how well the economy was supposedly doing. [Listen to the audio [1]]

Talking to former Obama advisor David Plouffe during ABC's live coverage of the speech, Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos argued: "...one of the real puzzles the President has to solve tonight, the economy, doing about as well as it's ever done in his presidency, as he comes into the chamber tonight, but most people don't believe it and don't give him credit for it."

Over on NBC at the same time, Meet the Press host David Gregory was complaining: "Look, the economy's getting better. That's what this president had to do, he had to make the economy better. And, yet he's not getting a lot of credit for it."

On CBS, Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer observed: "I thought The New York Times had a good headline today on one of their things, it said the economy has rarely been better, but the approval ratings have rarely been worse. People seem to favor many of the programs that the President wants to pass, but they are worried and concerned about whether he can actually – actually get it done."

The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll [2] showed 60% of Americans believe the nation is heading in the wrong direction, 68% think the country is in the same place or worse than when Obama took office, and 70% are dissatisfied with the economy.