GOP strategists pointed to recent polls showing Obama's weakness on the issue. A CNN poll published late last month found that 58 percent of Americans — including nearly two- thirds of independents — disapproved of the president's job on the economy. Independents are viewed by Obama aides as a group crucial to his reelection bid. Still, other polling numbers show that Obama continues to enjoy some advantages, including personal popularity. Fifty-two percent of Americans approve of his overall job performance, and nearly two-thirds said he "cares about people like me." christian louboutin outlet "The main worry for Republicans at this point is nominating a strong and credible potential president," said Whit Ayers, a GOP pollster. "I think we will, but obviously if you want to replace a current president, you have to nominate a credible alternative." Even businesses that have taken on new employees — the private sector has added jobs for 14 straight months — have done so with some trepidation. Aziz Hashim, president of an Atlanta-based company that owns scores of Popeye’s, Checkers and Domino's Pizza franchises in Georgia, California, Arizona and Florida, said his firm added four new restaurants last year and is on pace for five this year. But he said a lack of clarity about government policy and doubt about the direction of the economy has held him back from more aggressive expansion. "We have been expanding, but we could be expanding faster," discount christian louboutin he said. "There's no question that we could be doing more, but we have to be very careful because we can't adequately project" what lies ahead. In Fruitland, Md., Bennett Construction has added seven workers in the past five months amid a surge in business, bringing its total to 23 employees. But Janet Bennett, whose family runs the company, said hiring is an expensive and daunting undertaking. "We're thrilled to give people jobs . . . but it's a hardship," she said. "You try to keep your business going. You try to hire new people. But then you have to pay more unemployment taxes, you have to pay more workers' compensation; you have to pay more in health insurances. . . . It just snowballs for the employer." Even then, Bennett said, there’s no guarantee that the firm won't have layoffs down the road if business dries up. "You just never know what it's going to be like a year from now," she said. "We're not setting the world on fire by any stretch."
