The latest national poll by the Pew Research Center, conducted Oct. 30-Nov. 6 among 2,003 adults, finds that Obama's second-term job ratings have followed a similar downward trajectory as those of his predecessor, George W. Bush.
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Since Obama's first year in office, his job rating has been above 50% on only a handful of occasions. His rating last December (55% approve, 39% disapprove) was his highest since September 2009 (55% approve, 33% disapprove), with the exception of a brief spike after the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011 (56% approve, 38% disapprove).

Since December 2012, Obama has lost the most ground among independents: Currently, only 32% of independents approve of his job performance while 61% disapprove. In December, 53% approved and 39% disapproved.

Obama's current rating among independents is only slightly higher than Bush's in November 2005 (29% approved).

The bill now returns to the State Senate, which has already indicated its intent to agree to the House amendments.

Gov. Abercrombie said that he expects to sign the measure into law by as early as next Tuesday, making Hawaii the 16th state in the country to legally recognize same-sex marriage, and the second in one week (after Illinois).

The issue of same-sex marriage is now on the verge of coming full circle in the islands, two decades after the Hawaii Supreme Court first ruled in favor of three gay couples who filed suit in circuit court (Baehr v. Miike, 1993) seeking marriage licenses in the state.

Baehr v. Miike served as the very first judicial indication of support for the concept of same-sex marriage anywhere in the entire country, and Congress subsequently passed the Defense of Marriage Act in direct response to that particular ruling. DOMA was struck down as unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court last June.

And I see the Sun Belt conference in there. Now THAT's a player.

Under the health-care law, premium billing and tracking will be even tougher. There are hundreds of prices across each of the thousands of plans in the federal marketplace. Having enrollees pay partial premiums, and the IRS issue tax credits for the rest, means twice as much billing. Calculating subsidies based on personal income tax filings also creates security issues: In addition to the problems with verifying consumers' identities online, which have created delays on HealthCare.gov, tens of thousands of unlicensed "navigators" are fanning out across the country to help folks enroll. Many of these people don't have to submit to thorough background checks, although they will gain access to personal financial information. And consumer protections for low-income enrollees who miss payments require complex notifications over 90 days before an insurer can end coverage.

Even when the Web site is fixed, these challenges will remain.

In Massachusetts, we received about 100 visits to the site for every one enrollment. If the tens of millions of hits for the federal exchange in October eventually translate into millions of customers, the accuracy of the enrollment data -- and insurers' ability to correctly split premium billing between millions of enrollees and the IRS; track premium remittances; and chase, reconcile and report on accounts receivable -- will be tested under the pressure of high volume. If insurers cannot track and collect premium dollars each month, the extra work of doubling back with customers and insurers will frustrate consumers and delay coverage. And a mounting backlog could eventually compromise the fiscal integrity of the exchange.

SNIP

Because the exchange makes it easy for consumers to compare premiums and other features of one health plan against those of another, by next autumn they will be able to see premium increases, state by state and congressional district by district. The insurance shopping season is scheduled to open on Oct. 15, 2014 -- 20 days before the midterm elections.

Why is this an immediate challenge? Because the hundreds of insurers offering plans on the federal exchange will begin pricing for 2015 in just a few months. Their chief financial officers should be sweating bullets about the obstacles that HealthCare.gov's glitches have put in the path of enrollees. Fortunately, October was an early shopping month, mainly for browsing and for those who are sick and highly motivated to get coverage. It wasn't an important month for enrolling the "young invincibles" -- uninsured young people who don't think they need health care -- who will subsidize older, sicker enrollees. But the longer HealthCare.gov remains clogged, the more young invincibles will be discouraged from joining. If that happens, enrollment in the 36 states using the federal exchange will resemble small, high-risk insurance pools composed mainly of the sick -- potentially causing premiums to soar in 2015.

No. 21 Central Florida (7-1) continues to control its own destiny in the American Conference (formerly the Big East) with a thrilling 1914 win over Houston. If the Knights win out, they'll clinch the conference crown and with it, an automatic BCS bowl bid.

The USC Trojans continue to actively solicit athletic director Pat Haden to give interim head coach Ed Orgeron the job on a permanent basis, with a 62-28 win at California. The Trojans are now 7-3 overall and 4-1 under Orgeron, and host No. 6 Stanford at the Coliseum next Saturday in what could be a very interesting matchup.

And Florida (4-5) is now in serious danger of suffering their first losing season in ages, having lost to Vanderbilt at home for the first time since 1945, 34-17. The Gators now have to win two of their final three games against No. 13 South Carolina, D-1AA Georgia Southern and No. 2 Florida State to become bowl eligible.

But a caveat:

Just how much a role Wilson's mailers played in the campaign is unclear. Other incumbents running for re-election were forced into runoffs, perhaps because the community college system has come under intense criticism for insider business deals and spending money on overseas initiatives. And after 24 years in office, Austin's name should have been somewhat familiar to his constituents.

"I suspect it's more than just race," says Bob Stein, the Rice University political scientist and KHOU analyst. "The Houston Community College was under some criticism for bad performance. And others on the board also had very serious challenges."

Austin has said he plans to ask for a recount. But in an era of electronic voting, political analysts said Wilson's victory will probably hold and send him into office for a six-year term.