POLL RESULTS: If the 2010 elections were held today, which party would you vote for? Tied.

FrenchieCat

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Fri Mar-20-09 04:52 PM
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POLL RESULTS: If the 2010 elections were held today, which party would you vote for? Tied.

Edited on Fri Mar-20-09 05:10 PM by FrenchieCat

In NPR's first survey since the election, a bipartisan team of pollsters � Republican Glen Bolger and Democrat Stan Greenberg � found that a lot has changed. Despite a major economic crisis, far fewer voters think the country is on the wrong track: 63 percent, down from 80 percent in the previous NPR national poll.

That means that � relatively � people are happier with their leaders in Washington. But when asked whether they'd vote for the Republican or Democratic congressional candidate if the 2010 elections were held today, the result was a tie: 42-42.

"There's concern about the spending plans and other paths that Obama and Democrats in Congress are taking, so I think you're seeing a little bit more move toward a balance," Bolger said. "People still want the president to succeed. He's got a 59 percent approval rating. He has a lot of intensity, particularly from his base. But that doesn't mean that people want one side to have a blank check."

Historically, the party that holds the White House and Congress loses seats in midterm elections. But Greenberg points to other findings in the survey, which was conducted March 10-14.

"Everything else in this poll points toward much more dramatic shifts toward the Democrats," he said. "On all of the arguments we've looked at in this survey, on virtually every single question, Democrats enjoy about a 10- to 12-point advantage."

When asked to compare Democratic and Republican positions on health care, energy, the deficit, taxes, the stimulus package and the president's budget, Democrats came out ahead across the board.

"That means Republicans still have their work cut out for us," Bolger said.

"It means the Democrats are dominating the issue debate before the country," added Greenberg. "As we're going into these big debates about the direction of the country, we have the Democrats with a consistent advantage on ideas. And this is above partisanship � this is twice the party ID advantage."

On party ID, the number of likely voters identifying themselves as Democrats is 6 points ahead of Republicans � not nearly as big a spread as during the election, or in the actual voting for House seats.

Then there's the president's job approval rating: a healthy 59 percent overall, and 56 percent on handling the economy. It is down from the mid-60s, but it's just about where the past four presidents have been at this point in their terms.

Still, inside the Obama approval rating, there are data that are heartening to Republicans who have been waiting a long time for some good news � and Bolger is one of them.

"What I find encouraging is that in this survey, he's under 50 percent approval among independent voters," Bolger said. "I thought that, you know, given his rock star status, that he was going to be stronger longer with independents. But independents are becoming a little more skeptical. They haven't turned on him by any stretch, but he's not up on the pedestal among independents like he had been right after the election and right around the inauguration."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101974694

For those who haven't yet figured out what this whole ginned up outrage on Bonuses is really about, I've got a couple of condos to sell you with no money down!

Note that if it wasn't for the Republican's pesky problem of Obama's popularity, we would be heading toward bigtime doo-doo, and to a great degree, that is exactly what is being "worked" on with this attempt to pin this Bonus Bogus Bullshit on Barack Obama. I warned about our gleeful media having such large smiles on their faces, and some listened, most didn't.

Here's my warning right before this latest manufactured controversy exploded: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8266149

In actively encouraging the "Criticize your President all you want because it is the only healthy thing to do" motto from some factions of our party.....When we lose some of our majorities in Congress, and our President is hog tied on various policies, they should not act like they didn't know what was happening. They did; in fact their buzz is helping the cause....of the Republicans that is. I certainly hope that at such time that this ploy of the GOP/media works, this faction of our party will finally dispense with the niceties of their rationalization and understand that politics is like a playground school house game for both the media and the Republicans, not like an Oxford high minded debate of principles.

Those who worked hard on this project of relentlessly attacking this President, I will have to give them my congratulations if they are sucessfull, as they understood precisely what some do not (or do not want to); that "United we Stand, Divided, we fall"

New poll for National Public Radio by the Republican firm POS and the Democratic firm GQR showing President Obama's job approval rating at 59%, with 35% disapproval. Overall, Obama's job approval stands at 60.2% in the RCP Average.

Congress' job approval rating are the inverse of the President, with only 36% approving of the job its doing with 59% disapproving. Congress' job approval is 36.8% in the RCP Average.

Also, surprisingly, in the generic ballot question Republicans and Democrats are tied at 42% each.

President Obama Job Approval RCP Average
Approve 60.8 Disapprove 30.2 Spread +30.6

Congressional Job Approval RCP Average
Approve 37.0 Disapprove 52.0 Spread -15.0

Direction of Country RCP Average
Right Direction 37.3 Wrong Track50.8 Spread -13.5

Generic Congressional Vote RCP Average
Democrats 47.6 Republicans 38.6 Democrats +9.0

http://realclearpolitics.blogs.time.com/2009/03/17/npr-poll-obama-approval-at-59/

Further commentary on gains in various polls by the GOP intelligencia (if that isn't an Oximoron, I don't know what is! :crazy: )
http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2009/03/npr_poll_democrats_and_republi_1.asp