Monday, August 30, 2010

Old and busted: "unexpected." New and hot: "unprecedented." - Gallup: "GOP takes unprecedented 10-point lead on generic ballot." It's funny because Obama keeps blaming the Republicans but his numbers keep sinking. Cause and effect? You make the call.

Related - Al Hunt sez: "The Senate is in play."

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nate Silver: "The 10 points are (probably) an outlier, but the Democrats are still in trouble."

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/the-democrats-new-normal/#more-463

Obama's "sinking" approval numbers haven't really gone down in 2010, and according to some pollsters (Rasmussen, Zogby, CBS) are currently going up.

another Eric Lindholm said...

The irony is that the GOP's dream is to gain enough control in Congress to bring whatever limited progress we've had to a screeching halt, reducing Obama to a lame duck for his last two years. The more they can stonewall, the more easily they can make the case that Obama hasn't done anything. What's another two years of letting the country sink deeper into the muck if it wins back the White House, right?

Eric said...

Anon - I read the Nate Silver article today and recall it wasn't as rosy as you portray. Wasn't the warning that a GOP lead is the "new normal" and that likely voters (instead of registered voters) means the lead might be as high as +14 for the GOP? Wow.

Other Eric - If the GOP's goal is to simply thwart Obama's agenda, what does it mean when Americans are - by historic margins - willing to be complicit in returning the Republicans to power. Or could it be that the lack of results coupled with an imperious leadership style has turned off a lot of Americans? I don't view it as sinking the country for politics, and (apparently) neither do a LOT of voters.

Anonymous said...

As they say, when Obama fails, America wins.

Anonymous said...

The Nate Silver article wasn't rosy in any way for the Democrats, but he notes that the 10-point poll stands alone from all the others, and says only that future "likely voter" polls may approach or match it.

Anonymous said...

Well, lookee here... just one week later and the unprecedented 10-point Gallup lead is ALL GONE.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/142892/Parties-Tied-Generic-Ballot.aspx

The truth is likely in between the two polls... which is why it's always a good idea to stuff some crushed ice down the front of one's pants whenever a poll that makes you go "woo-hoo" shows up.