A new Q-poll out (MoE +/- 1.9, 2/25-3/2)
Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Democrats in Congress are handling their job?
Tot Rep Dem Ind
Approve 45% 16% 74% 37%
Disapprove 45 78 17 50
DK/NA 10 6 8 13
Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Republicans in Congress are handling their job?
Tot Rep Dem Ind
Approve 30% 53% 18% 27%
Disapprove 58 40 74 58
DK/NA 10 6 8 13
From NBC/WSJ poll:
Now I'm going to read you the names of several public figures, and I'd like you to rate your feelings toward each one as either very positive, somewhat positive, neutral, somewhat negative, or very negative. If you don't know the name, please just say so.
Very + Somewhat positive (Obama 1/09, Parties 12/08):
Obama: 68 (66)
Democrats: 49 (49)
Republicans: 26 (27)
First Read on the NBC/WSJ poll:
Obama’s favorability rating is at 68% (an all-time high in our survey), 67% say they feel more hopeful about his leadership, 60% approve of his job in the White House, and 49% have a positive view of the Democratic Party (which is also near a high). On the other hand, just 26% view the GOP positively (an all-time low in the poll), respondents blame Bush and congressional Republicans for most of the partisanship in DC, 56% think the GOP’s opposition to Obama is based on politics, and Republicans lose by nearly 30 percentage points on the question about which party would do a better job of leading the country out of recession.
From Gallup:
While Congress is usually the least popular of the three major branches of the federal government, it has enjoyed a boost in popularity in recent weeks, which is evident not only in the way Americans view the institution overall but also in how they view both of the congressional parties.
From the Daily Kos Research 2000 Tracking Poll (MoE 2%, 2/23-6):
Sometimes the numbers speak for themselves. And when they don't, we can explain them:
The results have been unequivocal — the more action government takes to extricate the country from the recession, the better the numbers for Democrats and their leadership.
The country likes positive steps taken. Better it should be bipartisan, but if not, it'll be Democratic, and that's okay with the voters. "Elections have consequences" isn't just a slogan, it's an explanation for the numbers.