As Kos noted on the front page, the trend is moving in our direction. While this may be hard to comprehend for the beltway blowhards like Charlie Cook who rely on drama for their relevance, the numbers speak for themselves. Obama rallying the troops with powerful speeches on HCR, along with Republican getting called out on their obstructionism, lies and over all nihilism are generating a positive trend in the Obama's direction:
AP/GFK Obama at 53%
Obama's job-performance standing is holding fairly steady at 53 percent. And over the past two months, the Democrat has gained ground on national security issues, specifically the subsiding Iraq war and the escalating Afghanistan war, as he has spent most of his time — at least publicly — on domestic matters like the economy and health care. On those issues, he still has the support of about half the people.
Note to congressional Democrats. Killing HCR reform is not going to improve these numbers. Quite the opposite. Headlines week after week rehashing a "major defeat" will fill the airwaves. Momentum will be stopped in its tracks and head south. The issue will reverberate for weeks, months and years to come. The party's most popular figure will be unable to build the momentum to stave off epic losses and hold our majorities. The following testimonial starkly illustrates this view:
I agree with what Obama is trying to do, but nobody is listening to him," said Grace Pope of Waterville, Maine. But this 75-year-old Democrat added, "I don't think that the Congress is doing anything."
The Democrats need to show REAL progress. In fact, while Obama is building on his numbers, Congress is in the tank thanks largely to the Republicans master plan to create dysfunction, chaos and the inability to get anything done:
But his marks have jumped on Iraq and Afghanistan. More than half of people approve of how he's handling the wars, with 55 percent backing him on Iraq and 57 percent supporting him on Afghanistan. That's compared with 49 percent for each two months ago. The new poll was taken during weekend elections in Iraq, where a U.S. troop drawdown is under way, and in the midst of a buildup in Afghanistan, as the U.S. notches victories in rooting out suspected terrorists.
By comparison, Congress' approval rating has dropped 10 percentage points since January, perhaps an indication that people are blaming lawmakers more than the president for gridlock that has paralyzed Washington on a host of fronts.
Perhaps? You think? As it stands now Congressional Democrats are still more popular than Republicans:
Republicans still trail Democrats on the question of who should win control of Congress come November; 44 percent say Democrats, 38 percent say Republicans.
It is still pretty much a certainty that we will lose seats, as historical trends have demonstrated. But if we want to keep our majorities, stave off epic losses, and continue momentum, we can't give in to Republican concern trolling and run for the hills. The voters are demanding results. Will Congress succumb to fear and kill momentum? Will they start to deliver on its promises? We'll know in a week or two.