From todays New York Times:
"WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush and Republicans have gained some ground in their bid to hold onto Congress as a sustained GOP effort to portray Democrats and Iraq war critics as appeasing terrorists has swayed voters.
Democrats, however, hold a wide advantage when it comes to who should control Congress with seven weeks to the midterm elections."
http://www.nytimes.com/...
With all the talk of the Rassmussen poll and others, I am surprised by the little mention of this new AP-Ipsos poll showing the Republicans in deep trouble.
Even after the all-9-11 all-the-time weekend, Bush's primetime speech and the two weeks of fear mongering that preceded it, the GOP hasn't substantially improved its position.
But while the poll of 1,501 adults conducted Monday through Wednesday showed gains in the GOP's standing, Republicans still risk losing their grip on the House and Senate.
By a double-digit margin, likely voters say they still are more inclined to put Democrats in control of Congress after a dozen years of Republican rule.
In the horse race match-up, the Dems lead by 14%, and Bush is only at 40%.
The president's approval rating was in the low 30s last month. Now, 40 percent of likely voters approve of his job performance -- better but still below the comfort zone for Republicans.
This is encouraging news. Even if the Ipsos polls generally come in one or two percentage points below the average, as I am told by others, this still means Dems took everything the Repubs could throw at them the last twp weeks and came out of it in great position. Of course, Bush and Rove aren't finished, they are just beginning, but it could have been a lot worse. And with the encouraging numbers in specific races, I am feeling better now than I did just one day ago.