The NBC/WSJ Journal poll out this morning brings much good, and interesting news to Democrats.
Mark Murray, Deputy political director of NBC news reports that NBC/WSJ poll: Cain now leads GOP pack Additionally, Democrats have substantially improved on the generic 2012 House "which party would you favor polls."
Also, despite grumblings of a demoralized base, more Democrats favor President Obama's reelection now than did even Bill Clinton at his highest point -- 73% to 67%.
... the onetime frontrunner, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, has plummeted to third place, dropping more than 20 percentage points since late August. ...
Cain checks in as the first choice of 27 percent of Republican voters in the poll, followed by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at 23 percent and Perry at 16 percent. After those three, it’s Texas Rep. Ron Paul at 11 percent, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 8 percent, Bachmann at 5 percent and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman at 3 percent.
In the previous survey, conducted in late August, Perry led the field at 38 percent, Romney stood at 23 percent, while Cain was at only 5 percent.
It would probably be good news for Democrats if Cain wins the GOP nomination, however, analysts are quick to point out that it is still a year from the election, and the GOP polls have been popping up and down as they go through a series of "anyone but Romney" cycles.
Some on Chuck Dodds show say this predicts a Romney/Cain 2012 ticket.
Also of interest, 73% of Democrats want Obama to run, exceeding the maximum support level for Bill Clinton's renomination by Democrats was 67%.
In other good news for Obama he still leads in head-to-heads against all GOP candidates.
In hypothetical match-ups for the general election, President Barack Obama leads Romney by two points, 46 percent to 44 percent, which is virtually unchanged from August.
Against Cain, Obama enjoys an 11 point advantage, 49 percent to 38 percent. And against Perry, the president is up by 12 points, 51 percent to 39 percent.
Also, I believe I heard Chuck Todd, of MSNBC say this morning that that the Democrats have improved our generic match-up in the House as well, although I'm still looking for written confirmation.
Good news Democrats
I'm in a much better mood now, than last night, when discussion that the early analysis indicates the GOP are slightly favored to take both the House, and Senate, as well as the White House, as we searched for way to get to 270 electoral votes without Ohio, or Florida which do not look good. Some combination of Nevada, Colorado, Virginia, and North Carolina are theoretically possible if we can hang on to Pennsylvania, and Michigan, which are not listed as battleground states.
Although, if Romney keeps badmounthing the Presidents noble rescue of the auto-industry, Michigan may come back to the Democratic side, despite predicted 9% unemployment.
I'm glad I didn't jump off the bridge with the others. But, if the GOP sweep 2012 we should probably put my name on a watch list for something.
Maybe the voters are catching on to the shallowness of the GOP antics.
6:46 AM PT: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/...
NBC/WSJ poll: Despite defeat, Obama's jobs bill is popular
By NBC's Mark Murray
Even though the United States Senate on Tuesday blocked President Obama's jobs bill, the legislation's specifics -- as well as the idea of taxing the wealthy to pay for it -- are popular with the American public, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
When asked simply if Congress should pass the legislation or not, 30 percent of respondents answer yes, while 22 percent say no; 44 percent have no opinion.
But when the legislation's details are included in a follow-up question -- that it would cut payroll taxes, fund new road construction, extend unemployment benefits, and that it would be paid for by increasing taxes on the wealthy -- 63 percent say they favor the bill and 32 percent oppose it.
What's more, 64 percent of respondents agree with the statement that it is a "good idea" to raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations, because they should pay their fair share and can afford to pay more to help fund programs and government operations.
By comparison, 31 percent agree with the statement that raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations is a "bad idea," because higher taxes take away money that would otherwise be invested to help grow the economy.
One pundit on MSNBC says what this means is that the GOP is signallying that they want a Romney/Cain ticket.