We knew it all along, and this is the headline from the WaPo today:
Rising Anti-Bush Sentiment Driving Democrats to Polls
The Democratic presidential contest went national yesterday, and what was true in Iowa and New Hampshire proved true coast to coast: Voters in these elections are deeply dissatisfied with President Bush, and defeating him in November is their prime issue, according to exit polls.
The belief that he can beat Bush continued to be Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry's greatest attribute with the Democratic electorate, the polls suggested. Even in South Carolina, where Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) handed Kerry his first defeat in this nomination fight, Kerry led 2 to 1 among voters who rated electability as the quality they cared most about in a candidate.
That advantage translates among Democrats all over the country, according to yesterday's exit polls. For the first time, southern, western and big-city voters were heard from; African American voters -- a key Democratic constituency -- voted in large numbers for the first time, as did Hispanics. Turnout was a record high for a Democratic primary in South Carolina and was twice the 2000 number in Arizona. Anti-Bush feeling varied a bit from place to place -- higher in Delaware, a little lower in South Carolina and the classic swing state of Missouri. But there was consistent dissatisfaction among primary voters on the economy, the war and Bush's performance.
This is a referendum on the incumbent, not on the challenger. i think the chattering class is waking up to that, as I heard an amazing amount of time devoted to this topic between tweey, Russert and brokaw on MSGOP and it's now seeping into the SCLM. More high turnout primaries will only emphasize the point.
Searching for flaws, real or imagined in the Dem candidates is missing where this election is going.
I like where we are, and I'm liking the eventual nominee's chances every day a little more.
George W Bush is a failed President. Stonewalling commisions and Max Cleland tactics aren't going to save him.
Wake up, Mr. President. It's Morning in America.
A significant slice of yesterday's voters went beyond dissatisfaction to "anger" at the administration -- half of the Democratic voters in Delaware, four in 10 in Missouri and one in three in Bush strongholds such as Oklahoma and South Carolina.
Read on for yourself. I can't wait to analyze those exit polls.