Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 10/12/2009-10/15/2009. All adults. MoE 2% (Last weeks results in parentheses):
| FAVORABLE | UNFAVORABLE | NET CHANGE |
---|
PRESIDENT OBAMA | 55 (54) | 37 (38) | +2 |
| | | |
PELOSI: | 37 (36) | 55 (56) | +2 |
REID: | 33 (32) | 57 (57) | +1 |
McCONNELL: | 17 (18) | 64 (64) | -1 |
BOEHNER: | 13 (14) | 62 (61) | -2 |
| | | |
CONGRESSIONAL DEMS: | 39 (38) | 55 (56) | +2 |
CONGRESSIONAL GOPS: | 16 (17) | 69 (69) | -1 |
| | | |
DEMOCRATIC PARTY: | 41 (40) | 51 (50) | 0 |
REPUBLICAN PARTY: | 21 (22) | 67 (66) | -2 |
Full crosstabs here. This poll is updated every Friday morning, and you can see trendline graphs here.
After a few weeks of statistical noise, there is an evident trend to the movement in this week's incarnation of the Daily Kos "State of the Nation" tracking poll. All of the Democrats hold steady or increase their net favorabilities. All of the Republicans cede some ground this week.
To be sure, the movements are slight: net favorabilities in all matters change between 1-2 points, which can easily be dismissed as fractional movements.
But it is equally evident that the movements are uniform by partisan identification, which is something that has not happened since the Democrats took a beating with their base in August, and the Republican base awoke from their lengthy slumber.
What is somewhat intriguing about this partisan movement is that it runs counter to public perception about the direction of the country. One would presume that if the Democrats are gaining (even a small measure of) esteem with the voters, and the Republicans are tanking, then the voters must feel that the Democratic-led government is moving things in the right direction. In fact, the opposite is true:
Right Track/Wrong Track Measurements, Tracking Poll, Past 3 Weeks
Sept 28-Oct 1-- 42/53
Oct 5-8-- 41/55
Oct 12-15-- 40/56
How to reconcile the two?
Perhaps voters are understanding that the Democrats are at least trying to govern, while the GOP sole goal appears to be obstruction. With the general sense that the status quo is not desirable nor acceptable, these numbers may soon suggest that a governing philosophy solely based on saying "no" might not be as bankable as the Republican Party would like to believe.