Merkins Acting Downright Rational

Just in time for tonight's State of the Union address, a few polls are showing that the elections did indeed mean something. The progressive point of view is working out for us, and Americans being polled this last week like it.

Dan Froomkin reports on the latest WaPo/ABC poll; results just in.

President Obama goes into tonight's big event in a commanding position, despite the enormous challenges he and the country face.

He is vastly more popular than the members of Congress he is addressing, and the American public strongly supports the policies he has advanced so far.

In fact, two new polls show not only that Americans are resoundingly behind him, but that they want his political opponents to back down and let him govern.

On the issue of bipartisanship, something of an inside-the-Beltway obsession, the public actually thinks Obama has gone too far, while Republicans haven't gone far enough. According to the New York Times/CBS News Poll, a whopping 79 percent of Americans think working in a bipartisan way is more important for Republicans than sticking to their party's policies. By contrast, 56 percent think it's more important for Obama to stick to the policies he campaigned on than to reach out.

Obama's approval rating is dropping slightly because support from Republicans is plummeting. But overall, the numbers suggest that the Republican Party's decision to redefine itself in opposition to Obama and his stimulus package may simply accelerate its transformation to a regional party without much of a national foothold.
(snip)
Americans put far more faith in Obama than in congressional Republicans: Sixty-one percent said they trust Obama more than the GOP on economic matters; 26 percent side with the Republicans in Congress. On that question, Obama's advantage is bigger than George W. Bush, Bill Clinton or George H.W. Bush ever had over the opposition party in the legislature.

"Overall, Democrats maintain an edge of nearly 2 to 1 over Republicans as the party that Americans prefer to confront 'the big issues' over the next few years."

It really looks as if the drooling dolt that our right wing elements seem always to be addressing has slipped off under the rocks they should stay under. I look forward to an intelligent SOTU for the first time since Clinton gave them. What a wonderful event, that and seeing in poll numbers that my fellow citizens are acting like adults with brains.

Things look good. Too bad it took financial catastrophe to bring this out. I would have much preferred that torture had been the final straw for us all.