These are tough times for politicians looking for public support – particularly the kind of support that’s measured in polls. In the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, only 44% say they have positive feelings toward President Barack Obama. For the Democratic Party, the figure is 36%. For the Republican […] Read more »
Republicans Replay 1998 on Benghazi
… It’s 1998, and House Republicans have moved to charge President Bill Clinton with an impeachable high crime for lying about sex. Parties that don’t control the White House invariably gain in midterm elections. But the anti-Clinton drive energized Democrats. That year, Republicans failed to gain congressional seats in a […] Read more »
Three in 10 Voters Say They Will Vote to Oppose Obama
Three in 10 registered voters say when they vote for a candidate in the fall midterm elections, it will be to send a message that they oppose U.S. President Barack Obama, equal to the amount who said this before the Republican wave election of 2010. Nearly a quarter, 24%, say […] Read more »
Persuasion or turnout in campaign
Lynn Vavreck is a brilliant political scientist from whom I’ve learned a great deal and from whom I still hope to learn much. However, I do hope Democrats do not take to heart her recent Upshot piece entitled, “The Myth of Swing Voters in Midterm Elections,” in which she argues, […] Read more »
The Dangers of Sticking to a Story Line
At a recent lecture at his alma mater, Georgetown University, former President Clinton aired a complaint previously heard from various press secretaries and communications directors. “If a policymaker is a political leader and is covered primarily by the political press, there is a craving that borders on addictive to have […] Read more »
CNN Poll: GOP advantage in midterms
A small edge right now in a key indicator of the midterm elections could lead to a big advantage for the Republicans over the Democrats come November. That’s the suggestion from a new CNN/ORC International poll, that also indicates that President Barack Obama’s lackluster approval ratings and pessimistic perceptions about […] Read more »