The Washington Post has new poll numbers that don't bode well for the president and his party: The GOP is trending upward, and voters are disappointed with the direction of the country. Still, Obama and Democrats continue to be the most popular political actors in Washington, and Republicans remain disliked by a majority. Two observations are worth making.
1. Obama's most effective issue is fighting terrorism, where he has a 56 percent approval rate. This doesn't seem unrelated to his ability to make decisions about fighting terrorism without Congress holding it up more often than not. Also, Obama has not hestitated to draw rhetorical lines between his policies and that of the GOP on this issue (compare this response to this one). Spencer Ackerman observes that the poll shows both a policy victory and a political one -- and "that the public is resistant to empty demagoguery from the party that mired the country in unnecessary wars at the expense of necessary ones."
2. This first note suggests that, if poll numbers are your thing, Obama ought to take a more assertive stance on domestic issues that aren't trending as well. This, then, is the most important piece of data from the graph:
Moderate Democrats should ask themselves which of those demographics they want excited during next year's elections.
-- Tim Fernholz
