The Extended Honeymoon

Rasmussen reports that nearly two-thirds of Americans continue to place blame for the nation's economic troubles on Bush, providing Obama much-needed manuevering room to take dramatic steps (nationalizing a bankrupt GM, for instance) to put the economy on a more solid footing.

Take Me To Your Leader

Rasmussen is polling Republican voters about who they view as the leader of the rapidly shrinking GOP. Compared to Rasmussen's March 2009 numbers, the search for a new leader reveals a roster of golden oldies emerging to fill the power vacuum. Who has stepped forward to become the leading Goposaur?

	Mar-09	May-09
John McCain	5%	18%
Michael Steele	5%	14%
Sarah Palin	1%	10%
Mitt Romney	N/A	8%
Rush Limbaugh	2%	6%
Dick Cheney	N/A	4%
No Clear Leader	68%	37%
Not Sure	17%

Earlier this month, Rasmussen reported deep dissatisfaction among the Republican faithful regarding their congressional leadership, with 69% saying they have lost touch with their base nationally.

A Failure to Communicate

Perhaps this explains why Democratic leaders have put Cap & Trade legislation on the back burner. From Rasmussen:

Given a choice of three options, just 24% of voters can correctly identify the cap-and-trade proposal as something that deals with environmental issues. A slightly higher number (29%) believe the proposal has something to do with regulating Wall Street while 17% think the term applies to health care reform. A plurality (30%) have no idea.

According to this poll, Democrats are less likely to accurately describe Cap & Trade as proposal to address climate change than their Republican or independent cohorts. What does this say about Democratic leadership's messaging efforts if they're own supporters are clueless on one of their top priorities?

Losing the Argument on Taxes

Despite widespread agreement among economists that tax cuts are the least stimulative option in the government's arsenal to stimulate an economy in recession, Rasmussen tells us "More Voters Than Ever Say Tax Cuts Help the Economy." Sixty-three percent believe cuts are helpful to the economy while 51% believe tax increases would be detrimental to the economy.

I realize these numbers are from Rasmussen, so I'm skeptical of putting too much weight in their importance, but progressives still have a huge task in front of us to educate Americans about tax policy if the Obama Administration is going to have the leeway to advance it's ambitious reform agenda.

Is There Something in the Water

that makes Texans fans of the epic fail?