Democratic Mojo
The Democrats’ strategy of Sit-Back-and-Watch-the-GOP-Implode seems to be working out for them. The party has hardly done much to recommend itself lately, but it’s coming out smelling like a rose in comparison to the republicans. From the latest New York Times poll:
Just 23 percent said they approved of the job Congress was doing, down from 29 percent in January. That is about the same level of support for Congress as in the fall of 1994, when Republicans seized control of the House.
Americans said Democrats would do a better job dealing with Iraq, gasoline prices, immigration, taxes, prescription drug prices and civil liberties.
Fifty percent said Democrats came closer than Republicans to sharing their moral values…A majority said Republican members of Congress were more likely to be financially corrupt than Democratic members of Congress.
By better than two to one, Democrats were seen as having more new ideas than Republicans.
Seventy percent of respondents said the country was heading in the wrong direction.
But if Americans are keen on Democrats in the generic sense, it seems they’ve seen enough of a couple Dems in particular. John Kerry scored a meager 26 percent approval rating in the poll. Al Gore hardly fared better at 28 percent.