GOOD MORNING, WHITE HOUSE, HERE'S THE POLLING NEWS – AT 7:55 A.M. ET:  There's a point in any failing administration when the American people start to catch on, and they let us know it.  Gallup has produced some evidence that the light bulb is going on above the heads of more and more voters.  From Byron York in the Washington Examiner:

A new Gallup poll asked respondents whether they think the views of the Democratic party are "too conservative, too liberal, or about right" and then asked the same question about the Republican party. The results: 49 percent of those surveyed say the Democratic party is too liberal, while 40 percent say the GOP is too conservative. That 49 percent figure for Democrats, Gallup says, is the highest number for the party since 1994, just before Republicans won the House and Senate.

The number of Americans who say the Democratic party is too liberal has been increasing in the last two years, while the number who say the Republican party is too conservative has been decreasing.

Gee, I wonder why the Dem figure has been increasing.  You don't think driving us into near-bankruptcy has anything to do with it, do you?

The change in perception of Democrats has been most marked among independents. In 2008, 40 percent of independents said the Democratic party was too liberal. Now, it's 52 percent.

Elections are won and lost in the great middle, and among independents.  The Democrats' problems among independents are a good omen for the GOP this year.  We have four and a half months until the election.  If Republicans do the job, we could have a very satisfying election night.

However, as Urgent Agenda subscriber Chris Corbett said on the radio show we did with Silvio Canto Jr. last night, it's important for the GOP not to raise expectations too high.  Then, anything below those expectations looks like failure.  The idea is to run as if you're 20 points behind, and be delightfully surprised by the result.

June 14, 2010