Josh Kraushaar discusses the idea of voters seeking checks and balances in the next election with Glen Bolger and Neil Newhouse on Politico’s blog The Scorecard.
Our latest national survey provides strong evidence that voters are concerned that they have given too much power to one political party and that Republicans can provide a check and balance,” wrote POS pollster Glen Bolger.
“Checks and balances is no substitute for policy alternatives, but it does provide an opening for the GOP to be heard on the issues and to put a few speed bumps in the way of the liberal rush to spend as though there is no tomorrow – and no need to pay it back.”
Public Opinion Strategies pollster Neil Newhouse argued that while Obama continues to have a very high personal approval rating (79 percent), the number of voters supporting his policies is lower (55 percent). And that creates an opening for GOP candidates to run against a Democratic Congress, which 57 percent of respondents view unfavorably.
Pollster.com linked to the recent 100 days survey results on our blog.
The Yahoo! News blog discusses the results of the various 100 Days polls and how they reflect President Obama’s popularity and success thus far. While his numbers remain high, the bloggers point to a quote from Bill McInturff in the Wall Street Journal that says that Obama’s popularity is not necessarily due to Americans’ approval of his policies.
Though it may all sound good, The Wall Street Journal pointed out back in March that while Obama’s poll numbers are solid, the fact that people are bigger fans of the president himself than they are of his programs could be a big red flag:
William McInturff, a Republican pollster who is co-director of The Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, notes that an approval rating in the 60% range is about where new presidents often find themselves about now. Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush were in the same range at this point. Jimmy Carter actually had a 75% approval rating in Roper Center polling in mid-March of his first year. That certainly didn’t last.