by Jules Witcover

The battle cry of the old movie "Network" -- "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore" -- seems to be the reigning public attitude in the wake of the long partisan standoff in Congress, at least according to the latest USA Today and Gallup Polls.

Approval of both major parties has dropped, yet at the same time Gallup has reported a sharp rise in voters' enthusiasm for casting ballots in the approaching midterm elections, with more Republicans expressing that sentiment than Democrats.

In the latest measurements, 62 percent of those asked said they have more enthusiasm than usual over the next round of voting, with 69 percent of Republicans so saying, to 57 percent of Democrats. And for the first time since Gallup started tracking by party preference for the 2010 congressional elections, more respondents now say they favor the Republican candidate in their district (47 percent) than the Democratic (44 percent).

The findings, taken after the fight over health-care reform, indicate that the anger that has spilled out over it, and most visibly demonstrated in the tea party movement, may amount to more than just the releasing of hot air. The samples could presage another major power shift in Congress in November of the sort put the Republicans in charge in 1994 and the Democrats back in control in 2006.

Although President Obama appears to be personally rejuvenated by his dramatic come-from-behind victory over health-care reform, the latest poll results, gathered between March 22 and 28, find that 50 percent of voters surveyed say they don't believe he deserves reelection. Three of four also said the country is headed in the wrong direction.

That attitude, coming little more than a year into Obama's presidency, is itself a rather remarkable change in the wake of his historic victory in 2008 and initial high public approval. Beyond disapproval of the health-care bill, it may be the result of unfulfilled high expectations after Obama's repeated campaign promise of change in Washington, stalled by the great recession he encountered on entering office.

The readings reinforce the political imperative of Obama's current public defense of the new law, in which he is out about the country selling its benefits to voters as the Republicans raise threats to repeal it as a centerpiece of their midterm congressional campaign.

Compared to presidential election years, the midterm elections always experience a sharp dropoff in voter turnout, and historically the party of a first-term president loses a fair number of seats in Congress in the first such balloting. So Obama's strategists are well aware that he has some heavy political lifting to do between now and November, putting his speech-making and persuasive talents to work in defense of his performance.

The latest Gallup numbers in USA Today also produced drops in his ratings as a strong and decisive leader, as one who understands fellow-Americans' problems, who shares their values and can govern effectively.

One finding that should benefit the president is the fact that, while the Republicans have an edge in their enthusiasm to vote, the hangover from the George W. Bush years has not vanished. Gallup found that 42 percent of those surveyed said the retired Bush deserved "a great deal of blame" for the economic collapse in his last White House years that carried over into the Obama presidency, compared to 26 percent who similarly blamed Obama.

In all, however, the latest polling is a dash of cold water to a new president reveling in his major health-care victory and energetically pressing on with a heavy menu of domestic and foreign challenges.

This week, in taking on another stiff fight with his call for new offshore oil and natural gas drilling along the Atlantic coastline, Obama has demonstrated no reluctance to engage critics in his own party on an issue that seems driven by pragmatism more than by partisanship.

He also obviously hopes to find some support for it in the opposition party, where offshore drilling, especially in Alaskan waters, has been a chief objective -- along with making Obama a one-term president and, if possible, one without a majority in Congress after November.

 

Available at Amazon.com:

Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. the Supreme Court

The Political Fix: Changing the Game of American Democracy, from the Grassroots to the White House

 

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Angry but Engaged Electorate | Jules Witcover - Politics Today

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