Why only a 9 point advantage

OK, people wake up. We made a commitment to this board to address issues that are important to the liberal thinker and it is not happening. We are only up by 9 points in the latest poll and frankly, like the Philadelphia Eagles, we are prone to blowing leads. What can we do here to help get the word out; seems like messaging is our forte. What are the big messages we want to put out there? Terror, economy, the strangely rapid drop in gas prices that seem to be happening so close to election time? You gotta give me something here.


Article
Bush up, Dems still favored in November: Reuters poll

Sep 28, 7:26 AM (ET)

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush enjoyed a modest rise in public approval after his recent political offensive on Iraq and security, but voters still favor Democrats in the November 7 congressional election, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Thursday.

Six weeks before voters decide which party controls the U.S. Congress, a majority thinks the country is on the wrong track and nearly three-quarters give the Republican-led Congress negative marks for its job performance.

Democrats have an edge of 9 percentage points, 42 percent to 33 percent, over Republicans when voters were asked which party's candidate they will support in November, the poll found. But voters were evenly split when asked which party they preferred to lead Congress.

The national poll, taken Friday through Monday, found 20 percent of voters still undecided about their congressional vote, leaving room for a momentum shift in the next six weeks. Democrats must pick up 15 House of Representatives seats and six Senate seats in November to reclaim majorities in each chamber.

Public doubts about Iraq, Bush's low ratings and pessimism about the country's future have fueled predictions that Republicans will lose seats in November and are in danger of losing control of at least the House.

But Zogby said Republicans could benefit from the climb in Bush's approval, sparked by increased support among his base voters. The poll found 42 percent of voters thought Bush's job performance was excellent or good, up from 39 percent two weeks ago and 34 percent in mid-August.

"The president and the Republicans are still on the ropes, but they certainly seem to have hit bottom and bounced back," Zogby said. "This is still very competitive."


IRAQ, SECURITY, JOBS
The war in Iraq topped the concerns of likely voters, with 33 percent picking it as their most important issue. Security and the fight against terrorism were close behind with 30 percent, while 23 percent chose the economy and jobs as the top issue.
But 53 percent said the Iraq war was not worth the loss of lives, a slight improvement for Bush from an early September poll where 58 percent said it was not.

The results follow a political offensive this month by Bush and Republicans to portray Democrats as weak on security and to link the unpopular Iraq war to the broader fight against terrorism.

Other polls taken around the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks also have shown Bush and Republicans gaining ground on Democrats, elevating the security issue and bolstering confidence in their leadership on the war on terrorism.

The Zogby poll of 1,000 likely voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
The poll found a majority of voters, 55 percent, believed the country was on the wrong track, usually a reliable indicator of public mood and a bad sign for incumbents.

"There is frustration and disappointment among voters, particularly concerning the direction of the economy," Zogby said.

About one-third of voters, 34 percent, believe their personal finances are better now than four years ago, while 21 percent think they are worse and 44 percent say they are about the same.

The poll also asked which course the United States should pursue over Iran's nuclear ambitions. Nearly half, 45 percent, said Washington should join with allies on a diplomatic effort.
One in four respondents, 26 percent, said they would support sending ground troops into Iran to halt its nuclear efforts, with 70 percent disagreeing.

Asked which of the last four U.S. presidents would be judged most positively by history, 50 percent of poll respondents listed Ronald Reagan. Bill Clinton was second with 29 percent and the current president was third with 11 percent. His father, George H.W. Bush, was fourth with 6 percent.