Saturday, January 30, 2010

Obama's SOTU rally speech achieved its goal as 15% Dems returned home approving him

(Rasmussen).Looking only at interviews conducted on the two nights following the speech, it is clear that the President enjoyed a bounce in the polls and that the bounce came from members of his own party. On the morning of the speech, 50% of Democrats Strongly Approved of the President’s performance. On the two nights following the speech, that number jumped to 65%. There was essentially no change among Republican and unaffiliated voters.

This could suggest that the President’s “pivot” following the Republican upset in Massachusetts is a pivot towards energizing his party base more than reaching out for support from unaffiliated voters. In Massachusetts and the two Governor’s races last fall, a lack of enthusiasm from Democrats contributed to the party’s defeats.

Polling conducted after the speech also found that most voters do not believe the President’s assertions about tax cuts, economic growth, or job creation. Democrats tend to give him the benefit of the doubt. Republicans and unaffiliated voters do not.

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"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty" (Churchill)