Poll finds most Americans welcome Dem control
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/10/08/art.capital.flower.gi.jpg caption="A new poll suggest a majority of Americans welcome Democratic control."]
WASHINGTON (CNN) - It was one of John McCain's closing arguments: "We're getting a glimpse of what one-party rule would look like under Obama, Pelosi, and Reid. Apparently it starts with lowering our defenses and raising our taxes," the Republican presidential nominee said repeatedly on the campaign trail in the final weeks leading up to Election Day.
But a new national poll suggests why a majority of voters didn't seem to buy that argument, as Barack Obama beat McCain in the presidential election and the Democrats made major gains in both the House, under Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the Senate, under Majority Leader Harry Reid.
In the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Tuesday, 59 percent of those questioned said Democratic control of both the executive and legislative branches will be good for the country, compared with 38 percent saying such one-party control will be bad.
"That much good will from the public opens a window of opportunity for the Democrats," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "But the public expects results, and may not listen to excuses for very long if a Democratic Congress and a Democratic White House can't get their act together in time."
The poll also indicates that the public has a positive view of the Democratic Party, with 62 percent saying they have a favorable opinion and 31 percent an unfavorable opinion of the party. For the Republicans, a majority, 54 percent, said they have an unfavorable view of the GOP while 38 percent hold a positive view.
"The public has a positive view of the Democratic Party while the GOP 'brand' is hurting," Holland said. "Overall views of the Democratic Party have gone from 53 percent favorable in October to 62 percent favorable now; the GOP overall has seen a 5-point drop in its favorable rating."
The 62 percent figure is the "the highest opinion of the Democrats in at least 16 years, since before Bill Clinton got elected," said CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider.
"When has the Republican Party image ever been that bad? Answer: When the Republican Congress impeached President Clinton at the end of 1998," he added.
The poll indicates the public is split regarding the top Democrats in Congress. And that's an improvement.
"Democratic congressional leaders, much maligned this fall, have also seen a boost in their approval rating," Holland said. "Nearly half of those polled now approve of how congressional Democrats are handling their job, up from just a third who felt that way a month ago."
Schneider added, "Same thing happens when you ask them about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Good-bad, 50-50, among voters who even know who they are."
It's a different story for the GOP, with just 24 percent approving of how Republican leaders are handling their jobs and nearly three in four disapproving.
But that doesn't mean the public wants to see the GOP shut out of government. Seven out of eight want the Democrats to include Republican views in any legislation they pass.
"What about those times, and they will occur, when Barack Obama and the Democratic leaders in Congress disagree," asked Holland. "The public is likely to side with Obama: 59 percent say they are more likely to trust him than the congressional Democrats."
With Senate contests in Alaska, Georgia, and Minnesota still unresolved, the Democrats have increased from 51 to 57 seats in the 100-seat chamber. That includes two independent senators, Joe Lieberman and Bernie Saunders, who caucus with the Democrats.
In the House of Representatives, the Democrats have picked up 20 seats, reaching 255, with six out of 435 races still undecided.
"There's an opening here for a new Democratic majority. But it's just that, an opening," Schneider said. "It all depends on how President Obama does. And whether he can overcome the red-blue divide in the country - something neither of the baby-boomer presidents, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, could do."
The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll was conducted Thursday through Sunday, with 1,246 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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I think domestically, Democrats tend do a better job. My problem with a majority of any party is I don't like the fact that there are no checks and balances, so that leaves the door wide open for agenda's that may be good for that particular party, but not good for the country in a whole. It's good to have a balance. And all of you who have a problem with the Dems running things, well, 1992-2000 compared to 2000-2008 should be enough to make you say otherwise. But then we are talking about the bible thumping, confederate flag waving, Jesus freaks known as todays Republican party.
Obama got 53% of the vote... A whopping 7% difference. So what's your point Sara from Arizona?
To Sara from Arizona........please know your geopgraphy! America is not made up of AZ, TX, LA, GA, and whatever RED STATE you can name! America is made up of the BLUE STATES too, which by the way, are a mixture of diversity: rich and poor states, blue-collar and white-collar states, whites, blacks, asians, hispanics. And if that is still not clear to you - be forewarned : with the influx of Hispanic and Asian populations in the South like in your state, in a few years your beloved Arizona might turn BLUE, too!
And for the record : RED is the color of socialism, not BLUE!
And still for the record Sara : Obama won BOTH popular and electoral votes!
Dems need to be in control since the republicans ruined the financial system. it is time to do something bold and new to save the economy because the trickle down approach has failed.
The American wanted change, not McSame.
And Sara fro Arizona, 46% is not half of the country voted for McSame. Only about half of the country voted, so if everyone had voted using the same percentage, that means that 20,000,000 more Americans wanted the Democratic party in change. Hardly a bogus article as you want to claim.
Let's see, how did that saying go in 2000? Oh yeah, GET OVER IT! unlike in 2000, 2008 was a LANDSLIDE, so, GET OVER IT>
@ Brian-Omaha
hmm when did Obama say he was going to allow drilling? St. McCain (may he rest in peace) and the caribou barbie spent the last few weeks of the campaign telling us he never said that all he said was he would look into it.. so either you repubs lied during the campaign or you are an idiot. Either way I am all for stpopping ALL drilling in the US for several reasons.. first we cannot drill our way out of reliance on a dwindling supply once it is gone it is gone second we should use up the rest of the worlds supply before we use our own.. then WE will control the oil the world needs.. hmm now wouldn't THAT be a good position to be in? third so if it cost you $5 a gallon to fill your Hummer maybe you will buy an electric or hybrid car and thereby reduce global warming (I know caribou Barbie told you that is a lie but hey maybe you should talk to those who actually UNDERSTAND what is going on) and reduce the amount of oil required and cointrol prices by demand instead of supply.. but then most "trickle down (voodoo) economist do not understand this
To the 46% of the country out there that voted for McCain:
Yep, its true. Obama is going to raise your taxes, take aways your guns, give abortions to all, and invite all the crazy muslims over for tea at the white house. better go out and buy a lot of guns, and spend all that money you've been saving out of fear of the economy for the last couple of months, because the world's going to end on January 20!
And the rest of us will thank you for getting the consumer economy going again...
I'm all for dem control over both houses, but Pelosi and Reid need to actually do some work on behalf of this country. They've done nothing but promise everything and give us nothing. I still don't understand why she never went after Bush over anything he did wrong, and refused to even discuss the possibility of impeachment proceedings. Being the first woman speaker isn't enough. She has to do something constructive!
repubs had their shot and messed it up bad. the dems ,under barack's obvious leadership skills have a good chance of making some overdue and necessary changes to bring us into this new century, without the doom and gloom of the right-wing christian zealots, waiting for armageddon ,so they can enjoy their mythical 'rapture'. self-defeatists who believe everything they are told by established religions, so they can steal money from the sick and the old.
The Republicans have been the party of obstruction for the last two years. Until they can figure out that people want problems solved - constructive opposition, if you will - not right wing ideological blathering, religious dictatorship and patriotic nation-splitting they will stay the minority party, shrinking (I hope) into legislative insignificance.
Luckily the Democrats are a big tent party looking to get things done. I'm sure they'll find plenty of disagreement and discussion within their own ranks 😉
We would have to stoop very low to repeat the political devastation of the past eight years. I don't think that will happen again. President Obama has proven that he can lead, by the strategic handling of his campaign. With the help of his VP, advisers, cabinet, I know that he will continue to defy pundit reasonings, and do a new thing in this country! They'll get something done in Washigton!
my daddy always said it takes a democrat to run the country right. i believe he was right.
The Republicans have become a flat-earth society, while the Democrats value innovative thinking. I consider myself a fiscal conservative, but if Sarah Palin and Joe the plumber are Republican role models, count me out. I voted for Obama.
To Hillary = No Obama: Shut up and get a life! We won without you! Move on!
As with all articles about polling, it is impossible to understand the results without understanding the methodology, the questions, etc. This reported result is not even understandable without that information.
It takes a democrat about every 4-8 years to fix what the republicans have screwed up prior to them being voted out. Then once things are running smoothly the American populace forgets about voting and a republican gets back in and screws things up again. Remember, history repeats itself.
I can understand why a Dem Prez + Dem Congress combo is appealing to so many people after what we got with 6 years of the Rep Prez + Rep Congress and 2 years of the Rep Prez + Dem Congress combos.
NO MORE WHINING !!!
Neither party has divine wisdom behind its agenda, and the Republicans have been too radical for too long. Sorry, but there's not much "conservative" in the Republican party, not when you sell yourselves out to the Christian Dominionist crazies.
You guys need to find your way back to something resembling reasoned positions if you want reasonable people to start taking you seriously again, and that doesn't mean half-baked free-markets-with-monopolies-allowed dogma, either.
why not Ted Stevens convicted by jury of his peers and allowed to linger on, Ollie North made a comeback according to some outlets
Republicans believe in the Big Lie theory of government. If a office seeker tells a lie often enough and loud enough, some people will believe it. Even though fact finders kept saying that Palin and McCain were lying when they continued to say Obama would raise everyone's taxes, the American people said they were not buying that line.
Since, this country now turning itself with the help of elected officials now in office or to take office. Why not make a "Change in our Credit Industry", which has a lot to do with the downfall of our economy? The Change is needed in urgent from writting off debts of many homeowners, loss of jobs, companies folding, but not them. Their abuse (credit companies) they bounce upon Americans is unethical. Although, the credit companies allowed the banks, mortgage lenders, car dealers and attorneys to give out these death dealing loans by typing "Approve"! When will anyone address this issue, I believe if one thing is broken don't just mask over it but fix all the pain.
Change 2008!
I'd guess most Americans don't know what they've just got themselves into.
SHUT UP REPUBS! You screwed this country up – SHUT UP!
Add me to the list. Great to see the Dems in control again. Finally people with common sense are in control. Now we have can real progress that improves our country.
Republicans have gone to far, they now only represent the very rich and the extremely religious; neither of which should be in control of our government.
Yes, it's time for the Democrats!!