Salon: The liberal backlash that isn't

dennis4868

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Wed Dec-15-10 04:58 PM
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Salon: The liberal backlash that isn't

As one prominent liberal after another cried "betrayal!" over President Obama's tax cut deal last week, I cautioned against reading too much into it: One of the most underappreciated stories of Obama's tenure has been the consistent disconnect between elite liberal opinion about the president and the view of rank-and-file liberals.

That point is more evident than ever today, with the release of a new Washington Post/ABC News poll -- conducted late last week and over the weekend, as the supposed liberal backlash against the deal was at its peak -- that shows Obama's approval rating with liberal Democrats sitting at 87 percent. That's essentially where it's been all year; it represents a statistically microscopic decline from where he stood with liberal Democrats in the last WaPo/ABC survey, taken about six weeks ago. Among all Democrats, Obama's approval rating in the new survey sits at 79 percent -- again, pretty much exactly where it's been all year. As has been the case throughout his presidency, Obama's problem among Democrats -- to the extent he has one at all -- is with self-described moderates and conservatives in the party.

Of course, it's true that earlier this week a Marist poll seemed to show clear erosion in Obama's Democratic support -- with the president's approval rating among Democrats slipping to 74 percent, down from 83 percent in a Marist poll taken last month. Marist also pegged Obama's approval rating among liberals at just 69 percent. Not surprisingly, these numbers were quickly touted by the liberals who have been railing the loudest against Obama as proof that -- finally -- their objections were resonating with the party base. They also allowed some commentators to revive the ridiculous, discredited, but fun to imagine idea that Obama will receive a serious primary challenge in 2012.

But the Marist numbers should probably be taken with a grain of salt. True, the 74 percent approval rating among Democrats is surprisingly low. But polls have shown volatility in this number all year. In Gallup's weekly survey, Obama's approval rating with his fellow Democrats has fluctuated between 76 and 86 percent this year (it's currently at 80 percent). And when you look closely, it's hard to peg the spikes and dips to specific events and developments (and even when it is possible to do so, the bump or spike invariably flattens out). And the 69 percent number among liberals seems to be among all self-described liberals -- not just liberals who also identify as Democrats. The distinction is important, since polls have shown Obama faring much better with liberal Democrats than with all liberals; the latest Gallup poll has Obama's approval at 79 percent among liberal Democrats and just 69 percent among all liberals.

The rest of the article is here....http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/12/15/obama_liberal_backlash

Come on KO and DUers your work is not done....