The survey says...

Posted at 4:10 PM on January 11, 2006 by Bob Collins

Two surveys are out today that have caught Polinaut's eye. The first, from the Pew Center reports few people are paying attention to either the Abramoff story or the Alito nomination.

It also reports a "growing Democratic advantage" on Iraq and domestic concerns. Forty-one percent of those surveyed believe Democrats are the best party to handle the nation's problems -- with a high score of 50% on Iraq (vs. 31% for the GOP) and a low score of 34 percent on security/terrorism. The latter -- as it's usually been...was the high mark for Republicans (52%).

This presents a difficult situation for Republicans. Clearly a strategy aimed at increasing security/terrorism as an issue would benefit them. But Iraq is now the Republican weakness and the GOP has linked terrorism and Iraq so much since 2003 that drawing a distinction now will certainly be a challenge.

Part of that survey, by the way, said 81 percent of those surveyed think it's "common" for lobbyists to bribe congressmen. Given the high incumbency rate, we presume those surveyed don't believe their congressman is on the take.

Meanwhile, A Quinnipiac poll shows little harm to Sen. Joe Lieberman for his support of the war in Iraq. But they're holding it against President Bush.

The new poll shows that Connecticut voters strongly oppose the war and give President George Bush low approval ratings. Sixty-one percent of voters disapprove of the job Bush is doing, compared to 35 percent who approve.

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