Two New Polls Highlight GOP Troubles

Yesterday I posted about the Democracy Corps Poll taken recently. It showed that the Republican image is probably about as bad as it has ever been -- with most Americans viewing the party as too extreme. Now two new polls have been released, and both verify that Americans have a very low opinion of congressional Republicans. The public is not in love with congressional Democrats, but they like them a lot better than the Republicans -- and the public blames the Republicans for not compromising to solve the nation's economic problems.

On the other hand, both polls show President Obama with over 50% approval -- better than it's been in months. Here are some numbers from those polls to peruse (and despair over if you're Republican):

NBC NEWS/WALL STREET JOURNAL POLL
Conducted January 12th through 15th

DO YOU APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE OF THE JOB BARACK OBAMA IS DOING?
approve...............52%
disapprove...............44%
unsure...............4%

DO YOU APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE OF THE JOB CONGRESS IS DOING?
approve...............14%
disapprove...............81%
unsure...............5%

DO YOU HAVE POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE FEELINGS TOWARD REPUBLICAN PARTY?
positive...............26%
negative...............49%
neutral...............24%

DO YOU HAVE POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE FEELINGS TOWARD DEMOCRATIC PARTY?
positive...............44%
negative...............38%
neutral...............17%

IF DEBT CEILING IS NOT RAISED WHO WOULD YOU BLAME THE MOST?
Obama & Democrats...............33%
Republicans...............45%
both...............16%
unsure...............6%

CBS NEWS/NEW YORK TIMES POLL
Conducted January 11th through 15th

DO YOU APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE OF THE JOB BARACK OBAMA IS DOING?
approve...............51%
disapprove...............41%
unsure...............7%

DO YOU APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE OF THE JOB CONGRESS IS DOING?
approve...............12%
disapprove...............82%
unsure...............6%

DO YOU APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE OF THE JOB REPUBLICANS ARE DOING IN CONGRESS?
approve...............19%
disapprove...............73%
unsure...............8%

DO YOU APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE OF THE JOB DEMOCRATS ARE DOING IN CONGRESS?
approve...............30%
disapprove...............60%
unsure...............9%

WHO WILL HAVE MORE INFLUENCE OVER THE COUNTRY'S DIRECTION IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS?
President Obama...............59%
Congressional Republicans...............28%
both...............3%
neither...............4%
unsure................7%

WHO DO YOU TRUST MORE TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT THE ECONOMY?
President Obama...............50%
Congressional Republicans................35%
both...............2%
neither...............10%

WHO DO YOU TRUST MORE TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT THE DEFICIT?
President Obama...............50%
Congressional Republicans...............37%
both...............3%
neither...............8%

WHO DO YOU TRUST MORE TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT TAXES?
President Obama...............52%
Congressional Republicans...............36%
both...............2%
neither...............7%

WHO DO YOU TRUST MORE TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT GUN LAWS?
President Obama...............47%
Congressional Republicans...............39%
both...............3%
neither...............7%

The truth of the matter is that President Obama currently has some political capital to spend, while the Republicans have none. This has now been verified by three polls in the last couple of days. The Republicans may think they can continue to obstruct everything the president tries to do, but they are mistaken -- and they will just damage their own party even more (if that is possible). They need to moderate their positions and compromise with Obama & the Democrats to create jobs, improve the economy, and reduce the deficit. But I doubt they will do that. They are too busy playing to their teabagger base -- and that could be a very good thing for Democrats in the 2014 election.