Democratic Party image at historic low

After the health bill passed last month, the President Obama and the Democratic congress appeared to be on the rebound. Celebrations among Democrats suggested a new confidence, and Obama was said to have a new spring in his step. But as I noted earlier (here), these celebrations seemed inconsistent with the country's mood. 

Now there is evidence that the Democrats’ victory in the health reform battle has not improved the party’s standing among the population. A new poll from USA Today/Gallup finds that Americans’ favorable rating of the Democratic Party fell to 41 percent in late March, its lowest point in the 18 years since Gallup first started measuring it.

In late August/early September 2009, Gallup found that the Democrats had an 11-point favorable image lead over Republicans. Now the favorable ratings are essentially the same: the Democrats at 41 percent and the Republicans at 42 percent. The Republicans can’t take too much comfort from this poll either: their favorable rating increased only two percentage points. The bottom line is, neither party is viewed positively.