[W]hat's gone largely overlooked is the numbers for the Republican Party. Consider this tidbit from the NYT/CBS poll:
While Republicans have steadily increased their criticism of Mr. Obama, particularly on the budget deficit, the poll found that the Republican Party is viewed favorably by only 28 percent of those polled, the lowest rating ever in a New York Times/CBS News poll. In contrast, 57 percent said that they had a favorable view of the Democratic Party. [emphasis added]
The WSJ/NBC poll added:25 percent hold a favorable view of the Republican Party, which is an all-time low for it in the poll. 45 percent hold a favorable view of the Democratic Party. [emphasis added]
I guess "Republican party unpopular" is dog-bites-man, but is "Republican party more unpopular than ever?" These are historic lows. These are in competition with Dick Cheney's worst approval ratings. Raw liver sandwiches are probably more popular than the Republican party right now.
But, never mind that, the big news coming out of these polls is that Obama's approvals are still high, while approval for his policies have slipped from wildly popular to just popular. Therefore, he's on the path to a failed presidency or something.
Don't expect the media to make sense. That's why I'm always yelling at them here.
