Latest NBC News / Wall Street Journal Presidental Poll

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Yesterday was a tough day for former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. First up, Bob Dole wrote an extremely critical letter of Newt, writing

I have not been critical of Newt Gingrich, but it is now time to take a stand before it is too late. If Gingrich is the nominee it will have an adverse impact on Republican candidates running for county, state and federal office. Hardly anyone who served with Newt in Congress has endorsed him, and that fact speaks for itself. He was a one-man-band who rarely took advice. It was his way or the highway,” said Mr. Dole in the letter released Thursday. “Gingrich served as Speaker from 1995 to 1999 and had trouble within his own party. Already in 1997 a number of House members wanted to throw him out as Speaker. Gingrich had a new idea every minute and most of them were off the wall. He loved picking a fight with Bill Clinton because he knew this would get the attention of the press. This and a myriad of other specifics helped to topple Gingrich in 1998.

Newt's performance at the Jacksonville debate was pretty bad. So bad, that today even Paul Krugman wrote "Good-bye, Newt" with the video of "Fly Me to the Moon" (LOL!) Now instead of the press, Newt is blaming the audience, for his poor performance. But the latest NBC News - Wall Street Journal shows Newt is unelectable, and it bodes some serious implications for Republican chances in the November election. As the Wall Street notes in its report:

Mitt Romney mounted a fresh attack on President Barack Obama's stewardship of the economy Wednesday, while a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll raised caution signs for Mr. Romney's strategy of putting the economy at the center of his campaign. Partial results from the poll, released Wednesday, found voters feeling more positively about the economy and of Mr. Obama's handling of it. Some 30% believed the country was headed in the right direction, up eight percentage points from a month ago. Some 60% said the country was on the wrong track, down from 69% in December and from 74% in October. The question is considered an important measure of voters' mood.

For the first time in seven months, the poll found that more people approve of Mr. Obama's job performance than disapprove, 48% to 46%. Some 45% said they approve of his handling of the economy—up six points from mid-December. Republicans had better bring their A game to the election in November, as today's results are a reminder that as attitudes about the economy improve, so does President Obama's standing,'' said Bill McInturff, a GOP pollster who conducts the Wall Street Journal survey with Democratic pollster Peter Hart. "The president still has a very long road ahead of him, but for the first time in a long time he finds that he has the wind at his back," Mr. Hart said.


First up, in the poll Republicans of all persuasions pretty much support Newt Gingrich over Romney:






But who supports which candidate?



But Newt's extremely high unfavorable poll figures kills him with a key demographic that's been key to election victories since 2000: women; and this how Newt figures in a race against President Obama:



But with Mitt Romney, women have a much favorable viewpoint and improves his chances against President Obama significantly:



But the nasty race between Republican candidates is having a real impact with voters, and is hurting the Republican party as a whole. The last 3 Republican nominees came out of their tough primary season with a net positive. The last Democratic nominee that came out of his nomination with a net negative was John Kerry. This is shown in their *net* negative (or unfavorable) figures:



Here is Chuck Todd's reading of the figures. You can view the WSJ's interactive graphic with its own coverage of the poll here.

Comments

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

I cannot fathom why Tea Party members would favor Gingrich. He thinks that a Moon Base would be a jolly good use of public funds. He has made the argument that Romney is some kind of aristocrat, albeit an aristocrat who never has a revolving line of credit with Tiffany's. The man who was run out of DC under a cloud has cast vague aspersions of impropriety on a man who paid $7.1 million in taxes. Astonishing. It has to be more of a visceral dislike of Romney than any understanding of Gingrich's history or positions.

On the upside, I hope this means his star is fading. If Romney wins in Florida I think, barring any surprises, that Gingrich will sink below the waves. Good riddance. Go back to your think tank and dream your grandiose dreams. Some of them are pretty cool, but they don't belong at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

I cannot fathom why Tea Party members would favor Gingrich.

Because he routinely throws them the red meat they crave.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

They favor Gingrich because he's not Romney.

[jennem.livejournal.com]

It has to be more of a visceral dislike of Romney than any understanding of Gingrich's history or positions.

Agreed. Gingrich is just the flavor of the month. He just happens to be the flavor of the month at a critical time in the election cycle (as opposed to when Perry, Cain, and the other flavors of the month were in style).