The Obstructionists Lost

The most recent column by Joe Conason is worth a read:

Nearly every poll now says that Mr. Obama’s popularity and approval ratings remain at extraordinary levels. Just as important, he has displayed the capacity to persuade the public that his policies deserve support, as he did when he finally began to campaign on behalf of the stimulus last week. The latest Gallup survey shows that support for the stimulus rose markedly among Democrats and stabilized among both independents and Republicans as soon as he started speaking out forcefully.

Not only did the president win the debate over his bill, but he also rebutted the Republican argument over tax cuts versus spending, according to Gallup’s Feb. 9 poll. By 50 percent to 42 percent, most Americans believe that government spending will do more to spur economic growth than tax cuts — a stunning repudiation of conservative ideology. Although Republicans tend to prefer tax cuts by wide margins, Democrats remain convinced that spending works better and, ominously for the right, so do independents by a margin of 50 percent to 36 percent.

...So the approval ratings of the Republican Party and the Congressional minority declined during this struggle, while the ratings of the Democrats and the Congressional leadership improved, despite their uneven performance. Those numbers should bolster the determination of the president and his party to push ahead—and to push back when they meet obstruction, as they inevitably will.