From the latest James Carville and Stan Greenberg strategy memo: “The Democratic advantage in party identification has reached 8 points, reflected in our 4,500 interviews conducted from December to March.
“That compares to 3.5 in the month leading up to the 2006 election upheaval — and compares to an average Democratic advantage of only 2 points at the beginning of the last election cycle.
Recommended Stories
“This is a new period with a wholly new landscape. Further, independents now break consistently for the Democrats by about 3 points, giving the Democrats an overall 11-point lead in party alignment — the overall disposition of the country.
“At the same time, Democrats are feeling intensely about their identification as 31 percent identify as ‘strong’ Democrats, compared to only 21 percent ‘strong’ Republican partisans.”
Meanwhile, polling suggests the traits Democrats are looking for in their 2008 presidential nominee:
» Iraq is the first issue for Democratic primary voters — aninitial filter before getting to everything else.
» Democrats are looking for a candidate who will rise above partisanship and unify the country.
» Health care is a huge priority for the Democratic primary voters.
» Democratic primary voters are looking for a change agenda and a boldness that is reflective of the country.
Part of Examiner’s weekly Blog Bits series.
