Democratic Party Maintains Solid Image Advantage Over GOP (Dems better on economy and terrorism)

[jefferson_dem]

September 25, 2007
Democratic Party Maintains Solid Image Advantage Over GOP
Public Prefers Democratic Party to Republican for handling terrorism, military security
by Lydia Saad

PRINCETON, NJ -- Public attitudes toward the two major political parties have not changed much in recent months. That's good news for the Democratic Party, which moved into a superior image position when compared to the Republican Party more than a year ago. Americans not only continue to view the Democratic Party more favorably than the Republican Party in general terms, but they also choose the Democratic party as the preferred party for maintaining the nation's economic prosperity. And, in a departure from recent history, Americans see the Democrats as the political party better able to protect the country from terrorism.

According to Gallup's annual Governance survey, conducted Sept. 14-16, 2007, the Democratic Party enjoys a 15-point lead over the Republicans in overall favorability, 53% vs. 38%.



These ratings are nearly identical to those obtained during July 2007.

Gallup's frequent measurement of party favorability in recent years shows that favorable views of the two major parties were fairly balanced between January 2003 and February 2005. In this period, positive ratings of both parties typically ranged between 47% and 55%, with a high rating of 56% for the Republicans in 2003 (shortly after the start of the Iraq War) and a high rating of 59% for the Democrats in January 2004 (immediately following the New Hampshire Democratic primary).

However, starting in the second half of 2005, the public's positive image of the Republican Party began to show signs of decline. Since April 2006, the Democrats have maintained a consistently strong advantage in favorability, averaging about 14 points.



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http://www.galluppoll.com/content/?ci=28780