How Divided is America?

The Rasmussen Obama Approval Index for today has America evenly split 50/50 in terms of total approval/disapproval. Since Inauguration Day, President Obama's total approval numbers have diminished by 15%, and his total disapproval numbers have risen by 20%. Clearly, Obama's negatives are rising faster than his positives are shrinking. At this rate, what will the President's approval numbers look like by the end of the year? What will they be at his mid-term? Will the Democratic Party even be able to support a second term for Obama?

The political climate which is negatively affecting Obama, is also negatively affecting every Democrat currently holding office, or seeking office. In the Real Clear Politics generic ballot poll average Democrats and Republicans are separated by less than 1/10 of 1%. This is a huge difference from the polling taken just before the election last year. At that time, Democrats led Republicans by double digits. While the current numbers may indicate that Americans are evenly divided along party lines, in terms of ideology, it is anything but an even split.

According to a new Gallup poll, more Americans identify themselves as 'conservative' rather than 'liberal' in all 50 states, and conservatives outnumber liberals by double digits in 40 states. Only in the District of Columbia do liberals outnumber conservatives. This is not a new trend; America has always been center right. So how is it that liberals seem to have so much success in driving government policy so consistantly toward 'statism'.

The biggest problem in the struggle against statism are those who remain neutral; the so called 'moderates'. While moderates outnumber liberals in every state, they also outnumber conservatives in more than half. Liberal Democrats manipulate the moderate voters by pretending to be center right ideologically, while their center left comrades in the media demonize the opposition. It is also very difficult to convince a fence sitting moderate to choose a side since they firmly believe that by not choosing sides they are occupying the moral high ground. They have to come to that decision on their own.

The good news is that the current political battle over health care may be helping moderates to choose a side; the right side.