LATEST POLLS - AT 9:58 A.M. ET:  Although polls differ from pollster to pollster, the general trend cannot be pleasing to the Democratic Party or to the White House:

Rasmussen reports that the Republicans continue their lead in the generic Congressional ballot:

Republican candidates have bounced back to a seven-point lead over Democrats in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 44% would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate while 37% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent.

Support for GOP candidates is up just one point over the past week, but support for Democrats slipped two points. A week ago, the Republican lead was down to four points from a seven-point margin the last week in November.

Republicans have held the lead on the ballot for over four months now. Democrats currently have majority control of both the House and Senate.

This doesn't mean the Republican Party is all that loved.  Most polls show that the GOP gain has come largely because of the unpopularity of the Democratic Congressional leadership. 

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows another drop for President Obama:

Fifty percent of Americans in this ABC News/Washington Post poll approve of the president's work overall, down 6 points in the last month; nearly as many, 46 percent, now disapprove. On the economy, 52 percent disapprove, a majority for the first time. On the deficit, his worst score, 56 percent disapprove.

And the grimness continues:

There are further challenges. Obama's approval rating among independents, the crucial center of national politics, is 43 percent, a new low and down from a peak of 67 percent in the heady days a month after he took office. He's down by 9 points this month among moderates. He's got just 41 percent approval among whites, vs. 76 percent among nonwhites; and just 42 percent among seniors, a reliable voting group (looking to the 2010 midterms) and one particularly disenchanted with health care reform.

We stress that the 2010 midterms are still 11 months away, many lifetimes in politics.  But one thing that we should point out is that the GOP has recruited a number of excellent Senate candidates in many states, a reversal from the party's mediocre recruiting record in recent elections.  You can't beat somebody with nobody, but if you've got somebody, well...you never know.

Early polls, but encouraging.

December 16, 2009