TPM: Big takeaway from Iowa poll: Newt looks lot like Nixon '68

More News Out of Iowa



There are some more details out this morning on that poll from last night showing Newt Gingrich moving into a solid lead in Iowa. The poll is the Des Moines Register poll, conducted by J. Ann Selzer, which is considered the gold standard for Iowa polls. (Another poll out this morning from NBC-Marist shows broadly comparable results.)

The good news for Gingrich is that he’s not only in first place; he’s also the candidate respondents chose most as their second choice. In other words, he’s got room to grow as other candidates fade.
The silver lining for Romney is that respondents he him as most electable (38%), most likable and most presidential. And Mitt is the second choice of most Newt supporters.

-snip-
Looking at the internal data in the poll, a couple more points stick out to me. Iowans don’t really like Newt (only 8% call him most likable) but by massive proportions consider him the experienced (58%) and knowledgable (58%) candidate in the race. He also wins handily as “best able to bring about real change” (27%). Romney doesn’t come close to Newt on any of those measures. Newt’s margins on those measures are much stronger than the Mitt’s margins on the ones he wins.

In the DMR poll Newt wins the who’s most like Reagan question hands down (25%). But, while it may not be an analogy many think of these days, these numbers make Newt look a lot like another Republican president: Richard Nixon, particularly Nixon era 1968. Nixon was never particularly well liked as a politician, no less when he finally won the presidency in 1968. (Too awkward and insecure to have that sort of political magic.) But he was seen as someone who was knowledgable and experienced and able to get things done. That’s what this poll says about Newt Gingrich. And it’s what’s not only shot him to the head of the pack but seems — at least for the moment — to be keeping him there.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2011/12/more_news_out_of_iowa.php

CTyankee Sun Dec-04-11 08:54 AM
This has dismayed me. The SECOND flag story related to Occupy New Haven in local press!



I feel like we are seeing the late 60s all over again, albeit on a much smaller scale here in New Haven.

IMO, we'd be better off by not doing the upside down flag thing, even though we have the perfect right to do so and I even agree with the idea behind it. So to me it's not even a question of whether it is "correct," it is a question of whether it is helpful or hurtful to our cause.

But the flag has become a hot button issue all by itself. The flag is truly a source of derangement to some (sadly unhinged as in this story) people and it is cynically used by the RW. They love it because it distracts the public from the Occupy movement's real messages of fairness, of protest against the greed of a few against the many, of corruption and bailouts for the banks but not for the ordinary people. Those are areas that can resonate with most people. Once the flag gets involved however, reason flies out the window and it becomes THE issue...

And OF COURSE the RW press, such as our NH Register, LOVES to magnify this story with yet ANOTHER minor incident to stir up lots of anger against us.

I find this unfortunate...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2426077