Here we go again. Democrats are once again losing the narrative to Republicans on national security, according to a poll released by the Democracy Corps.
The backdrop to this was V.P. Joe Biden's trip to Israel that ended in Sec. Clinton taking it to Netanyahu, which now has the Washington Post questioning "Are America and Israel drifting apart?" Elliott Abrams offers an answer that could become the right's talking point:
The current friction in U.S.-Israel relations has one source: the mishandling of those relations by the Obama administration.
This is simply nonsense, but Mr. Abrams evidently thinks the status quo is good for Israel. See MJ Rosenberg on Biden's speech.
But national security is only one flashing danger signal in this poll. The most alarming reality for Pres. Obama is his low numbers on the economy.
This is truly infuriating. While Obama's likability numbers remain strong, his handling of terror suspects interrogation and prosecution has fallen, which conservatives are highlighting -- one reason Liz Cheney decided it was worth jumping the shark on this subject though it backfired badly on her.
Democrats on the whole have won great strides in national security over neocon Republicans in the last years. After 9/11 and Iraq, Dems are falling back again, which considering the successes of the Obama administration in Pakistan and against al Qaeda is maddening. But that's what a new poll from Democracy Corps reveals, with the number of "drop-off voters" (people unlikely to vote) stunning.
Another alarming trend that hits Pres. Obama is our respected status, which had been at highs, now trending down again.
Q.30 And would you say the United States is more respected or less respected in the world than it was two years ago? Total More respected is 42%; Total Less respected: 50%.
It's more foreshadowing of what may manifest in November, especially since Scott Brown's election, which predicted this poll on national security, revealing Democrats once again slipping to the GOP.
However, it's his own economic numbers that should worry Pres. Obama.
Taylor Marsh is a political analyst out of Washington, D.C.