Debate on Blame Allocation

Here is the controversial Facebook status in question:

For those who think that the Democrats are doomed in the 2010 midterm elections... http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/12/23/cnn-poll-more-americans-think-democratic-policies-better-than-republican/

Here are the assorted replies I received for it:

Kevin
IF that poll is even remotely accurate, it shows how misguided the American public truly is...

Matthew
For the record, I have never said that I believe the Democratic party is popular with the American public. My interpretation of the polls that have been coming out for the past several months is that they reflect a widespread disenchantment with ALL major institutions of power - from the government in Washington to the financial leviathans on Wall Street. Anti-establishmentarianism is the prevailing sentiment, and because Republicans are just as firmly associated with the unpopular errors of the past as Democrats (no matter how hard the GOP tries to rewrite history), it is silly for them to feel that growing political and social malaise can hurt the Democrats without also negatively affecting them.
As I see it, the question in 2010 will not be which party is preferred by the American people, but rather which one is the least reviled. The contest which lies before us promises to be one of the ugliest in recent history - each party already possesses a well-stocked arsenal of denigrating characterizations about the other, and they will be used vigorously and frequently when it comes time to begin electioneering. Whether Democrats or Republicans are more fervently hated by 2010 depends on political, social, and most of all economic factors that have yet to be determined. All that is certain is that the acrimony which already marks midterm election cycles is going to be exponentially heightened this time around.

Sean
Misguided? Absolutely, but not because poll data leans left, its because fools allow themselves to be taken in by alarmists and conspiracy theorists. Anybody who seriously thought that Obama was going to have death panels and turn this country into the Soviet Union is misguided, much like those who believe the moon landing was faked or JFK was killed by a "magic bullet." Political polls sway like grass in the wind, and saying that they dip one way or the other must be because of bad judgment and bad leadership instead of overt brainwashing and reactionism shows that you are probably just as misguided as the people you were so quick to judge.