OBAMA ARMY LOSING CLOUT? - AT 7:31 A.M. ET:  From the McClatchy Newspapers: 

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's army of canvassers fanned out across the nation over the weekend to drum up support for his $3.55 trillion budget, but they had no noticeable impact on members of Congress, who on Monday said they were largely unaware of the effort.

"News to me," said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, a House Budget Committee member, of the canvassing. Later, his staff said that his office had heard from about 100 voters.

This dovetails well with a report by Michael Barone, noting that the Democratic Party seems to be losing favor:

Last Wednesday, I noted that Republicans are now running even or slightly ahead in the generic vote for Congress in two respected national polls. On Friday, Charlie Cook noted the same results. He pointed out that the NPR survey shows Independents favoring Republicans 38-24 percent and that Republican pollster Glen Bolger says this is the first time Independents have favored Republicans since 2004.

What is going on here? One thing we know is that these results represent more of a decline in the Democrats' numbers than an increase in the Republicans'. Some significant bloc of voters, heavily loaded toward independents, seem to have soured on the Democrats since Barack Obama took office and the 111th Congress went to work.

COMMENT:  The problem, hinted at by Barone, is that Republican numbers have not improved.  It's the Dems who have sagged.  Republicans can take advantage of this trend, but only if they develop a coherent, positive program to present to the American people.  Being against things just won't cut it.

March 24, 2009