1. - Southern Illinoisian - Wednesday, Dec 14, 05 @ 4:49 pm:

   Durbin = tool (a.k.a. short-timer)
   Obama = wimp
   Most poll respondents = clueless

   ‘Nuff said.




2. - HoosierDaddy - Wednesday, Dec 14, 05 @ 4:49 pm:

   Not too surprising. Durbin has become a polarizing figure lately with his comments. Obama is still shiny new and on his honeymoon. His numbers will drop as soon as he does something of substance. You can’t please everybody and get anything done.




3. - takethehighroad - Wednesday, Dec 14, 05 @ 4:58 pm:

   surprised by Durbin’s approval number. Seems kinda high. With all his recent partisanship, would have thought closer to 40… but this is Illinois




4. - Bubs - Wednesday, Dec 14, 05 @ 5:18 pm:

   To the contrary, I’m happily surprised Durbin is so low, given his tenure, his visibility and his senate office. He looks a bit vulnerable to a solid candidate.

   Of course, after 2004 the very term “Senate Race” inspires the same reaction in Republicans that “Frau Blucher” does in horses.




5. - So-Called - Wednesday, Dec 14, 05 @ 5:39 pm:

   Durbin’s approval rating is right where it was six months ago, but his disapproval is up 5 points.

   http://tinyurl.com/7m4rh




6. - run4cvrlib - Wednesday, Dec 14, 05 @ 5:46 pm:

   Durbin is liked by the news media he. They think he does a good job handing out checks. It’s to bad the checks are written on the taxpayers bank accounts.




7. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Dec 14, 05 @ 5:53 pm:

   Good point, So-Called, but his numbers have been trading in basically the same range for seven months. His disapproval is up since May, but down 3 since September.




8. - SouthernILRepub - Wednesday, Dec 14, 05 @ 6:55 pm:

   Survey USA should look at a couple more issues other than abortion to run their cross tabs. It might be interesting to see the break downs better in line with the results shown combined with age, party id and ideology. However with thier survey size that would make the sample too small. It was quite refreshing to see that downstate was the closest in actual polling numbers with the overall results. Looks like the Republicans need to find a conservative Hispanic to run against Durbin next time. I was amazed at the lowest approval coming from the Hispanic pop.




9. - Lex - Wednesday, Dec 14, 05 @ 8:32 pm:

   Even though Jim Edgar all but closed the door on another race for Governor he left a possible future run for the U.S. Senate wide open. I believe that Edgar and his people are eyeing Durbin’s seat closely for Edgar’s return to politics.




10. - name - Wednesday, Dec 14, 05 @ 9:35 pm:

    Someone please tell me what Obama has actually done to get this approval rating.

    All Durbin has done is get children to scream and cry when he’s holding them - anyone see that picture in the Tribune this morning (at least I think it was the Tribune)

    And, for the record Lex, Edgar has made it perfectly clear that he is not getting back into politics. He had his chance already.




11. - Stone Hack - Wednesday, Dec 14, 05 @ 9:49 pm:

    What Obama has actually done is prevent Alan Keyes, the creation of Illinois Republican wisdom, from becoming a US Senator. For that he will be eternally remembered and rewarded by the voters of Illinois.




12. - SouthernILRepub - Wednesday, Dec 14, 05 @ 10:00 pm:

    As a Republican, I do not want Edgar back into politics other than raising $$$$. He has done this song and dance that has left the GOP hanging on more than occasion. Its time for Edgar to step aside and maybe even get out of the public light totally!




13. - Anon - Wednesday, Dec 14, 05 @ 10:46 pm:

    Brady should drop out in January and announce that he will prepare for 2008 when he will outseat Durbin. He will be a hero to conservatives and his name recognition would be much higher than it currently is.




14. - Lex - Wednesday, Dec 14, 05 @ 11:00 pm:

    There will be time for Edgar to make his decision about 2008, but if the GOP wants to unseat Durbin then Edgar’s the man. He is the only Republican currently who has the name id and campaign skills to win. I think the IL Republican party needs to defer to Edgar and await his decision when the time comes.




15. - Fighting Ennui - Wednesday, Dec 14, 05 @ 11:35 pm:

    Durbin looks surprisingly good after the battering he took for being absolutely right. Remember the cr@p he took from the Administration, all the pounding on Fox from Rove’s minions and the hardline Right over the “controversial” anti-torture remarks he later felt he needed to apologize for? And now in the light of the news stories coming out now, about the secret “black bases” for foreign torture, abuse of rendition, etc. if anything, his characterization back then comparing to gulags and such was too mild. He was just further ahead of the issue than the general public was ready for at that time: with every day’s update on just what horrors are being perpetrated, people are seeing he was right all along and the poll numbers may reflect that growing awareness.

    I don’t agree with his take on everything, and I think he needs to distance himself from Milorad’s Mob, but I think he’s going to survive re-election just fine.




16. - Lovie's Leather - Thursday, Dec 15, 05 @ 12:50 am:

    Durbin’s numbers are that high because he is in a position of leadership. Otherwise, he is an ugly white guy with no ideas of his own (All Kids National). Obama will be popular for a long time, no matter what he does, because he is a great orator and really connects with people…




17. - Alec - Thursday, Dec 15, 05 @ 6:28 am:

    I imagine it’d be fairly hard to unseat Durbin in a Presidential year, especially if the Dem nominee has something resembling a pulse this time around.




18. - DefensorPacis - Thursday, Dec 15, 05 @ 1:10 pm:

    Obama’s surprisingly high ratings among pro-life voters presents him with a great opportunity: to break far enough away from the abortion lobby’s stranglehold on the Democratic party to take pro-life concerns seriously.

    If Obama can simultaneously protect women’s equality while accommodating pro-life concerns about fetal life (a difficult but not impossible undertaking), he would be ideally positioned to give the nation the sort of candidate it needs in 2008–someone who can transcend the deep sociopolitical divide and end the culture war once and for all.

    It’s a high-risk strategy for a Democrat, but it could well make the difference between being the media’s political “flavor of the month” and achieving the kind of political greatness that is all too rare these days.




19. - DefensorPacis - Thursday, Dec 15, 05 @ 2:19 pm:

    A related point that Obama’s office should take to heart: the best way to kill his approval rating among pro-life voters would be to join an Alito filibuster (or otherwise distinguish himself in pro-choice activism).




20. - Mohammed Wong - Friday, Dec 16, 05 @ 12:13 pm:

    It is always amusing when someone writes something as inane as “short -termer” (about someone who’s been in Washington for more than a decade no less) and “wimp” — descriptions that utilized neither thought nor explanation– and then confidently ends it with ‘’nuff said’”

    so typical of faux-cons. what they lack in knowledge and insight, they make up for in baseless confidence.

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