By almost every available gauge, Republicans are in deep trouble. Except, that is, for the one that counts most -- the presidential election trial heat.
The GOP has serious problems, no doubt. According to a report released by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press last week, in the center's 5,566 interviews with registered voters during January and February, 36 percent identified themselves as Democrats and just 27 percent called themselves Republicans. That is the lowest proportion for the GOP in Pew's 16 years of polling.
When Pew asked independents which way they leaned, Democrats' share of support went up to 51 percent, Republicans' to 37 percent. Rather than breaking out the champagne, though, Democrats should be concerned that their party's relative strength comes not from a sudden surge in popularity but from voters abandoning the GOP.
The Pew findings correspond with a January report by the Gallup Organization showing that 2007 was the lowest ebb in GOP support since 1988. More than 26,000 interviews with adults nationwide showed a Democratic self-identification advantage of 11 points (50.6
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