(ffbruce;62223)
You know, there are quite a few factual errors in this post. For instance, Bush did NOT lose the popular vote 4 years ago.
Oops, that should have been 8. Bush: 50,456,002 Gore: 50,999,897. Switching the two elections has no impact on my point. For quite a few factual errors, you couldn't find a one that matters. Since the end of Reagan's second term, the GOP has not won more votes than the Democrats, except once and that was 51% of the popular vote, and that was while riding on Saddam's defeat.But, the health of a party should be measured by more than just the popular vote, but by how much it favors its principles over pandering. (and, the ref declares a TKO)
I think you're also going to be surprised, a week from now, because I doubt that the Presidential election is going to be the Obama landslide that the media has been chanting for so long. But we shall see.
If McCain wins, I won't just be surprised, I'll be shocked.
Mostly though, it is extremely typical to find Americans voting in a Congress that is of the opposite party as the President - especially if it's a 2-term President.
I don't know if the data is there to support you. In 1994, in Clinton's first term, Republicans gained control of the House for the first time since 1954. I explained why this happened in the message you responded to. But, I am hoping that an Obama victory will help put Republicans in Congress.
By the way, have you checked out the approval ratings for Congress lately? Some of these long-term incumbent Democrats better not be taking anything for granted.
The approval ratings of Congress is irrelevant because no one is voting for more than a few of them. The president is always more of a celebrity than the congressmen. And, Congress is always heavy in players from the other team. So, Congress will almost always have a lower approval rating.If everyone in Congress had an election at the same time, the winners - everyone elected - would average a much higher winning margin than the president, yet Congress would have a lower approval rating than the president.