--Economy: Republicans trusted by 47 percent of Likely U.S. Voters, Democrats trusted by 39 percent.
--Government ethics and corruption: Republicans trusted by 40 percent of Likely U.S. Voters, Democrats trusted by 38 percent.
--Taxes: Republicans trusted by 52 percent of Likely U.S. Voters, Democrats trusted by 36 percent.
--National Security & War on Terror: Republicans trusted by 49 percent of Likely U.S. Voters, Democrats trusted by 37 percent.
--War in Iraq: Republicans trusted by 43 percent of Likely U.S. Voters, Democrats trusted by 40 percent.
--War in Afghanistan: Republicans trusted by 43 percent of Likely U.S. Voters, Democrats trusted by 36 percent.
--Immigration: Republicans trusted by 44 percent of Likely U.S. Voters, Democrats trusted by 35 percent.
--Healthcare: Republicans trusted by 48 percent of Likely U.S. Voters, Democrats trusted by 40 percent.
--Education: Republicans trusted by 41 percent of Likely U.S. Voters, Democrats trusted by 40 percent.
--Social Security: Republicans trusted by 44 percent of Likely U.S. Voters, Democrats trusted by 38 percent.
Gallup, using National adults in their sampling for the same type of poll, finds Americans saying the Republicans in Congress would do a better job than the Democrats in Congress of handling seven of nine key election issues.
Bottom Line
Republicans' perceptual advantage on most key election issues reinforces the party's advantageous positioning heading into the stretch run of the 2010 election campaign. It is not clear whether Americans give the Republicans the edge on these issues because they have confidence in the GOP to make progress in addressing the major problems facing the country, or whether the ratings have more to do with the public's frustration with the incumbent Democratic Party's performance to date.
The Democrats' hopes for improving their fortunes may hinge on convincing voters they have superior plans for jump-starting the economy, the issue of uppermost importance in Americans' minds. That could be tough to do when, after nearly 20 months of Democratic leadership in Congress and the White House, Americans' opinions of the economy remain negative and have become more pessimistic in recent weeks.
With recent bad polling news for Democrats, the reports today showing that under the Obama administration and the Democratically controlled Senate and Congress, federal spending has reached record highs and spiked 16 percent in 2009, Democratic politicians are starting to sweat.
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