Another Poll Shows Allen-Kaine as Tight Race

A new poll shows Democrat Timothy M. Kaine about even with Republican opponent and fellow former Gov. George Allen in Virginia's 2012 U.S. Senate race.

The survey of Virginia voters from left-leaning Public Policy Polling shows Kaine edging Allen 46 to 43 percent, within the poll's 4.4 percentage point margin of error.

While the two have nearly identical support among party loyalists, Kaine has a 44 to 33 percent edge among independents, according to the poll.

It also shows Kaine with a higher favorability rating than Allen (42-34) and a lower disapproval rating (40-44). Tea-party Republican candidate Jamie Radtke's challenge was obvious, with 79 percent of those polled having no opinion.

"It's obviously a poor sign when even a liberal polling firm with a history of donating to national Democrats shows former Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine's approval rating under 50 percent," responded Jahan Wilcox, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

The poll also looked at the possibility of Radtke knocking off Allen in the primary, in which case Kaine's lead grows to 16 points (47-31). Additional GOP primary numbers will be available today.

"Even as (President) Barack Obama's numbers in the state have worsened over the last three months, the state of the Senate race has remained the same," said Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling. "This is a contest that seems likely to stay tight all the way to Election Day, regardless of changes in the political winds."

from Wesley Hester @ the Richmond Times-Dispatch

More Americans Unhappy With Obama on Economy, Jobs

More than a third of Americans now believe that President Obama’s policies are hurting the economy, and confidence in his ability to create jobs is sharply eroding among his base, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

But Americans’ discontent does not stop there. The survey also found that Americans harbor negative feelings toward congressional Republicans. Roughly as many people blame Republican policies for the poor economy as they do Obama. But 65 percent disapprove of the GOP’s handling of jobs, compared to 52 percent for the president.

The dissatisfaction is fueled by the fact that many Americans continue to see little relief from the pain of a recession that technically ended two years ago. Ninety percent of those surveyed said the economy is not doing well, and four out of five report that jobs are difficult to find. In interviews, several people said that they feel abandoned by both parties, particularly as debates over the debt ceiling gridlock Washington.

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Poll: Most Voters See Media as Biased and Unethical

Likely voters hold a dismal view of the news media, generally regarding reporters as biased, unethical and too close to the politicians they purport to cover, according to a new poll for The Hill.

A full 68 percent of voters consider the news media biased, the poll found. Most, 46 percent, believe the media generally favor Democrats, while 22 percent said they believe Republicans are favored, with 28 percent saying the media is reasonably balanced.

The share of voters who believe the media are too friendly with politicians is almost twice as large as those who find their coverage of politicians appropriate. Forty-four percent of voters assert the former; only 24 percent believe the latter.

The picture is not much brighter on the general question of ethics. Fifty-seven percent of voters think of the news media as either somewhat or very unethical, while only 39 percent see them as somewhat or very ethical.

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