A little polling

I generally try to stay away from polls, but there have been a few interesting ones out there in the last few days.

First, the ARG poll that puts Bush approval at 36%. Recognize that ARG has been a couple points below the mean on the approval ratings, but the significance is that the numbers are coming back down. The State of the Union Speech is going to be huge for Bush. Whattya think, Mars, bitches? Hydrogen cars? Steroids in baseball? What wacko issue will Bush stick in this one?

Second, at TheLeftCoaster I ran across this interesting but complicated Gallup poll on party identification indicating a rather significant shift in party identification. The state by state breakdowns show Dems +3 or more in 29 states, Repub 14, even in 6. More interestingly is the trend lines, Dems hitting a low of 16 in 2002.

Last, not really an official poll with numbers and all, but I think this one might matter alot.

DAMADOLA, Pakistan - Sympathy for al-Qaida has surged after a U.S. airstrike devastated this remote mountain hamlet in a region sometimes as hostile toward the Pakistani government as it is to the United States.