Poll Shows Sharp Differences Between D.C. People, Rest of America

By Doug Gibson

There’s an interesting poll today from Politico that shows distinct differences of opinion between Washington D.C. policy and political professionals and the rest of America. The differences include political ideology and perceptions of the economy and national mood. Perhaps the biggest contradiction is in perception of the economy. Forty-four percent of D.C. respondents think the economy is improving, compared to 24 percent of the rest of America. Access the poll here.

Here are a few sharp distinctions in the findings: Only 6 percent of D.C. respondents feel the economic downturn has hurt them worse than others, compared to 27 percent of the general population. Another interesting result is that 68 percent of D.C. respondents believe the Tea Party movement is a fad, compared to 26 percent of the rest of the population. Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton’s pollster in the 2008 campaign, told Politico the poll also underscores the difference between liking President Obama and approving of his policies. Forty-nine percent, a still OK figure, have a favorable opinion of the president, but only 37 percent would vote for Obama in a hypothetical election against a GOP opponent. Penn also notes that Obama’s achievements — health care reform, financial services reform, the stimulus, poll highly among D.C. respondents but poorly among other respondents.

Read the rest here.