[Joe Friday]

Gallup: Number of Self-identified Dems Falling
Rasmussen: GOP Has Nine Point Advantage on a Generic Ballot
—Gabriel Malor

Some big poll news: first, Gallup says that for the first time in three years Democratic self-identification fell below 50% in 2009. That's the yearly number, so it obscures just how far the Democrats' numbers have fallen. The last quarter of 2009 was particularly bad...er, good:

In the first quarter of 2009, coincident with the beginning of the Obama administration, Democrats enjoyed one of the largest advantages for either party since 1991, 13 percentage points (51.7% of Americans identified as Democrats or leaned Democratic, versus 38.7% who identified as or leaned Republican). In each subsequent quarter, the percentage of Democratic supporters declined, and by the fourth quarter, the Democratic advantage had shrunk to 5 points (47.2% to 42.2%).

Second, Rasmussen has Republicans at 44% to Dem 35% on the generic ballot:

The latest generic ballot numbers highlight a remarkable change in the political environment during 2009. When President Obama was inaugurated, the Democrats enjoyed a seven-point advantage on the Generic Ballot. That means the GOP has made a net gain of 16 percentage points over the course of the year. Support for Democrats has declined eight points since Obama's inauguration while Republican support is up nine points.

Let's get this party started.

:letsparty inglepar