DemocRATs forced to concede that the economy is getting better.


November 07, 2003, 1:41 p.m.
Good News = Good Numbers
Even some democRATs concede the economy is getting better.

By Byron York
NRO

It appears the recent spate of good news about the economy has spurred
an upturn in economic optimism in the country as a whole.

A new Gallup poll, taken November 3 - 5, asked respondents, "Right
now, do you think that economic conditions in the country as a whole
are getting better or getting worse?" Fifty-three percent of those
polled say conditions are improving, while 37 percent say they are
getting worse (eight percent say they are the same, and two percent
did not know).

The results are the latest in a line of steady improvement in the
"getting better" category. When Gallup asked the question in late
October, 47 percent said the economy was getting better, while 43
percent said it was getting worse. In early September, 40 percent said
the economy was improving, while 50 percent said it was getting worse.
And in early March, 23 percent said the economy was improving, while
67 percent said it was getting worse.

Breaking the numbers down by political party shows that even some
democRATs - at least those who are not running for president - now say
the economy is improving. Thirty-three percent of democRATs surveyed
by Gallup say the economy is getting better, while 55 percent say it
is getting worse.

Perhaps more important for the president's reelection prospects, 51
percent of independents say the economy is improving, while 40 percent
say it is getting worse. Among Republicans, 74 percent say the economy
is improving, while 17 percent say it is getting worse.

The results are similar when broken down by approval or disapproval of
the job George W. Bush is doing as president. Among those who
disapprove of the president's job performance, 33 percent say the
economy is getting better, while 57 percent say it is getting worse.
Among those who approve of the president's performance, 71 percent say
the economy is improving, while 20 percent say it is getting worse.

Looking at the results by general political ideology, 38 percent of
people who consider themselves liberals say the economy is improving,
while 52 percent say it is getting worse. Fifty-three percent of
moderates say the economy is getting better, while 38 percent say it
is getting worse. And 64 percent of conservatives say it is improving,
while 26 percent say it is getting worse.

The poll results do not say that Americans believe the economy is in
great shape. Indeed, when Gallup's pollsters asked, "How would you
rate economic conditions in this country today - as excellent, good,
only fair, or poor?" just 30 percent said excellent or good.
Forty-nine percent said only fair, and 21 percent said poor.

Nevertheless, the numbers suggest that many Americans - including one
third of democRATs and nearly 40 percent of people who call themselves
liberals - disagree with the gloomy assessments of the economy being
offered by the democRATic candidates for president. The poll also
suggests that if the news from the nation's economy continues to
improve, the candidates will have a harder and harder time making
their case - even to their fellow democRATs.