In an ominous sign for President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats, independent voters now favor Republicans by nearly the same margins that they went for Obama in 2008 and for his party in the 2006 midterms, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press released Wednesday.
It's not just Congressional Democrats with whom these independents aren't enthralled:
Obama's job approval rating among independent voters stands at just 39%; 50% disapprove of the president's job performance.
Lopsided support among independents, a very fired up base, and a discouraged, ambivalent opposing base: These are the things of which landslides are made.