E.J. Dionne, Jr. writes about the "radical center," which he thinks may comprise a portion of a new Democratic majority. As he describes it, those who are part of sound to me a lot like the Perotistas of the early 90s. I can’t imagine that they’d coexist comfortably with the netroots.

Then there’s the WaPo/ABC News poll, which shows independents favoring Democrats. But look at the actual results, not what the reporters wrote about. Note, first of all, that it’s a "registered voter," not a "likely voter," poll. Note, second, that trends in voter enthusiasm favor Republicans, not Democrats, and that those who favor Republicans are actually favoring Republicans, whereas a substantial portion of those who favor Democrats say that they’re voting against Republicans. Sounds kinda Perotista to me.

Third, the numbers on Congressional disapproval and on approving of one’s member of Congress are, predictably, reversed. What’s more, the levels of approval of one’s member of Congress are significantly higher than in 1994 (51-38 in the final ’94 poll, as opposed to 62-32 among registered voters now).

There is, of course, some not so good news for Republicans in the poll, but many of the trend lines seem to be marginally favoring them. It looks like they hit bottom in the week after the Foley revelations.