Popping The Stupidibubble(tm)

The Village stupidibubble(tm) continues to deflect reality around Washington reporters, but a big fat dose of post-stimulus reality is threatening to pop it.

Overall, 68 percent of poll respondents approve of Obama's job performance, a finding that puts him on par with the average for the past eight presidents at this point in their tenures. Ninety percent of Democrats and 67 percent of independents approve of Obama's performance. Sixty-four percent said they approve of how Obama is handling appointments to the Cabinet and other top positions in the administration, despite tax problems and stumbles that have led to three of his top nominees withdrawing from consideration.

Although Obama has encountered near-unanimous GOP opposition to his stimulus plan in Congress and widespread criticism for a housing bailout plan that some say rewards people who have been fiscally irresponsible, 64 percent of those polled back the economic recovery package, and the same percentage support the mortgage proposal. The broad support for the recovery package comes as just 10 percent said the bill was too heavy on spending and too light on tax cuts, the primary contention of the Republican leadership in Congress.

Overall, 60 percent of poll respondents approve of how Obama is dealing with the economy.

But wasn't Obama in trouble? Hadn't he largely blown it already? Wasn't his administration on shaky ground according to the pundits? Aren't we in the era of AFOP now where the groundswell of anti-Obama anger is threatening to sweep the GOP into power?

Why, my goodness! You mean the Village is full of complete crap?

Head to head, though, Americans put far more faith in Obama than in congressional Republicans: Sixty-one percent said they trust Obama more than the GOP on economic matters; 26 percent side with the Republicans in Congress. On that question, Obama's advantage is bigger than George W. Bush, Bill Clinton or George H.W. Bush ever had over the opposition party in the legislature.

Overall, Democrats maintain an edge of nearly 2 to 1 over Republicans as the party that Americans prefer to confront "the big issues" over the next few years.

You mean so far the American people are actually behind our President? After years of Bush's sub 40% numbers it's a shock, I know...but there you are. Obama has a thirty-five point edge in who Americans trust more...that's massive. But the headlines with that sixty percent approval for the economic recovery act? America is "Divided over stimulus."

So, you have to ask why the Village is trying to portray the Obama administration as hopelessly out of touch with the American people, why CNN.com's top story at this hour is about the "coming out party" for the man giving the Republican response to Obama's speech tonight (Bobby Jindal) rather than President Obama's actual speech tonight to Congress. Meanwhile the most popular guy in the room is still that Rick Santelli asshole, bravely fighting Obama's Socialist dictatorship across the Village airwaves. You see, Obama clearly doesn't have the support of the "real American people", the wingnuts and the Village Idiots. You see, the poll is nothing more than a huge lie because it's a product of the Lie-beral Media, and so they refuse to accept it.

It hasn't occured at all to the Village..and by extension the Republicans controlling them...that they're the ones out of touch. The Village thinks it's more important that Republicans like Obama less, and furthermore it's a sign of failure on Obama's part, despite the fact that a majority of the country clearly supports him. Your Liberal Media has decided that only the Republican opinions count. It's simply reflexively doing what has been ingrained into it since Carter and Reagan, giving far more credence to conservative views. Obama has failed to impress conservatives masquerading as Sensible Village Centrists, therefore he has failed, period. They won't see it any other way.

And they may never do so.

Luckily, the rest of America has told these morons to go to hell. And that's a good thing. The only way to kill the Village is to rob it of all the power it has over us, and blogs and web news out there countering the Village on a daily basis is only healthy for the democracy.

The days of the Village as gatekeeper of America's opinions are over. They're resisting tooth and nail, and that means allying themselves with the equally power-robbed Republicans. That era is clearly coming to a messy end.

If there's a lesson to be learned over the last several years, it's that all bubbles pop.

[UPDATE] Steve Benen, Greg Sargent, Balloon Juice and the Double G have more.