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October 07, 2014
Fraction of Public Planning to Send "No Confidence" Message With Midterm Vote at Highest Point in 16 Years
This sounds better than it is.
In 1998 -- when a larger fraction intended their vote to show opposition to President Clinton -- Republicans lost five seats in the House. They narrowly retained their majority, but had expected to gain seats. Newt Gingrich of course resigned his post as Speaker of the House soon after, in acknowledgment of the failure.
On the other hand, Bill Clinton benefited from a lot of people who simply liked the booming economy and the (relative) peace the country was enjoying. So a lot of voters who were not sending a "no confidence" message had good reason to support Democrats.
Barack Obama will not likely benefit from such public contentment.