On most issues, the GOP is out of step with the American people

Nate Silver did an analysis of public opinion on 25 issues, which separate Democrats and Republicans. There seems to be a sense among some pundits that Obama and the Democrats are on the wrong side of what people want. In fact, on most, it's the GOPers who are disagree with the prevailing public view:

Of these 25 issues, Obama's position appears to be on the right side of public opinion on 14: the bank tax, repealing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, campaign finance, the credit card bill, D.C. voting rights, fair pay, financial regulation, gays in the military, hate crimes, the jobs bill, mortgage relief, PAYGO, SCHIP, and Sotomayor. It would appear to be on the wrong side of public opinion on five issues: the GM/Chrysler bailout, Guantanamo Bay, health care, the extension of the TARP program, and terrorist trials. On the other six issues, the polling is probably too ambiguous to render a clear verdict.

Republicans, on the other hand, have overwhelmingly opposed to almost all of these measures with the exception of Ben Bernanke and Afghanistan troops, both of which poll ambiguously, and the credit card bill, which polled well.

Obviously, this analysis is superficial in certain ways. All issues are by no means created equal, and health care in particular, which is unpopular, has weighed heavily upon the public's perception of the Democrats. In addition, there is probably another layer of 'meta-argument' that goes beyond specific issues, and at which the GOP has tended to excel.

Republicans have been better at the meta-messaging. They don't care about issues, politics rules. That's especially true when the GOPers can turn national security into a political issue. They love that. On the other hand, Democrats spend more time talking about the intricacies of legislation and the process of passing it.

And, I'm still waiting to hear the Obama administration's message on health care. Considering it was the dominant issue, it's still stunning that the message was never clear. That might have helped.

The bigger point here is that, for most issues, the President and Democrats are doing what the American people want. They need to lead.