Back on Monday, I posted the Democratic results of new IVR Iowa and South Carolina polls released by Public Policy Polling. Now, for some strange reason, they have not placed the results of these polls on their website. Somewhat understandably, the lack of public information on these polls has led, among other poll aggregator sites, Real Clear Politics to not include these polls in their averages. So, I'd like to perform something of a public service by posting the internal information on these polls right here:

Public Policy Polling Iowa Poll and Public Policy Polling South Carolina Poll

You can see for yourself that these polls are in fact, quite real. They also have a lot of interesting information other than the trial heat results. First, on the Democratic side, base discontent with Democratic Congressional action on Iraq is massive. Look at question #3 on page #2:

Do you think Congress is doing a good job concerning the war in Iraq, or should they be doing more to end the war? If you think congress is doing a good job, press 1. If they should be doing more, press 2. If you don't know, press 3.

1. Should be doing more: 83%
2. Good job: 10%
3. Don't know: 6%

This poll was taken post-capitulation. Memo to Joe Klein and Mark Udall: 83% of Democratic caucus-goers in Iowa think Democrats should be doing more, not just us mean bloggers. It is also worth noting, on page 5, that Clinton does worse, 16%, among those who think Congress should be doing more, than she does among the other 17% who think they are doing a good job or "don't know," 22%. While I appreciate the inclination for LieberDems to blame everything progressive that any Democrat does on his or her fear of blogger's wrath, I'm prone to believe that Democratic candidates for President are more wary of the wrath of Iowa caucus-goers than they are of me and my colleagues.

Second, on the Republican side, Rudy McRomney appears to be a real person in the minds of many Republicans. Looking at the South Carolina poll, Fred Thompson holds a surprising and large lead:

Thompson: 27%
Romney: 16%
McCain: 15%
Giuliani: 14%
Gringrich: 11%
Other Candidate: 6%
Undecided: 11%

This is the first South Carolina poll conducted entirely following Fred Thompson's entrance into the campaign, so it is possible that the poll is simply picking up a post-announcement bump. However, I think Thompson's support is representative more of how the question was asked:

If the caucus were held today which candidate would you support? If you support Newt Gingrich, press 1 on your keypad now. If Rudy Giuliani, press 2. If John McCain, press 3. If Mitt Romney, press 4. If Fred Thompson, press 5. If you support one of the other candidates, press 6 for more selections. If you are undecided, press 7.

First, I don't think South Carolina will be a caucus for Republicans, so that could be a problem with this poll. Second, there is mounting evidence to suggest that Republican primary voters will support anyone except, at least, McCain and Giuliani, when they are given a choice and no matter who the other choices are. For example, three weeks ago four Iowa polls came out in one week. In those four polls, Fred Thompson as included three times, and Newt Gingrich was included twice. However, no matter who was included, Giuliani and McCain's numbers did not move at all. In this South Carolina poll, Thompson could simply be benefiting from being the "other" option to McCain, Giuliani and, in this state, Romney (Romney has never performed particularly well in South Carolina polls). Note, for example, that 94% of the people who chose option 6 didn't end up supporting another specific candidate, and simply appeared to have been registering their dissatisfaction with the field. It seems quite possible that a combination of a post-announcement bump, and general dissatisfaction with the well-known Republican field (aka, Rudy McRomney), quickly propelled Fred Thompson to the lead in a region, the south, that will probably serve as his base of support. It is quite funny, actually, that the longstanding Republican practice of foregrounding their few, prominent "moderates" in forums like nationally televised speeches at the RNC has now resulted in all well-known Republicans being unsatisfactory to the Republican base. Republican mendacity about their party's true identity has resulted in massive base resentment.

Also, Romney released an internal poll today almost precisely verifying the PPP polling on the Republican Iowa caucuses. I wonder if Giuliani and McCain have any chance in Iowa at all anymore. Given their mutual abandonment of the Ames straw poll, it seems doubtful.