When 104 GOP insiders were asked whether their party chairman was an asset or a liability, 71 percent said Steele was a liability, while only 20 percent said he was an asset. Another 9 percent said he was neither or both.

In what must have been painful to report, conservative polling firm Rasmussen announced today that consumer confidence is the highest it’s been since September 2008.

Yes, the man named “most vulnerable” by national Republicans after announcing on the House floor that the Republican plan for health care is to not get sick, and if you do get sick, to die quickly, is actually preferred by 27.8% of registered Republicans.

Both at the national and state levels incumbents are faring poorly. Nationwide, 44.3 percent of all respondents stated that incumbents should be voted out of office with 40.8 percent saying they are doing okay but could be doing better.

Fifty-five percent of Americans have unfavorable views of Sarah Palin, while the percentage holding favorable views has dipped to 37, a new low in Washington Post-ABC polling. More than seven in 10 Americans say she is unqualified to serve as president, up from 60 percent in a November survey. A majority of Republicans now say Palin lacks the qualifications necessary for the White House.

The more that Americans see and hear Sarah Palin, the less we like her according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll. Palin is not qualified to be president, according to 70% of those questioned. Her numbers don’t improve noticeably when only Republicans are polled.

From Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight, on the top 25 issues of the day, Obama’s position appears to be on the correct side of public opinion on 14, wrong on five and too close to call on six.

Public Policy Polling: A national survey finds that 32% of voters are rooting for the New Orleans Saints, compared to 22% who prefer the Indianapolis Colts. Democrats prefer the Saints by a 36-21 margin, but Republicans are narrowly for the Colts, 26-25. Independents lean toward the Saints as well, 33-20. But 46% of voters don’t care who wins.

By 63 to 21 percent, Republicans think Obama is a socialist. When asked whether they think Obama wants the terrorists to win, 24 percent said yes, 43 percent said no and a disquieting 33 percent said they didn’t know.

CNN: Two-thirds of speech-watchers who were questioned said the president will succeed in improving the economy, with nearly six in 10 saying he’ll succeed in creating jobs. But people who viewed the address were split on whether Obama will be successful in improving health care and reducing the deficit.