Voters to politicians: Both parties are blundering

By Michael Barone

Published October 9, 2013 4:00am ET

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Voters to politicians: Both parties are blundering — In the United Kingdom since the 1960s, voters have often given negative job ratings to the governments of the day. Yet incumbent parties have won most general elections. (AP File) | Peter Morrison

What to make of all the polls on the government shutdown? You know, the ones that say that, to varying degrees, congressional Republicans are being blamed more than Democrats and Barack Obama.

Let me give a roundabout answer, based on a theory that people sometimes try to send messages through their responses to poll questions. I developed this theory after watching British political polls since the 1960s.

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Barack Obama Government Shutdown Michael Barone Polls United Kingdom