Should Republicans go ahead and add Supreme Court Justices to head off Democrats

Poll shows Dem campaign against DeLay not working

Samantha Levine, Houston Chronicle:

Questions about House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's ethics have created partisan friction on Capitol Hill and a series of news reports, but folks across the country show relatively little interest.

Fewer than one in 10 Americans are closely following the debate over DeLay's overseas travel, fund raising and connections to lobbyists, according to a poll by the Pew Center for People and the Press.

...

Other issues were of far greater interest to Americans. Fifty-eight percent said they were paying very close attention to gasoline prices and 42 percent were most concerned with Iraq.

President Bush's Social Security proposal, the economy and the selection of the new pope also drew more interest than the controversy about DeLay, R-Sugar Land. So did another political battle, over Senate filibuster rules and judicial nominations, with 14 percent of those surveyed saying they were paying attention to it.

The poll proves that Democrats are targeting the GOP leader while ordinary citizens are standing by him, DeLay spokesman Dan Allen said.

The poll suggest the Democrat attack machine is not as effective as they would like it to be.