Rasmussen: Obama 44% …

Earlier, two polls gave us an idea of the composition of the Tea Party movement — a very close approximation of the general American population in terms of ethnicity, income, education, and age.  A new Rasmussen poll released this morning shows what Americans think of the Tea Party and the President.  Barack Obama now trails the Tea Party in terms of identification on views, 48% to 44%, with an even larger split among independents:

On major issues, 48% of voters say that the average Tea Party member is closer to their views than President Barack Obama. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 44% hold the opposite view and believe the president’s views are closer to their own.

Not surprisingly, Republicans overwhelmingly feel closer to the Tea Party and most Democrats say that their views are more like Obama’s. Among voters not affiliated with either major political party, 50% say they’re closer to the Tea Party while 38% side with the President.

This breakout result shouldn’t surprise too many observers:

Eighty-seven percent (87%) of those in the Political Class say their views are closer to the president. The Obama Administration has created a significantly larger government and political role in the economy.

Sixty-three percent (63%) of Mainstream Americans say their views are closer to the Tea Party.

The poll also offered other comparisons.  Americans more closely identify with the views of the Tea Party than unions, 45/35.  School teachers do better than Obama or unions, beating the Tea Party 47/41.  The “average member of Congress” does worst of all, although Rasmussen doesn’t compare them directly with the TP.  They lose to unions in voter identification by 20/33, and to school teachers 15/53.

As noted, independents identify more with the TP than Obama, 50/38.  Women identify more with Obama, 46/41, while men identify more with the TP, 56/41.  Among age demographics, Obama doesn’t win any majorities but does get a plurality from 18-29YOs (47/38) and a near-split edge from 50-64YOs (48/47).  Every other age demographic has a majority identifying with the Tea Party more than Obama, and even that youth split looks pretty weak, considering it has been Obama’s strongest age demographic.

On ethnicity, the split seems fairly predictable.  White voters go for the Tea Party over Obama 54/38, black voters identify strongly with Obama 81/12, while “other” splits slightly in favor of the Tea Party, 43/42.  Obama gets his next-best result from demos in the low-income group earning less than $20K, 55/26.  That’s the only income demo Obama gets, though, as the Tea Party gets solid majorities in the $40-60K (58/40), the $60-75K (62/35), and $75-100K (51/44)  middle-class gr0ups.  Only at the $100K+ demo does Obama get a split, 47/47.

The earlier polls showed that the Tea Party is a reflection of America, demographically speaking.  They also seem to be a reflection of America rhetorically as well.  The only people for whom Obama appears to speak now is the political class he’s growing in Washington DC.

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