Several important points emerge from the polling data we are analyzing for NBC and the Wall Street Journal . First, Pat Buchanan is today the second most polarizing figure in America. The first is still Newt Gingrich, but Pat Buchanan will quickly move into that position. Usually when a political figure goes out of the spotlight, people begin to say that perhaps he was really not such a bad guy. What is unusual about Buchanan is that negative evaluations of him at the beginning of 1996 were exactly the same as they were at the end of 1992.
Blacks are much less negative than whites.
The second point is to keep focused on the fundamentals and not to be distracted by the noise of the early campaign. The direction of the nation is one such fundamental. We also do a report card three or four times a year on various aspects of President Clinton's performance. This president is given grades of A or B by a majority of Americans when they are asked if he is likable or caring. If the president still has such numbers going into the general election, it will be really close.