This Rasmussen poll gives strength to the long-standing netroots critique of timid Democrats – namely that by standing strongly for Democratic principles and by being an unapologetic partisan for a Democratic agenda, Democrats can succeed at a higher rate than we currently do. There’s a strong case to be made that our electoral successes of 2006 and 2008 came on the backs of Democrats being willing to create strong points of contrast with Republican incumbents. But now we see that this applies to governance, too. The poll shows that 11% more Americans think President Obama is “governing as a partisan Democrat” than two months ago, while simultaneously showing an increased approval rating of Obama. Which is to say that Obama has become more popular, not less, for being a Democrat who stands up for his beliefs about how to steward the country.

There are two relevant audiences for the meaning of this information: the press and the Democratic establishment (of which the White House is a subset). The media needs to start recognizing that Obama is under no obligation to govern as a post-partisan – he can stand up for his ideas and he should be judged according to his willingness and ability to realize them — as opposed to, say, judging him on his ability to live up to John McCain’s campaign progresses (see: no earmarks in the budget). Simultaneously, the Democratic establishment and especially the White House need to see this data as a sign that they have to be forceful in their pursuit of a progressive agenda, unapologetically. As Oliver Willis has long said, we’re right. Let’s not forget that.