Partisanship is yucky. It makes Mike Castle and Celia Cohen cry.

Nobody else seems to think that debating issues is a real problem.

Princeton Survey Research Associates for the Kaiser Family Foundation (PDF). 8/2-8. Adults. (No trend lines)

To begin… What do you think is the most important problem for the government to address? Is there another problem you think is almost as important for the government to address? (OPEN-END)

Partisan politics/party bickering
Total: 1
Rep: 2
Dem: 1
Ind: 1

Thinking about the campaign for the presidential election in 2008, what two issues would you
most like to hear the presidential candidates talk about? IF R GIVES ONE ISSUE PROBE
FOR SECOND: Is there another issue you’d like to hear about? (OPEN-END)

Partisan politics/party bickering
Total: 0
Rep: 0
Dem: 0
Ind: 0

As kos points out, the sky-high responses on health care and Iraq indicate that people are desperate for a party that will actually work on those issues regardless of what Bush and the Republicans want.

There is no national desire for “bipartisanship” or whatever flavor of “moderate” or “centrist” is currently in style. There is, above all else, a national desire for solutions on health care and Iraq. And one party is offering solutions to those issues while the other is obstructing.

When Democrats push back hard against Republicans, like they did with social security privatization, they win. When they capitulate, their approval ratings plummet.

Nothing in the data disputes that very simple reality.