It’s a truly strange electoral season.

Republicans are poised to make huge gains in the House, probably taking over the majority. They are likely to gain in the Senate as well, though it’s unlikely they will win a majority there.

And all this is slated to happen, even though Americans think the Republican Party really stinks:
• Only 34% of Americans have a favorable opinion of the Republican Party, while 45% have a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party
• Only 20% approve of the job congressional Republicans are doing, while 30% approve of the job congressional Democrats are doing
• 37% blame the Bush administration for the economic mess, 11% blame Congress and 5% blame the Obama administration
• 48% say President Obama is doing more to improve the economy, only 28% think Republicans are
• Democrats are more likely to create new jobs according to 44% of Americans, Republicans are more likely according to 38%
• 39% believe President Obama has a clear plan for solving the nation’s problems, and only 18% believe congressional Republicans do
• 40% think Democrats have better ideas for solving the nation’s problems, compared to 33% for Republicans
• 55% believe Democrats will do more to help the middle class, compared to 33% for Republicans

Not only do Americans regard the Republican Party as having no clear plan to address the nation’s problems, as doing very little to improve the economy, as being unlikely to create jobs or help the middle class, they also view it as a party without a leader.

In response to the question “Which public person TODAY, either in politics or some other field, do you think best represents what the Republican party stands for right now?“, nobody polled more than 6%. A whopping 62% answered “Don’t know”.

And this clueless and headless party stands poised to make huge gains in the House and the Senate anyway. How sublime is our politics!