Republicans' Life Ratings Plunge, Democrats' Improve
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Republicans' ratings of their lives worsened
significantly in November, with their collective Life Evaluation Index
score dropping to 40.3, from 47.0 in October according to a recent survey by Gallup. Independents' life ratings
also declined last month, but to a lesser degree. Democrats became
slightly more upbeat -- their Life Evaluation Index score climbed to
56.9, from 53.7 in October.
Gallup says that Democrats' life ratings have been generally improving in 2012, while
Republicans' have been mostly on the decline. The trajectory of
independents' life ratings is more similar to the trend for Republicans
than that of Democrats.
The gap between Democrats and Republicans on the Life Evaluation
Index is now 16.6 points -- the largest it has ever been. This is also a
drastic change from early 2008, when Republicans' life ratings
frequently surpassed Democrats' by more than 10 points.
