Politico.com had disheartening news for Democrats on July 9. "Independents edge away from Obama," declared the Web site's top story, which noted a Virginia poll in which independent voters in the state disapproved of the president's job performance by 52 to 38 percent. The piece called this "a potentially alarming trend for the White House," a statement which reflects the importance political journalists place on the views of independents. Their shifts in opinion are carefully monitored in the media and often treated as a bellwether, signaling which way the electorate is leaning. The ... Read More