Inside the numbers

Blue Virginia has been touting Public Policy Polling's recent work in Virginia.

• President Obama leads potential 2012 Republican rivals.
• Sen. Jim Webb leads potential opponents George Allen and Ken Cuccinelli.
• Gov. Bob McDonnell's approval rating is below 50 percent.

Is it good news for Democrats, so just a poor sample of the electorate? Let's look inside the numbers.
This poll has a breakdown of 35% Republicans, 36% Democrats and 30% Independents.
It's 37% Conservative, 19% Liberal and 44% Moderate.
How does this compare to the final 2009 pre-election poll? The one that had Bob McDonnell up 14 points - when his final margin was 18 points.
Then, it was 35% Republicans, 35% Democrats and 30% Independents. Basically the same.
But it was 43% Conservative, 40% Moderate and 16% Liberals. Using a few more liberals and a few less conservatives should bring a poll more to Democrats' likings.
And the 2009 poll was likely voters, not just voters as in 2010.
Bottom line, Democrats still need to sweat 2012. And will keep sweating as the day gets closer.
Filtered good news in 2010 does not mean good news in 2012.