Apropos of my post yesterday, there’s more interesting poll data to sort through. A new Pew Research Poll reports that favorable ratings of the Democratic party have declined sharply since the spring, with just 49 percent now saying they have a favorable view. Compare that with the Democrats’ 59 percent favorable rating as recently as April, and their 62 favorable shortly before Obama took office in January. The GOP’s favorable rating stands at 40 percent, having not changed all year.

This Pew finding corresponds with what I discovered while co-authoring an essay with Michael Gerson for the forthcoming issue of Commentary. Nine months ago, the GOP was at low ebb. Meanwhile, Barack Obama and the Democratic party were in a strong, even dominant, position. But the last six months have badly hurt Obama and Democrats. This has provided the Republican party with an opening; the question is whether the GOP will take advantage of it.

Voters are turning away from Democrats in large numbers. But many of them are not yet persuaded that the GOP deserves their trust. That will happen when Republicans are seen by more and more citizens as offering compelling answers to our pressing public-policy needs. Republicans and conservatives will have different ideas about how to make that happen — which issues to emphasize, which reforms to embrace, and which arguments to advance. But they have the opportunity to make their case to an increasingly receptive audience, which is more than a lot of people thought possible at the beginning of the year.