Rasmussen Reports provides some data on Americans' perceptions of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

Seventeen percent (17%) of Americans have a favorable opinion of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. A Rasmussen Reports survey found that 40% have an unfavorable opinion of the House Majority Leader.

[...]

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of Americans correctly identified DeLay as a Republican while 36% were unsure of his party affiliation.

The survey was conducted yesterday, so it obviously did not catch the multitude of Americans who learned about the story from newspapers and the morning news shows. Nevertheless, the second set of numbers -- that less than three in five Americans know that Tom DeLay is a Republican -- should give Democrats pause if they believe they can simply allow the story to play out on its own without employing skilled spinmasters.

If the Democrats indeed want to run against corruption in 2006, they must explain to the American people that DeLay is a Republican. That Bill Frist, who is under SEC investigation, is a Republican. That the entire Congress is controlled by Republicans. As we noted in April, the Democrats have a long way to go in this endeavor, but if they want any chance at victory in 2006, they must start doing a better job at getting this message out.