Restless voters

Nevada voters are unhappy, according to a poll conducted last week for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and KLAS-TV, Channel 8.

The statewide phone survey of 625 registered voters, conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research of Washington, D.C., shows six out of 10 Nevadans think the country's on the wrong track, while more than half disapprove of the job President Barack Obama is doing.

Given that tourist-dependent Nevada is the worst-hit state in the nation on several economic scales -- unemployment and the collapse of the housing market, to name two -- poll takers could hardly have expected to find happy Nevadans out throwing flowers and dancing in the streets.

But the rapidity of the turnaround, in a swing state that went for Barack Obama in 2008, should be sobering to any political incumbent, and especially to Democrats who loaded up the country with unsupportable debt to enact new, unread, 2,000-page spending bills, led by the ObamaCare monstrosity.

Statewide, Nevadans disapprove of President Obama's job performance, 55-39. Among independents, President Obama fares even worse, hammered with a 60-31 "disapprove" rating.

Nevadans believe the country is on the wrong track by a margin of 60-31. Among crucial independent voters, that opinion is held by a whopping 71 percent, while only 23 percent approve of the country's current direction.

President Obama vowed his massive federal takeover of the health care industry would "cut costs," but 52 percent of Nevada voters want it repealed, as Republican U.S. Senate candidate Sharron Angle has vowed to do.

Among nonpartisan voters, who are expected to swing the election, Ms. Angle is now leading unpopular Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, 43 percent to 36 percent.

"The independents are the most volatile and are the ones who are going to decide this race," in the estimate of pollster Brad Coker. "I still see this as an anti-incumbent and anti-Democrat cycle."

That's bad news for Democrats. But is it good news for Republicans?

Given the volatility of the electorate, it seems safe to warn: Maybe, till about next February.

But let Republicans be swept back into power this fall, and then start out next winter explaining, "Slashing taxes and government is going to take some time, meantime we've got some friends to take care of with a little pork spending of our own ..." and they may quickly learn that hell hath no fury like a Tea Party scorned.