The New York Times poll paints a bleak picture for Obama and an even bleaker one for incumbents in Congress. Obama’s approval is down to 46 percent, while only 42 percent approve of his handling of the economy. His ratings on health care and the deficit are in George W. Bush territory (i.e., the mid-30s). A sizable plurality think he has spent too much time on health care, and a majority think he’s not spent enough time on the economy. Noteworthy is the 56 percent (only topped by 61 percent in 1996) who prefer a smaller government with fewer services. The Obama revolution, at least so far, has been a bust.

But Obama’s ratings are glowing compared to what Congress receives. Only 15 percent approve of Congress’s performance. (That seems high, come to think of it. But perhaps those cheering for paralysis are among the 15 percent.) And a stunning 81 percent think most lawmakers don’t deserve to keep their jobs.

This and other polls reinforce the conclusion that Obama’s gambit — keep plugging away at health-care reform, avoid serious spending restraint, and offer no bones to moderates within his party — is a dangerous one. The public wants precisely the opposite of what he persists in offering. It likewise suggests that Nancy Pelosi’s pole-vaulting commitment to ObamaCare and her aversion to a spending freeze are perfectly at odds with public opinion. She and her members, if they keep this up, risk further infuriating the electorate. (Granted, it is hard to do worse than 15 percent approval.)

Imagine if Obama and the Democrats listened to the public. They would toss ObamaCare aside. They would propose meaningful cuts in government spending. They’d work on jobs and economic growth. In short, they’d do what Republicans are suggesting. Do the Democrats suspect the Republicans are concocting a devilish plot to sink them? That is as good an explanation as any for the Reid-Pelosi-Obama triumvirate’s refusal to consider seriously their opponents’ suggestions. The Democrats refuse to be rescued from their own folly, it seems.

It is a long way until the November elections. Public opinion can shift dramatically. But it will have to shift very dramatically for many Democrats to avoid getting wiped out. And that is quite unlikely, as long as they keep doing what the voters hate.