I didn’t need a poll to tell me Democratic excitement …

… is way higher than GOP fever, but this Gallup poll puts it into very clear perspective. I wouldn’t want to be a downticket GOP candidate this year, especially since McCain might actually keep voters out of the booth on November 4.

From the lInk:

Only 51% of Republicans say they are more enthusiastic about voting than in previous years, compared to 71% of Democrats, marking a shift from October 2004, when enthusiasm was about the same for both partisan groups.

This disproportionate enthusiasm, measured in a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted over the weekend, is not a new phenomenon this year. Democrats have reported a higher “more enthusiastic” reading each of the seven times Gallup has asked the question in 2008. The smallest gap was a 7-point Democratic advantage in the Sept. 5-7 USA Today/Gallup poll, conducted just after the Republican National Convention.