Okay, this is ugly: the Siena Research Institute [1] posted poll numbers for Eliot Spitzer that are pretty much in free fall.

Seventy-two percent of New York voters who have read or heard about the Governor’s proposal to allow undocumented aliens to obtain New York driver’s licenses oppose the Governor’s plan, while only 22 percent support it, according to a new Siena (College) Research Institute poll of registered voters released today. The Siena New York poll also shows that Eliot Spitzer’s job performance rating is lower than it has ever been, with a majority of voters saying he’s doing a fair or poor job. If the 2010 gubernatorial race were held today, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, running as a Republican, would beat Democrat Spitzer 50-37 percent.

"Nearly three-quarters of voters – including 59 percent of Democrats – oppose the Governor’s plan to give driver’s licenses to undocumented aliens," said Steven Greenberg, Siena New York Poll spokesman. "The voters’ message to the Governor is clear: ‘No, no, no.’ Opposition to the Spitzer proposal is intense, with 41 percent strongly opposing it and only 7 percent strongly supporting it.

It gets worse.

Spitzer’s favorable/unfavorable rating is 54-36 percent, down from 56-26 percent last month, and a high of 75-10 percent in January. His job performance rating is 41 percent positive 55 percent negative, down from 44-49 percent last month, and a high of 57-36 percent in May.

"While the Governor’s numbers may not be falling off a cliff, they are rolling swiftly and solidly down hill," Greenberg said.

"In four short months, the voters’ view of Spitzer’s job performance has reversed itself. Four times as many voters think he’s doing a poor job as think he’s doing an excellent job," Greenberg said. "Since January, his favorability has fallen by 21 points while his unfavorability has risen by 26 points."

While Eliot's job approval rating is still positive - at 54-36, he has a 21% net positive rating - a fall of 21% since January is not something to be crowed about. And while there is a precedent for that, with Ronald Reagan enduring a similar collapse in his first term only to solidly rebound, Mike Bloomberg is no Walter Mondale, and Reagan didn't try to win control of the Senate in the midterms. That, however, is Eliot's goal.

The governor and his people need to start asking themselves some very hard questions. Something's not working, folks.

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