As Election Day 2008 approaches with the prospect of a Democrat in the White House and Democratic control of the Congress, only one-third (34%) of U.S. voters think rule by one political party is better for the country.

Forty-five percent (45%) say it’s better if the White House and Congress are each run by a different political party, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Twenty-one percent (21%) are undecided.

Fifty percent (50%) of Democrats think the country is better off if one party controls both the presidency and Congress, compared to 26% of Republicans and 23% of unaffiliated voters. Twenty-eight percent (28%) of Democrats say divided government is better for the country, and 60% of Republicans and 48% of unaffiliateds agree.

Faced with ominous polls nationwide, Republican candidates, from John McCain and Sarah Palin on down, have been warning voters in recent days about the dangers of “the one-party rule of [Barack] Obama, [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi, and [Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid.”

Forty-two percent (42%) say it is bad for the country if one political party has a 60-member majority in the U.S. Senate to prevent filibusters by the opposing party. But 36% think that arrangement is good for the country, while 22% are not sure.

Again, 50% of Democrats think having a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate is good for the country, while 55% of GOP voters and a plurality (45%) of unaffiliated voters think it’s bad.

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Democrats, increasingly confident that Obama will win the presidency, are hoping to claim enough Republican seats in the Senate to have a filibuster-proof majority. GOP seats at risk include Alaska, Virginia, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Colorado, New Mexico, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Georgia and Oregon.

Nationally Obama has been ahead of McCain all month in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

Sixty-eight percent (68%) of voters agree with the statement to the New York Times by Senate historian Robert A. Caro as he explained both sides of the argument, “It’s precisely when one party sweeps to a huge majority that a check on its powers is needed, so the government doesn’t go too far.” Only 17% disagree, with 15% undecided.

Even 56% of Democrats agree, as do 79% of Republicans and 69% of unaffiliated voters.

Voters are closely divided on Caro’s explanation of the pro-one-party position: “Right now we are in another [economic] crisis. … Government must be able to move fast and decisively. So that’s an argument for saying it would be a good thing if we had the same party in control of both Congress and the White House.” Forty-two percent (42%) agree, 46% disagree, 12% are undecided.

Sixty percent (60%) of Democrats agree with Caro’s analysis of the one-party position, but 66% of Republicans and 49% of unaffiliated voters don’t.

Seventy percent (70%) of self-identified liberals agree with Caro’s one-party analysis, compared to 43% of moderates and 25% of conservatives. Liberal voters are substantially more enthusiastic in all the questioning about one party being in power than moderates and conservatives.

Only 34% of voters agree with Pelosi’s statement, “If the Democrats win and have substantial majorities, the Congress of the United States will be more bipartisan.” Forty-seven percent (47%) disagree, and 19% are not sure.

Fifty percent (50%) of Democratic voters think Pelosi is right, compared to 19% of Republicans and 30% of unaffiliated voters. Thirty percent (30%) of Democrats disagree with the House speaker, along with 68% of Republican voters and 43% of unaffiliateds.

In separate surveys earlier this month, just 11% of voters said Congress is doing a good or excellent job, and 59% said they would like to throw out the entire Congress and replace it with new members.

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