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It may not be exactly what Obama meant when he said "change", but it is certaintly "change you can believe in", and it is exactly what Bob Dylan was singing about in The Times They Are A'Changing:
With the Republicans down to 21% of the American population in the latest Washington Post poll they are de facto reduced to a minority.
The situation has the GOP scrambling to mount a come-back through an initiative called National Council for New America
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The aim is to restore the tainted image of the Republican Party.
The new majority: Independents
More importantly, Independents are now the largest group, surpassing both those who identify as Democrats and Republicans, which could pave the way for a third party in a country traditionally locked in a two-party system.
The Republicans will need to engage the Independants, so whether or not a new party can be formed on the basis of the Independent vote, these voters have become the most important factor in US politics.
Other notable trends:
Since 2003 Hispanics and Latinos have surpassed African Americans as the largest ethnic minority in USA, constituting 15.1% of the total United States population or 45.4 million people according to the 2007 American Community Survey by the United States Census Bureau.
At the same time the Washington Post poll indicates that views among Americans are changing on issues like gay marriage, gun control, immigration, marijuana.
Consensus: Liberal and progressive values
With almost half of all American supporting gay marriage this issue is, for the first time in history, more popular than not.
Legalizing marijuana is still trailing behind, but if the current trends continue USA could be ready to make that move in a couple of years.
Support for legalizing illegal immigrants is staggering, but has always been among the preferences of Americans, but at the same time a majority favours stricter border control.
Three-quarters of Americans favor federal regulation of greenhouse gases.
Two-thirds support establishing relations with Cuba.
Strongholds: Torture and gun control
It's as if the Summer of Love just got a sequel, but this time without hippies, flower power and psychedelic concerts. This time it's purely political, and the main character is an African-American president utilizing the voice of a grass roots movement through new Internet media, not a guitar hero or a civil rights leader.
After the magic 100 days in office Obama's job approval rating is at a whopping 69 percent with only 26 percent disapproving of which most must be assumed to overlap the 21% who will identify themselves as Republicans.
Subsequently, we must assume support for Obama is high among Independents. Republicans are at a dismal 30 percent approval and 64 percent disapproval rate, confirming that Obama has a strong grip on Independents.
Still, there are some trends to break the pattern: Support for increased gun control is traditionally strong among Americans, outweighing the opposition, but the numbers in support for gun control have dropped since 2000, testifying to the importance of strong lobbying.
Also, about half of all Americans are not entirely ready to abandon the use of torture.
