A new Pew poll released this afternoon has mixed news for Dem Congressional leaders -- though it also contains what may be a milestone of sorts: More Americans think that the Democratic Party, not the GOP, is the party with "stronger" and "better" leaders.

Key excerpts:

As the Democratic-led Congress approaches the 100- day mark, pluralities of Americans approve of the way that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are handling their leadership roles. However, the public gives Democrats mixed reviews for delivering on their campaign promises and for their policies and proposals. Slightly more disapprove of the Democrats’ policies than approve (42% disapprove vs. 37% approve)...

...three-in-ten do not know enough about Nancy Pelosi to rate her performance. On balance, however, more than twice as many approve of Pelosi’s job performance than disapprove (48%-22%)...

...the public remains satisfied that the Democrats won control of Congress, though positive feelings have declined since shortly after the November elections. A 54% majority says they are happy that the Democrats prevailed in the elections, down from 60% who held that view in the week following Election Day....

While enthusiasm for the Democrats’ victory has slipped, the party’s image continues to improve relative to the GOP’s. Nearly half (47%) say the Democratic Party can better manage the federal government, compared with 31% who choose the Republican Party. A year ago, the Democrats’ edge on management was just four points. In addition, slightly more Americans now say the Democratic Party, rather than the Republican Party, has stronger leaders, wiping out the GOP’s substantial advantage on this leadership trait.

The poll finds that when asked which party has "stronger" leaders, 41% say Dems, while 36% say the GOP. That's a dramatic shift from the numbers in the Pew poll in the Fall of 2006 just before the elections: At that time, 30% said Dems, while 43% picked the GOP.

Similarly, when asked which party has "better" leaders, voters gave Dems a wide advantage, picking it over the GOP by 44%-29% -- an even more dramatic shift from last fall's poll, which gave the advantage to the GOP, 38%-34%.

Lots to dig through in the full poll.