The results of a new online poll offer cold comfort for anyone hoping that Barack Obama’s election might be the beginning of a post-partisan era for American politics.

A total of ninety-one percent of self-identified conservatives described Obama’s political philosophy as “Socialist,” “Marxist,” “Communist” or “Fascist,” according to the poll, which was conducted between May 12 and 19 on ConservativeHQ.com.

Nearly 2,600 people voted in the poll, including 1,848 individuals who identified their own political philosophy as “conservative.” Only a total of 7 percent of participants described Obama to be liberal (5 percent) or progressive (2 percent).

“While this is not a scientific poll of conservatives, it is a meaningful indicator that most conservatives (the GOP base) see Obama as a dangerous radical,” said Richard Viguerie, chairman of ConservativeHQ.com. Viguerie, a veteran conservative strategist and author of Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause added: “It appears that America is becoming much more polarized.”

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But a different poll conducted during the same period by telephone paints a different picture. Sixty-three percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Wednesday say Obama’s proposed policies are pushing the nation in the right direction, with 35 percent saying the opposite.

The same poll found that a slight majority of respondents, 53 percent, believe Republican proposals would move the country in the wrong direction.

The CNN poll was released “just two hours before members of the Republican National Committee approved a resolution [which] calls on the Democratic party to “stop pushing our country towards socialism and governmental control,” CNN reported.

Together, the two polls indicate the views of hardcore conservatives are hardening even as the broader population finds Obama and his policies appealing.

“Because so many conservatives see President Obama as a radical leftist, Republican politicians will be under pressure to step up their criticism of President Obama and the Democrats who are closely cooperating with him,” Viguerie said. “It will also make compromise more difficult for GOP officials. Any Republican who wants to be a national leader will feel obligated to view Obama as the vast majority of the GOP base sees him.”