In his State of the Union address last month, and in four subsequent addresses to the public, President Obama used the phrase “middle class” (approvingly) a total of 49 times, and the term “superrich” (in an accusatory sense) eight times. It sounded like this:

For far too long, lobbyists have rigged the tax code with loopholes that let some corporations pay nothing while others pay full freight. They’ve riddled it with giveaways that the superrich don’t need, while denying a break to middle-class families who do. We don’t just want everyone to share in America’s success, we want everyone to contribute to our success.

The problem for Democrats is that the party’s newfound emphasis on benefits for the middle class and contributions from the rich threatens to alienate the upscale wing of the party, which fears that it will be left to pick up the tab.

The initial reaction to the Democratic message in the State of the Union was positive. A CNN survey of 420 viewers conducted just before and after the speech found that 81 percent responded favorably, including 51 percent who said they had a “very favorable impression.”

More significantly, the percentage saying that “Obama’s policies will move the country in the right direction” grew to 72 percent from 57 percent before the speech, while the percentage saying the president’s policies will not move the country in the right direction fell to 24 percent from 38 percent.

Using “dial testing” – a survey method in which participants are given hand-held dials that can be turned to register positive and negative reactions in real time — Stan Greenberg, C.E.O. of the Democratic polling firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, conducted a more subtle exploration of attitudes among key target groups during the State of the Union address.