Weekly Updates

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending December 17, 2011

It was a newsy week - with the Iraq war coming to a quiet close, the Obama administration’s fight against state anti-immigration efforts going to the U.S. Supreme Court and Newt Gingrich’s runaway train seeming to slow in the Republican presidential race.

The majority of U.S. voters believe Iraq is better off than when dictator Saddam Hussein was in power, but they're not so sure the war-torn country will become peaceful and democratic anytime soon. One thing for sure: If civil war breaks out in Iraq, voters strongly believe U.S. troops should not get involved.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday announced it will decide whether the law Arizona adopted last year to fight illegal immigration violates the Constitution as the U.S. Justice Department contends. But a new survey finds that most voters still support a similar immigration law for their own state. Seventy-three percent (73%) agree that government officials are not doing enough to stop illegal immigration, and 63% think a state should have the right to enforce immigration laws if it believes the federal government is not enforcing them.

Voters continue to believe strongly that the federal government’s actions are encouraging illegal immigration as the Justice Department ended the week announcing bias charges against a popular Arizona sheriff for his anti-immigration efforts.

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending December 10, 2011

Maybe it’s the holiday season or maybe it’s an indicator of things to come. Last month, the Rasmussen Employment Index signaled a slight drop in the national unemployment rate, subsequently borne out by government figures. Now consumer and investor confidence are improving.
 
 The Rasmussen Consumer Index, which measures the economic confidence of consumers on a daily basis, is up five points from a month ago. Consumer confidence for the full month of November was the highest it has been since June. Its companion Rasmussen Investor Index, which measures daily confidence among investors, is also up several points from three months ago. Yet more than 60% of both groups believe the country remains in a recession.

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending December 2, 2011

Flavor of the month or the next presidential nominee of the Republican Party?

As Herman Cain’s campaign disintegrates, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has surged to the largest national lead held by any candidate so far in the race for the GOP’s 2012 nomination. Gingrich earns 38% of the vote from Likely Republican Primary Voters. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is a distant second at 17%. No other candidate reaches double digits. 

Gingrich also now edges President Obama by two points in a hypothetical Election 2012 matchup – 45% to 43% - after trailing by 12 points two weeks ago. 

Earlier in the year, both Texas Governor Rick Perry and Cain followed a similar path to take a slight lead over the president. However, their time as front-runners quickly came to an end. Neither man led the president more than a single time in a Rasmussen Reports poll. It remains to be seen whether Gingrich follows that path or is able to retain his status as the leading alternative to Romney. Scott Rasmussen discussed Gingrich’s surge with Fox News earlier this week.

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending November 26, 2011

Americans are taking a break this week from the cares and woes that have beset them all year. Their economic concerns and political views remain largely unchanged, so perhaps they feel they need to share the upcoming season of joy more than ever.

Eighty-three percent (83%) of American Adults, in fact, say they have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Just 12% disagree. Perhaps as a reflection of the continuing bad economy, however, more Americans were planning to have their Thanksgiving dinner at home this year, but nearly half - as usual - figured they’d eat too much at the holiday meal. 

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending November 19, 2011

For President Obama and congressional Democrats, it was a breakthrough week of sorts. For Republicans, yet another presidential hopeful appears headed for the top. For all of us, it was another week of economic business as usual.

The Rasmussen Consumer and Investor Indexes, which measure daily confidence among both groups, showed slight improvement this week over recent months, but roughly 60% of both groups say the country is still in a recession.

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending November 12, 2011

Poll after poll shows former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney to be the Republican presidential contender voters are most comfortable with and the GOP hopeful who continues to run most competitively with President Obama. But that's not enough for a lot of Republican voters.

Just this past week, new surveying found that Romney is the GOP candidate viewed most favorably by all voters. This parallels other recent findings that voters see Romney as the GOP hopeful most qualified to be president and the candidate for the White House closest to the mainstream in a group that includes Obama.

The president and Romney remain in a dead heat in their latest hypothetical Election 2012 matchup. Georgia businessman Herman Cain lost ground to Obama this past week, now trailing him 48% to 37%. The week before, Cain trailed 43% to 38%.New numbers will be released for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Monday.

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending October 29, 2011

For many conservatives and Tea Party voters, the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination boils down to “anyone but Romney.” Yet the former Massachusetts governor remains a frontrunner for the nomination, while the various conservative hopefuls rise and fall.

Romney is still the GOP presidential contender who voters consider most qualified to be president, although he falls short of the number who feel that way about President Obama.

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending October 22, 2011

Not much hope and a strong desire for change – it sounds like 2008 all over again. Will Herman Cain ride that wave into the White House like Barack Obama before him?

Just 15% of Likely U.S. Voters now say the country is heading in the right direction, down 15 points from this time last year. Since the third week in July, the number of voters who are confident in the nation’s current course has resembled levels measured in the final months of the Bush administration.

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending October 15, 2011

Republican presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman quipped at last Tuesday night’s debate that at first he thought rival Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan was the price of a pizza. Cain, the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, wasn’t amused, but for now at least he’s having the last laugh.

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending October 8, 2011

Americans need something to believe in because right now their faith in the nation’s future is scraping rock bottom.

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending October 1, 2011

Despite the media chatter to the contrary, the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination has changed little in surveys over the past week, but a wild card may be lurking in New Jersey.  

One’s in the race and at week’s end one was reportedly contemplating a run, but for now former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie are both essentially even with President Obama in hypothetical Election 2012 matchups.

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending September 24, 2011

For many Americans, their home is their primary investment in the future. Concern remains at record levels that that investment is at risk, and the sour economy continues to play heavily on next year’s race for the White House.

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending September 17, 2011

The presidential primary process doesn’t begin for real for another four months, but the fluctuations in our polling over the past week are a good indicator of how topsy-turvy things are likely to be in the race for the Republican nomination.

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending September 10, 2011

This past week may well have been a preview of the headlines for months to come, with Texas Governor Rick Perry coming out swinging on the national stage and President Obama trying once more to give the struggling economy a shot in the arm. Whether Obama can get his new jobs plan to work may go a long way toward determining whether he keeps his job for another four years.

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending September 2, 2011

Lucky for President Obama the election is still 14 months away because the economic news couldn’t get much worse, capped with Friday’s report of zero job growth in August. That forced the president to kill plans for tougher clean air rules that critics said were a job killer, but the decision is sure to infuriate voters on his side of the aisle.

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending August 27, 2011

Even as a hurricane of perhaps historic dimensions closes in on the East Coast, the real storm in the country remains the beat-up and begging economy. Americans also continue to show little confidence in the president and the federal government to make a difference.

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending August 19, 2011

Rick Perry vs. Barack Obama? We’ll see, but that’s what voters were telling us this past week. They also have some good advice on where Congress can look to cut the bloated federal budget.

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending August 13, 2011

Most Americans these days would agree with Thomas Paine’s famous declaration in 1776: “These are the times that try men’s souls.” We lack confidence in the economy, government, elections, the president, Congress, both political parties, even our military missions abroad, with little hope in sight.

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending August 5, 2011

Americans don’t like the debt ceiling deal he agreed to, and confidence in the economy and the future in general are low and getting lower. But most voters think President Obama has a good chance of being reelected next year anyway. 

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending July 29, 2011

Take this economy, puh-leez. And while you’re at it, take this Congress and this president with you, too. That’s the message from most Americans these days.