Voters continue to say President Obama is doing a better job on national security issues than economic issues, but his marks in both areas have improved slightly over the past several weeks.
Voters remain slightly more conservative when it comes to fiscal policy than they are on social issues, while 29% still say they are conservative in both areas.
One-in-five Americans (20%) say they or someone they know has bought large quantities of traditional light bulbs to use when those bulbs disappear off store shelves next year under new federal light bulb regulations.
Voter optimism about U.S. involvement in Afghanistan has slipped back to levels measured before the killing of Osama bin Laden.
Consistent with trust in individual citizens rather than government officials, most adults nationwide still trust a jury over a judge to determine the innocence or guilt of a defendant. However, faith in juries is down a bit following the Casey Anthony verdict.
A generic Republican candidate earns the highest level of support yet against President Obama in a hypothetical 2012 election match up.
Voters remain skeptical about U.S. military involvement in Libya, with a plurality still opposed to further military action in the north African country.
Voters oppose any increase in the federal gas tax even if the money goes only to developing and keeping up Interstate highways.
As they have consistently, voters continue to believe that President Obama is more liberal than they are, though that number has reached a new low.
President Obama and Congress are currently debating how deep to cut government spending and whether to include some tax increases as part of a budget deal. But voters feel more strongly than ever that decreasing government spending is good for the economy and think tax increases of any kind are bad economic medicine.
There was more bad news on the unemployment front Friday, and Americans continue to express little optimism that the elected officials they have now will be able to do anything about it. They also strongly question the national security direction the country has taken.
Voters remain strongly supportive of a free market economy over one controlled by the government and still think small businesses are hurt more than big businesses when the government does get involved.
Support among voters for a military draft is at its lowest level in several years, but nearly one-out-of-three voters favor mandatory public service.
For the second month in a row, slightly more voters describe the Republican agenda in Congress as being more extreme than mainstream. Voters have consistently felt this way about the agenda of congressional Democrats.
Compared to the four presidents who followed him, Ronald Reagan had a more limited view of when to send U.S. military force into action overseas and voters today still embrace the more restrained use of force that he advocated.
While a majority of U.S. voters still feel discovering new sources of energy is more important than reducing energy consumption, the number who feel this way has fallen to a new low. Voters also continue to believe there’s a conflict between economic growth and environmental protection.
For the first time this year, a generic Republican candidate and President Obama are tied in a hypothetical 2012 election matchup.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters finds a generic Republican candidate picking up 44% of the vote, while Obama receives identical 44% support. Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate, and another eight percent (8%) are undecided.
Following news reports that he may be leaving his post this fall, favorable ratings for U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner tie their lowest level to date.
When tracking President Obama’s job approval on a daily basis people sometimes get so caught up in the day-to-day fluctuations that they miss the bigger picture. To look at the longer-term trends, Rasmussen Reports compiles the numbers on a full-month basis, and the results can be seen in the graphics below.
As the United States prepares to celebrate its 235th birthday, Americans still overwhelmingly agree with the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence. Ninety percent (90%) agree that “we are all endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Americans also strongly support the beliefs that we are all created equal and the government’s derive their only just authority from the consent of the governed. Men tend to be stronger supporters of these views than women, but majorities of just about all demographic groups agree.
