Columnist Larry Kudlow calls it the Sarah surge. With excitement now running high on the Republican side, Barack Obama’s campaign and many in the media are reacting like GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is at the top of the ticket. Whatever the view, it appears that Palin drove the polls last week.
Seven out of 10 voters (69%) support offshore oil drilling, and even more (77%) favor tax incentives for the development of alternative energy sources, which means Congress is on track with the energy bill it is expected to pass in the next two weeks.
If elected President, 63% of voters say that John McCain is likely to reach across the aisle and work with Democrats to pass important legislation. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 51% say that Barack Obama will do the same if elected.
Call it the vice presidential battle for campaign cash. So far John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate has Republicans far more likely to give money to his campaign than Democrats responding to Barack Obama’s selection of Joseph Biden.
With the seventh anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks this week, over half of Americans (54%) still believe the country has changed for the worse since the events of that day, but this marks the first time the number has fallen in over six years.
Seven out of 10 voters (69%) remain convinced that reporters try to help the candidate they want to win, and this year by a nearly five-to-one margin voters believe they are trying to help Barack Obama.
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is viewed favorably by 72% of voters in her home state, including 56% who hold a Very Favorable opinion of her.
Sixty-two percent (62%) of voters say encouraging economic growth in America is more important than closing the gap between the rich and poor, and the best way to do that is for the government to move out of the way.
Since early May, Rasmussen Markets data has shown Barack Obama as the favorite to be the next President of the United States. From the time he wrapped up the Democratic Presidential Nomination on June 3, market expectations have consistently given Obama a roughly 60% chance of victory.
There’s little doubt that the story of the past week was the Republican National Convention… and that the story of the convention was Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
A week ago, most Americans had never heard of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Now, following a Vice Presidential acceptance speech viewed live by more than 40 million people, Palin is viewed favorably by 58% of American voters.
Who is John McCain? Like any candidate, he’s more than a resume. More than a Vietnam combat pilot who served time in the infamous Hanoi Hilton, then went on to be a longtime Republican senator from Arizona.
Over half of U.S. voters (51%) think reporters are trying to hurt Sarah Palin with their news coverage, and 24% say those stories make them more likely to vote for Republican presidential candidate John McCain in November.
Last Friday, Rasmussen Reports took a first look at Barack Obama’s convention bounce. At the time, it was still quite modest but has now grown to represent a fairly typical convention bounce.
Voters by a substantial majority think a woman is likely to be elected president of the United States in the next 10 years, and nearly half (48%) think Hillary Clinton is at least somewhat likely to be the one.
Two of the most popular speakers on the first full night of the Republican National Convention are a Bush and a Democrat – First Lady Laura Bush, that is, and Senator Joseph Lieberman, according to recent Rasmussen Reports national telephone surveys.
After a long weekend of Democratic criticism of John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate, over half of voters (52%) still have at least a somewhat favorable opinion of the Alaska governor. Thirty-one percent (31%) view her very favorably.
Voters, by a 56% to 26% margin, say Barack Obama is a better potential president than the Democratic Party’s 2004 nominee, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey also found that, by a 48% to 28% margin, voters say John McCain is a better potential president than the Republican who has held the job for eight years, George W. Bush.
Hurricane Gustav appears likely now to miss New Orleans, but the vast majority of Americans expect the storm to drive up gas prices now that it’s in the Gulf of Mexico.
Less than a week ago most Americans didn’t have a clue who Sarah Palin is, but now 30% of them would rather meet her than Barack Obama or John McCain.
