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June 5, 2009

Supremely Representative: Should the Nation's Highest Court Look Like America? By Barbara A. Perry

The U.S. Constitution is utterly silent on qualifications for members of the federal judiciary. Theoretically, a justice does not even have to be a lawyer, but, in practice, all 110 justices in the Supreme Court's 220-year history have been attorneys. With no constitutionally mandated selection criteria, presidents have been free to determine the standards by which they choose nominees. Professor Henry Abraham, the nation's leading Supreme Court expert, has identified four primary selection criteria that presidents have used in the appointment process: 1) merit, 2) ideology, 3) friendship, and 4) representation.

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June 5, 2009

83% Say U.S. Legal System Should Treat All Americans Equally

Eighty-three percent (83%) of U.S. voters say America’s legal system should apply the law equally to all Americans rather than using the law to help those who have less power and influence. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that just 8% disagree.

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June 5, 2009

Why Do We Talk About Judges This Way? By Dahlia Lithwick

Nobody in America believes the judicial confirmation system works. Not the senators who eat up precious questioning time with windy speeches about pet projects back home; not the interest groups who scour every sordid instant of a nominee's background for evidence that they are unfit for the bench; and not the American public, whose experiences of constitutional interpretation and judicial philosophy are reduced in a few days on C-SPAN to bumper-sticker claims and counter claims.

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June 5, 2009

CEOs Still Bring Up The Rear in Public’s Opinion

With two of the nation’s Big Three automakers in bankruptcy and the economy still a mess, Americans continue to view corporate chief executive officers as the lowest of the low.

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June 5, 2009

Advancing Civil Rights By Overturning Old Laws By Michael Barone

Two cases likely to be decided this month by the Supreme Court -- one of them an appeal in a Connecticut case decided by a panel including Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor -- could result in significant changes in our civil rights laws.

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June 4, 2009

Rasmussen Reports Daily Prediction Challenge: Walmart

The daily Rasmussen Reports Prediction Challenge for Thursday focuses on Walmart in the community.

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June 4, 2009

New Jersey Governor: Christie (R) 51% Corzine (D) 38%

New Jersey’s Democratic Governor Jon S. Corzine, who hopes to win a second term in November, has now fallen behind Republican challenger Christopher J. Christie by 15 points – 49% to 34%.

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June 4, 2009

26% Applaud GM Bailout But 17% Favor Boycott

Twenty-six percent (26%) of American adults believe it was a good idea for the federal government to take ownership of General Motors as the auto giant was on the verge of collapse. Nearly as many--17%--say that Americans should protest the bailout by boycotting GM and refusing to buy its cars. Most Americans are somewhere in between.

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June 4, 2009

Headcount Follies By Debra J. Saunders

If you see the federal government as a benign force that seeks only to make your life better, then the questions in the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey may not bother you. But if you have a smidgen of doubt, or if you value your privacy, you probably aren't going to like some of Uncle Sam's invasive queries.

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June 4, 2009

Rasmussen Employment Index Makes Modest Gain in May

The Rasmussen Employment Index, a monthly measure of U.S. worker confidence in the employment market, rose for the third straight month in May.

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June 4, 2009

Domestic Terrorism by Any Standard By Joe Conason

If right-wing broadcasters don't want to be blamed when someone murders a person they have demonized repeatedly -- as in the case of George Tiller, the doctor shot dead in his Wichita, Kan., church last Sunday by an anti-abortion zealot -- then they ought to moderate their rhetoric. No doubt they will choose their words more carefully for a while, and they will whine piteously about anyone who calls attention to their screaming extremism.

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June 4, 2009

74% Say Peace between Israel and Palestinians Not Likely in Next 10 Years

Seventy-four percent (74%) of U.S. voters say it is unlikely there will be lasting peace between the Palestinians and Israel within the next decade Twenty-seven percent (27%) say it’s not at all likely.

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June 4, 2009

Motown Wonders: Where Did Our Love Go? By Froma Harrop

The alternative to a government rescue of General Motors is the collapse of the industrial Midwest. Nonetheless, there's been a surprisingly large amount of dumping on the Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan. The government-sponsored deal seems to have stirred up resentments for every ideology.

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June 3, 2009

What's Keeping Obama Up? By Dick Morris

The Rasmussen poll conducted over the weekend of May 30-31 asked a key question designed to give us perspective on Obama's current popularity.

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June 3, 2009

Voters’ Opinions on America’s Direction Remain Steady

Thirty-seven percent (37%) of U.S. voters say America is heading in the right direction this week.

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June 3, 2009

Rasmussen Reports Daily Prediction Challenge: Supreme Court Justices

The daily Rasmussen Reports Prediction Challenge for Wednesday focuses on Supreme Court Justices and the law.

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June 3, 2009

Sotomayor Beats Bush’s Supreme Court Nominees So Far

Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s first choice for the U.S. Supreme Court, is well ahead of the game at this early stage of the confirmation process when compared to President George W. Bush’s high court nominees.

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June 3, 2009

Only 28% See Better U.S. Relationship With Muslim World A Year From Now

President Obama plans a major speech in Cairo on Thursday to reach out to Muslims worldwide, but just 28% of U.S. voters think America’s relationship with the Muslim world will be better a year from today.

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June 3, 2009

Sotomayor Support Softens Over Past Week, But 88% Still Say Confirmation Likely

Over the week since she was introduced to the nation, public support for Judge Sonia Sotomayor has softened a bit, but 88% still say it’s likely that she will be confirmed as the next U.S. Supreme Court justice.

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June 3, 2009

It's Not About Ideology By Susan Estrich

"What I have no interest in doing is running GM," President Barack Obama said on Monday, as he assumed ownership of the beacon of free enterprise.

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