With two weeks still left in President-elect Barack Obama's transition and because of the alleged corrupt conduct of several people in his proximity and his own passivity and public silence (and the inherent drama of current events), his has become the most dramatic presidential transition in memory.
The Discover U.S. Spending Monitor fell for the fourth consecutive month in December, declining more than three points to a new low of 76.6 (based out of 100). Both components of the monthly spending index - consumer confidence in the U.S. economy and consumer spending intent - reached new lows during the month, as concerns about the economy may be weighing on post-holiday spending plans.
A majority of Americans say it’s still possible for anyone who wants to work to find a job and work themselves out of poverty.
Forty-seven percent (47%) of American adults say today’s children will not be better off than their parents.
Americans are narrowly divided over whether the United States will still be the world’s most powerful nation at the end of the current century.
Conventional wisdom last week decreed that President-elect Barack Obama had done such a fine job culling his Cabinet that only one pick -- Attorney General-nominee Eric Holder -- would present a problem, but most likely, a surmountable hurdle.
First come the shady operators, then comes the collapse, then comes the bailout, then come the shady operators. That, too often, is the sad history of financial meltdowns and their cleanups.
The Rasmussen Employment Index, a monthly measure of U.S. worker confidence in the employment market, fell to a record low for the third month in a row.
Approval of Congress' job performance is down to single digits again for the first time since early September.
Nearly half of U.S. voters (48%) now think politics in Washington, D.C., will be more cooperative in the next year, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
Barack Obama said repeatedly on the campaign trail that the war on terror was being fought on the wrong front, and 71% of U.S. voters say he is likely to send more troops to Afghanistan in his first year in the White House.
Full monthly results for the Rasmussen Consumer Index in December shows that the economic confidence of American consumers has fallen to another all-time low at 59.6.
The number of Americans who consider themselves to be Democrats inched up again in December to 41.6%. That’s up two-tenths of a point since November and the third straight monthly increase in the number of Democrats.
In the final full month of his Presidency, just 13% of American adults said they Strongly Approved of the way that George W. Bush performed his job as president. Forty-three percent (43%) Strongly Disapproved.
Forty-six percent (46%) of U.S. voters believe working Americans should be allowed to opt out of Social Security to provide for their own retirement planning, an idea not likely to gain much traction with Democrats more strongly in control of Congress.
For lo these many years, the Democratic motorcade class has scolded American workers for driving gas-guzzling cars. Now that Americans have begun driving more fuel-efficient cars and driving less, how have the finger-waggers reacted? No, they are not planning a parade -- they already are working on a new tax on miles driven to make up for lost gasoline-tax revenue.
Welcome to 2009! Last year was a rough one for all of us, but many Americans are pinning their hopes on Barack Obama, who becomes president in less than three weeks.
As we approach the change from a Republican to a Democratic administration, I have been thinking about the differences in the basic character of our two historic parties -- the oldest and third oldest free political parties in the world (number two, at least by my count, is the British Conservative Party).
Just 39% of U.S. voters are at least somewhat confident they will receive all of their promised Social Security benefits from the federal government in their lifetimes. Only 13% are Very Confident of that payout.
Over half of Americans (52%) now believe it is possible for Israel and the Palestinians to live in peace, but just 35% think Barack Obama is likely to help end the conflict during his presidency.
