As we enter one of America's bleaker winters -- though not so bleak as the winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge nor the winter of 1941-42 after Pearl Harbor and then Wake Island -- please permit me to lapse for a moment from the secular and the material to an old memory.
We have reached the end of another election cycle, but this has been no ordinary campaign. The marathon of presidential politics was everyone's focus, and the unforgettable cast of characters was long, from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side to John McCain and Sarah Palin on the Republican.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas – except maybe in economically hard-hit Michigan and slow-to-get-started Florida.
Debate ran high within Barack Obama’s transition team over whether the next secretary of Education should be a traditionalist in sync with the national teachers’ unions or a reformer who will help break the hold those unions have on Democratic Party policy. Obama's choice of Chicago School Superintendent Arne Duncan is seen as a move to bridge those competing camps.
With just one weekend left until Christmas Day, nearly a third of adults (31%) still have not started their holiday shopping yet. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 29% have already finished.
Al goes to the doctor.
Al: "I'm still short of breath. I know you told me to quit smoking, and honestly, I've tried. But kicking the habit is really stressful. Doc, can you help me?"
After Chairman Mao's revolution about 60 years ago, people in the United States played the blame game by asking, "Who lost China?" Well, following the breakdown of an arduous seven-hour Senate negotiating session on Thursday night, many are asking, "Who lost the U.S. car business?"
Sixty-nine percent (69%) of Americans generally say “Merry Christmas” to greet people at this time of year, but 71% are not offended by others who say “Happy Holidays.”
Forty-seven percent (47%) of homeowners in Michigan believe their homes will be worth more in five years than they are now, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state. That result is 12 percentage points below what homeowners think nationwide.
Jay Leno, host of NBC's "The Tonight Show," is moving to prime time next fall, and 42% of adults are at least somewhat likely to watch his new show, according to a Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
Seventy-eight percent (78%) of Florida voters say former Governor Jeb Bush is likely to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mel Martinez in 2010.
Even though half of Massachusetts voters say that the quality of healthcare in their state has stayed the same since enacting a universal healthcare bill, only 40% say using the system as a model would be good for the rest of the country.
Nearly half of U.S. voters (46%) say the quality of health care will decrease if the government oversees a national health plan, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
Forty five percent (45%) of U.S. voters say it is likely President-elect Obama or one of his top campaign aides was involved in the unfolding Blagojevich scandal in Illinois, including 23% who say it is Very Likely.
A panel of three federal judges is holding a trial to determine whether to free 52,000 of California's 172,000 prison inmates to alleviate overcrowding. You might be asking yourself: Who elected these guys to run California?
I have not seen it recorded whether John F. Kennedy, after he was elected president in 1960, held conversations with Massachusetts Gov. Foster Furcolo as to who would be appointed to fill his seat in the Senate.
With just three games left in the National Football League’s regular season, 22% of football fans think the New York Giants will win their second straight Super Bowl this year while 17% expect the Tennessee Titans to emerge victorious from the championship game.
A piece of General Motors, the house next door and Barack Obama’s Senate seat – all were for sale this week, and voters let us know exactly what they think they’re worth.
In the first week of December, just 22% of Democrats now say the nation is heading in the right direction, down from an average of 27% for the full month of November.
Fifty-one percent (51%) of U.S. voters oppose the creation of a single-payer national health insurance plan overseen by the federal government, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
