Holiday Snapshots: Illinois Tops Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Virginia in Plans for More Holiday Spending
The holiday season is bringing less joy to retailers this year, with 60% of adults nationally saying they plan to spend less on gifts.
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December 7, 2008
December 7, 2008
Prohibition's Second Act By Debra J. Saunders
Last week saw the 75th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition. In Washington, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) -- a group of former cops and drug-war veterans who have soured on America's war on drugs -- gathered to celebrate the anniversary, and to argue for an end to America's current prohibition on marijuana and more serious drugs.
December 6, 2008
Confidence in War on Terror Declines
For the first time since the beginning of September, less than half of voters believe the U.S. and its allies are winning the War on Terror.
December 6, 2008
What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending December 5, 2008
The election was over a month ago, or was it?
Just this past Tuesday Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss won Georgia’s Senate run-off, finally ensuring that Democrats will not have a 60-Democrat filibuster-proof Senate.
December 6, 2008
Message From Georgia: This Too Shall Pass By Michael Barone
The world doesn't stand still. Case in point: the Georgia runoff election last week made necessary because Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss failed, barely, to win an absolute majority on Nov. 4. In that contest, Chambliss led Democratic challenger Jim Martin by 3 percent. In the runoff, he won by 14.8 percent. Same candidates, very different result.
December 5, 2008
Minnesota More Confident than Illinois About an NFL Playoff Bid
The Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears are in first and second place in the National Football Conference Northern division respectively, and Vikings fans are much more confident than their rivals about a playoff bid.
December 5, 2008
67% of Minnesota Voters Expect Coleman to Win
Sixty-seven percent (67%) of Minnesota voters now expect incumbent Republican Norm Coleman to beat Democrat Al Franken in the state’s U.S. Senate race, according to a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Minnesota taken Thursday night.
December 5, 2008
46% Say Congress Should Be Able To Override Presidential Pardons
Forty-six percent (46%) of U.S. voters say Congress should be able to overturn presidential pardons it thinks are unjustified, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
December 5, 2008
Where is John Edwards? By Susan Estrich
Doris Kearns Goodwin could not have asked for more. The author of "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln," published in 2006, is making headlines once again for her foresight, as well as her knowledge of history, in light of President-elect Barack Obama's decision to surround himself with his former rivals, including Vice President-elect Joe Biden, Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton, and now Secretary of Commerce-designate Bill Richardson.
December 4, 2008
Black Voters Twice as Confident as White Voters About Nation’s Direction in November
In the month of November, 38% of black voters believed the nation is heading in the right direction, while just 16% of white voters agree.
December 4, 2008
66% in Illinois Oppose Pardon for Former Governor
Two-thirds of adults in Illinois (66%) are opposed to a presidential pardon for former Governor George Ryan, according to a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state.
December 4, 2008
Jackson Is Top Choice of Illinois Democrats To Succeed Obama in Senate
Rep. Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. is the clear favorite of Illinois Democrats among the party’s top five candidates to succeed Barack Obama as the state’s junior U.S. senator.
December 4, 2008
Booze or Drugs, Prohibition Makes No Sense By Froma Harrop
America ended Prohibition 75 years ago this week. The ban on the sale of alcohol unleashed a crime wave, as gangsters fought over the illicit booze trade. It sure didn't stop drinking. People turned to speakeasies and bathtub gin for their daily cocktail.
December 4, 2008
Not a Team of Rivals At All By Joe Conason
When the journalistic pack bites into a tasty cliché they often refuse to let go, lazily chewing and regurgitating a phrase like "team of rivals" long after the flavor is gone. Derived from the Doris Kearns Goodwin book on Lincoln's cabinet, that morsel had scant relevance to the cabinet being assembled by Barack Obama, as the president-elect bravely tried to explain when he introduced his national security team.
December 4, 2008
Pennsylvania Senate: Specter 46% Matthews 43%
Republican Senator Arlen Specter is potentially vulnerable in his 2010 bid for re-election. A Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Pennsylvania voters finds Specter leading MSNBC pundit Chris Matthews by just three percentage points, 46% to 43%, in a match-up that may foreshadow one of the nation's most closely-watched Senate races.
December 4, 2008
Obama and His New Crew By Debra J. Saunders
If you're not a "Star Trek" fan, you might not get this, but as I've watched President-elect Barack Obama these past few weeks, I feel as if the country is passing the torch from the brash, rule-breaking Capt. James T. Kirk, whose Starship Enterprise boldly went where no man had gone before in the original sci-fi series, to the more cerebral governance of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard, who ran the Enterprise not so much as his merry ship but as a cutting-edge corporate venture, which culled databases and held meetings to brainstorm possible responses to new challenges.
December 3, 2008
Democrats Lead By Three on Generic Ballot in November
Despite a dominant performance on Election Day, Democrats held just a three point advantage in the Generic Congressional Ballot for the full month of November. Overall, Rasmussen Reports national telephone surveys found that 43% would vote for their district’s Democratic candidate, while 40% would choose the Republican candidate.
December 3, 2008
74% Say Government Not Doing Enough to Secure Borders
Seventy-four percent (74%) of U.S. voters continue to believe the federal government is not doing enough to secure the country’s borders, even as President-elect Obama has named a new secretary of Homeland Security who is opposed to a border fence.
December 3, 2008
59% Say Terror Attack in U.S. Likely in Next Year
Nearly three-out-of-five U.S. voters (59%) say a terrorist attack in the United States like the one last week in India is at least somewhat likely in the next year. Twenty-three percent (23%) say it is Very Likely.
December 3, 2008
The "A Team" By Susan Estrich
You can tell a lot about a person by the people who surround them. In theory, the "bigger" you are, the bigger and better the people around you should be. What makes a great leader is a great team. All that.
