Almost precisely at the midpoint between the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3 and the general election on Nov. 4, the general election campaign is on. Neither party's nominee swept the primaries.
Sen. John McCain had just begun his speech from Kenner, La., on the year's last primary election night when distraught Republicans began e-mailing each other this message: Is it possible at this late hour for our presidential candidate to learn to read a teleprompter?
Americans believe by large majorities that it is more important for newcomers to learn English than it is for their fellow citizens to become bilingual.
"Today is a great day not only for every lesbian and gay couple who wants to get married, but for every Californian who believes in fairness and equal opportunity for all," said Judy Appel, executive director of Our Family Coalition, a group that advocates for same-sex couples with children, in response to the California Supreme Court majority's refusal to delay its ruling on gay marriage. As a result of that refusal, California counties have until June 17 to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
As the general election campaign gets started, 41% of voters nationwide say that Barack Obama is too inexperienced to be President while 30% say John McCain is too old. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey found that 6% of voters believe both statements are true while 24% say neither is accurate.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 62% of voters would prefer fewer government services with lower taxes. Nearly a third (29%) disagrees and would rather have a bigger government with higher taxes. Ten percent (10%) are not sure.
On his first day as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama made his first clear, serious mistake: He named Eric Holder as one of three people charged with vice-presidential vetting.
Just when it seemed on the last Tuesday of the presidential primary season that Hillary Clinton would bow to the inevitable, she enraged Democrats who expected her to start strengthening Barack Obama as nominee.
Fifty-one percent (51%) of Democrats polled in a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey think Barack Obama should pick Hillary Rodham Clinton as his running mate, even as the former first lady and her surrogates push for a so-called Democratic "dream ticket."
Nearly four out of five Americans (78%) polled since Barack Obama clinched enough delegates to be the Democratic nominee say they could vote for an African-American for president, but they think only 61%of their family, friends and co-workers are willing to do the same.
The selection of a vice president is not only an exercise in political handicapping but also a national rite of statecraft. Candidates, advisers, pundits and assorted experts try to calculate the ethnic, geographic, gender and ideological characteristics of potential running mates, but what this choice actually reveals is the character of a presidential nominee.
A remarkable thing just happened in the people's party. Democrats have chosen a candidate, in the year 2008, who does not have a plan for universal health coverage.
Fed chairman Ben Bernanke made big news Tuesday by singling out the weak foreign-exchange value of the U.S. dollar as the principal culprit in "the unwelcome rise in import prices and consumer price inflation."
On Election Day 2004, with 9/11 still strong in the national memory and
the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq ominipresent, 41% said national security
was the most important issue determining their vote. By contrast, 26% rated
economic issues as the number one factor.
Forty-two percent (42%) of American voters believe the United States and its allies are winning the War on Terror, up three percent from last month which marked the first time the number had dropped below 40 percent since last fall.
Forty-five percent (45%) of likely voters agree with Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama that it's a good idea for the U.S. president to meet directly with the leader of Iran, but well over half (59%) think that talks should only take place after Iran stops developing nuclear weapons.
John McCain needs to go on the offensive against Barack Obama over the Iraq war. Polls tell us that his support for the Iraq invasion is one of voters' chief problems with McCain. Obama's chief credential, on the other hand, is his early, consistent opposition to the war.
The Discover U.S. Spending Monitor rose 1.4 points in May to 86.8 as consumers braced for higher spending in the wake of record gas and food prices. The Monitor posted record high percentages of consumers who said they spent more in May than April (56 percent) and who expect to spend more next month (46 percent), both up by six points respectively.
As I write this, the last voters in the last states in this seemingly endless primary process are heading to the polls, even as various news organizations have already announced that Barack Obama has reached the shifting magic number to claim a majority of the delegates.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 59% of Americans want the troops brought home from Iraq within a year. That’s down three points from two weeks ago and is the lowest number calling for troops to come home since March.
