Most Americans Would Choose Watching Olympics over Campaign Coverage
Most Americans have been following news stories on the presidential campaign more closely than the Olympic Games, but, given the choice, they would rather watch the games.
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August 12, 2008
August 12, 2008
59% see Russian Invasion of Georgia as Threat
The majority of Americans (59%) regard Russia’s ongoing invasion of neighboring Georgia as a threat to U.S. national security, but less than a third (31%) believe the United States should take any diplomatic action against Russia.
August 12, 2008
41% Say Bush Worst President Ever; 50% Disagree
Forty-one percent (41%) of Americans say George W. Bush will go down in history as the worst U.S. President ever, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
August 12, 2008
Sex, etc. and the City; A Commentary By Froma Harrop
I'm not a big fan of the nanny society's limits on freedom, except when I am. That's the dilemma for me, and for everyone.
August 11, 2008
64% Now Support Offshore Drilling; 42% See it as Best Way to Reduce Oil Prices
Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) support going ahead with offshore oil drilling, an issue that John McCain seized on in early June as a way to help lower gas prices and has since forced Barack Obama to at least partially agree with.
August 11, 2008
Most Adults Say Starbucks is Overpriced
Seventy-three percent (73%) of adults say Starbucks Coffee is overpriced. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 6% disagree.
August 11, 2008
55% Say Media Bias Bigger Problem Than Campaign Cash
Voters overwhelmingly believe that politicians will “break the rules to help people who give them a lot of money,” but most say there’s a bigger problem in politics today—media bias.
August 10, 2008
The Ghosts of Political Leanings By Michael Barone
To understand changes in the political map, we naturally tend to look for contemporary explanations. But American political alignments are not written on an empty slate. Beginnings matter, and the civic personalities of states tend to reflect the cultural folkways of their first settlers.
August 10, 2008
72% Say Books Best for School Children
With school just around the corner, parents are shopping for new clothes and school supplies, but most adults say a textbook is the most important thing children need to get ahead.
August 9, 2008
What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - August 9, 2008
Gas prices may be going down slightly at the pump, but there’s no doubt the energy issue is number one right now in the presidential campaign. John McCain’s proposal to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling is resonating with voters, forcing Barack Obama to back off his opposition to the idea.
August 8, 2008
Voters See Stark Differences Between Obama and McCain on Energy Issue
As gas prices soared past the four-dollar-a-gallon mark, the energy issue became one of the key driving issues of Election 2008 and America’s voters perceive a stark difference between Barack Obama and John McCain on the subject.
August 8, 2008
49% Say Bring Home the Troops, 42% Say Win the War First
The number of Americans who believe getting the troops home from Iraq is more important than winning the war there has fallen below 50% for the first time since Rasmussen Reports began polling on the question in May.
August 7, 2008
81% Say Finding New Energy Sources is Urgent National Need
Americans overwhelmingly believe there is an urgent national need to find new sources of energy, and this need is more important that reducing current energy usage, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
August 7, 2008
Fans Predict a Showdown Between Angels and Cubs in 2008 World Series
If baseball fans are correct this season, the Los Angeles Angels and the Chicago Cubs will be battling it out this October in the World Series. The newest national telephone survey of 560 fans found that 28% think the Halos will be the American League Champions, while 31% say the Cubs will take the National League.
August 7, 2008
A Nation of Whiners? Perhaps By Froma Harrop
You won't hear me straining to defend Phil Gramm, the Texas Republican whose penchant for grating commentary sunk his 1996 bid for the presidency before the New Hampshire primary. It was really just a matter of time before the former senator, serving as John McCain's economic advisor, put his foot in it: Gramm opined that Americans complaining about the economy were "whiners."
August 7, 2008
His Drilling Plan Full of Holes By Joe Conason
Touring America's oilrigs and nuclear plants, John McCain sometimes sounds as if he'll produce enough wind to power the nation all by himself. So strongly does his current rhetoric smell of methane -- the gas emanating from manure -- that he might even qualify for an alternative energy tax incentive.
August 7, 2008
The Other "House" Elections: Statehouses '08 By Larry J. Sabato
Leave the presidential contest aside for the moment. At other levels of politics, the Republicans may eventually file the 2008 campaign under the Double Jeopardy category of "It Just Keeps Getting Worse". Surely, GOP House strategists are asking themselves whether they are cursed this year.
August 7, 2008
Discover(R) U.S. Spending Monitor(SM) Flat in July
The Discover U.S. Spending Monitor was virtually flat in July, rising just one-tenth of a point to 86.1, as a rise in economic confidence among consumers during the last week of July kept the Monitor from falling to a new low.
August 7, 2008
Drill, Drill, Drill Is Working By Lawrence Kudlow
As Sen. John McCain and the GOP leadership nationalize the drill, drill, drill message, the Republican Party might conceivably be riding a summer political rally. The question of offshore drilling, along with expanded domestic energy production, has suddenly become the biggest political and economic wedge issue of this election. Is there a Republican tsunami in the making?
August 6, 2008
Bad Economy May Hurt Obama By Dick Morris
The conventional wisdom has it down pat: A bad economy works against the candidate from the party in power as voters take out their rage and fear on the president's party and back the challenger, just like they did in 1992.
