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August 24, 2016

Trump Drives Agenda While Hillary Hides Behind Jokes By Charles Hurt

Never in modern American political history has a more issue-oriented, serious candidate for president faced off against a more dishonest, platform-less, self-absorbed celebrity who is cashing in on ill-gotten wealth and fame despite serious concerns about mental and physical health.

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August 24, 2016

Libertarian Town Hall By John Stossel

Vote for Donald Trump? No! Hillary Clinton? No!    

August 24, 2016

Did The Olympics Damage America's Image?

The U.S. Olympic team left Rio de Janeiro with more medals than any other team, but it wasn’t without controversy. Despite some bad behavior from members of the men’s swim team, most Americans who watched the Summer Olympics believe they were good for the United States’ image abroad.

August 23, 2016

GOPers, Unaffiliateds Down on TPP More Than Democrats Are

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a mega-trade deal involving the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries. President Obama is hoping to get it through Congress before he leaves office because Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have both vowed to stop it. Do voters care?

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August 23, 2016

Sympathy for Victims Can Be Misdirected -- and Backfire By Michael Barone

Victims aren't always virtuous. That's a sad lesson that people learn from life. Human beings have a benign instinct to help those who are hurt through no cause of their own. But those they help don't always turn out to be very grateful.

August 23, 2016

Americans Criticize Internet's Impact on Journalism, Politics

Americans are more negative than ever about the internet’s impact on journalism and politics.

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August 22, 2016

29% Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction

Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Likely U.S. Voters think the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey for the week ending August 18.

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August 22, 2016

A Eulogy for John J. McLaughlin By Patrick J. Buchanan

Issue one!

To understand John McLaughlin, it was helpful to have been a 13-year-old entering an all-boys Jesuit school in the 1950s.

August 22, 2016

Most Still Oppose End to U.S. Control of Internet

Most voters continue to oppose the U.S. government’s decision to cede its last vestige of control over the internet to an international authority and worry that some countries may try to censor web content. 

August 22, 2016

Most Voters Say No to Further U.S. Nation-Building Efforts

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump says he would put an end to “nation building," a term that in recent years has been used to describe stepped-up efforts to establish democracies in the Middle East by use of the U.S. military and U.S. taxpayer dollars. Few voters believe the government's nation-building efforts have been a success, and most agree with Trump that they should be ended.

August 20, 2016

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending August 20, 2016

Media coverage of the 2016 presidential campaign has focused more on its personalities and controversies than actual policy issues, and this week proved to be no different.

August 19, 2016

Parents Give Their Kids’ Schools High Marks

Americans remain critical of U.S. public schools in general, but parents are more positive than ever about the performance of their children’s schools.

August 19, 2016

Most Support Trump’s Call for Immigration Restrictions, Screening Test

Most voters support Donald Trump’s plan for temporarily restricting immigration from countries with a history of terrorism and for testing to screen out newcomers who don’t share America’s values. Most also agree that such a test is likely to reduce the number of terrorists entering the United States.

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August 19, 2016

It Ain't Over Till It's Over by Patrick J. Buchanan

"I did it my way," crooned Sinatra.

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August 19, 2016

Today's Candidates Don't Measure Up to Roosevelt or Reagan By Michael Barone

Donald Trump has just made changes, again, in his campaign's top leadership, shoving aside the seasoned Paul Manafort and installing Breitbart News Chairman Steve Bannon and veteran pollster Kellyanne Conway. He's obviously acting in response to his falling poll numbers nationally, in target states and even in some states that have been safely Republican in recent elections.

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August 18, 2016

Trump and Blacks By Thomas Sowell

Who would have thought that Donald Trump, of all people, would be addressing the fact that the black community suffers the most from a breakdown of law and order? But sanity on racial issues is sufficiently rare that it must be welcomed, from whatever source it comes.

August 18, 2016

Most Want Schools to Open After Labor Day

More and more schools around the country are starting classes before Labor Day, but most Americans think they should hold off a bit.

August 18, 2016

Voters Say It’s Important for Clinton, Trump to Hold Press Conferences

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton hasn’t had a formal press conference since late last year, largely avoiding media questions for the entire primary season. Republican nominee Donald Trump’s routine press conferences often seem to do him more harm than good. Do voters want presidential candidates to meet the press? 

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 82% of Likely U.S. Voters think it is important for the major presidential candidates to hold regular press conferences to answer questions from reporters, with 48% who say it is Very Important. Just 17% view regular press conferences as unimportant, and that includes only three percent (3%) who feel they are Not At All Important. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook

The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on August 15-16, 2016 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

August 18, 2016

White House Watch: Clinton 41%, Trump 39%, Johnson 9%, Stein 3%

The race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton continues to tighten as it moves further from the conventions, but both candidates are still struggling to close the deal.

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August 18, 2016

Clinton Rises to 348 Electoral Votes, Trump Drops to 190 By Larry J. Sabato, Kyle Kondik and Geoffrey Skelley

New Hampshire may just have four electoral votes, but it’s important. If you doubt it, just ask any Granite State citizens, and they’ll tell you about their first-in-the-nation primary. Even that quartet of electoral votes can matter; in 2000, if Al Gore had just won them (and without Ralph Nader on the ballot, he probably would have), Gore would have been president even without Florida. He didn’t and he wasn’t.