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December 9, 201152% Say America’s Best Days Are In The Past
Most voters now share the pessimistic view that America's best days are behind us. 
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters finds that just 32% say the country’s best days are in the future, down five points from late October. 
The national survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on December 4-5, 2011 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.
December 9, 201140% View Biden Favorably, 52% Don’t
Will he or won’t he run for the presidency in 2016? Only Vice President Joe Biden knows for sure, refusing to rule out another run for the White House in an interview earlier this month on NBC’s “Today” show. Right now, however, the vice president is earning some of the highest unfavorables since he took office in late January 2009.
December 9, 2011Will Popular Reformer Cuomo's Plan Tax the 1 Percent? By Joe Conason
Held aloft by the highest approval ratings of any governor in America, Andrew Cuomo scarcely seemed to worry about angering his state's progressives, who were disappointed by his refusal to extend a state surtax on New York's millionaires.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                
                
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                            December 8, 2011Americans Still Believe Private Sector Workers Work Harder, Get Less Than Government Workers
American adults, as they have for years, believe that government workers have it better than those in the private sector.
December 8, 2011Election 2012:  Obama 45%, Gingrich 40%
Although support for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich among Republican primary voters has soared in both national and state polls, he now trails President Obama in a hypothetical 2012 general election matchup.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Voters finds Obama earning 45% of the vote to Gingrich’s 40%.
The national survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on December 6-7, 2011 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.
December 8, 2011Newt and the Donald A-courting Go By Froma Harrop
Liberals and conservatives both seem obsessed with the behavior of "the 1 percent," but there the similarity ends. Liberals seek to change the ways of the richest 1 percent, while many conservatives focus on the bottom 1 percent. The latter was on display as Republican Newt Gingrich proposed having poor young people clean their schools. He described them as "children in housing projects." You know who that is.
December 8, 201142% Say GOP Candidates Paying Too Much Attention to Trump
Current front-runner Newt Gingrich is the latest Republican presidential hopeful to meet with billionaire developer Donald Trump who is scheduled to moderate a GOP debate later this month. But a sizable number of voters think Republican presidential candidates are paying too much attention to Trump, and an overwhelming majority say his endorsement would hurt a candidate in their eyes or have no impact.
(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 nationwide was conducted on December 6-7, 2011 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.
December 8, 20112012 Republican Race: The Field May Not Be Closed By Rhodes Cook
Conventional wisdom is that the Republican presidential field is set, and that it is much too late for a new candidate to enter the race.
In years past, that would be absolutely correct. Over the last few decades, dozens of primaries and caucuses have been shoe-horned into the opening weeks of the election year, with the tendency on the Republican side for the front-running candidate to score a quick knockout.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                
                
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                            December 8, 201126% Prefer Government-Managed Economy
One-out-of-four Americans continue to believe the government should manage the U.S. economy. Nearly as many say the government should mind its own business.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 26% of American Adults believe the appropriate role of government is to manage the economy, but 23% say it's better for the government to stay out of economic decisions altogether. However, a plurality(46%) thinks the appropriate role for the government in the economy is to provide programs like unemployment insurance to help people through difficult times.
December 7, 201117% Say Country Heading In Right Direction
Just 17% of Likely U.S. Voters say the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken the week ending Sunday, December 4.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                
                
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                            December 7, 201138% Say United States Spends Too Much on Defense
As Washington officials continue to haggle over ways to cut the federal budget, more voters than ever believe the country spends too much on the military and national security.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters shows that 38% think America spends too much on the military and national security, up just a point from October but up five points from January.
(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 December 2-3, 2011 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.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                
                
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                            December 7, 201138% Are Concerned About Safety of Electric Cars
Despite recent concerns about Chevrolet’s electric Volt possibly catching fire in a crash, most Americans aren’t worried about the safety of electric cars but still don’t intend to buy one in the next 10 years.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 38% of American Adults are at least somewhat concerned about the safety of electric cars, with 16% who are Very Concerned. But 56% don’t share that concern, although that includes only 15% who are Not At All Concerned. (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 Adults was conducted on December 5-6, 2011 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.
December 7, 2011Secular, Liberal Egypt: We Hardly Knew Ya By Tony Blankley
One of the nice things about human history is that no matter how much people or their leaders misjudge events and make a hash of things, within a few centuries, the debris is cleared away, and we can have another go at getting things right.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                
                
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                            December 7, 201179% Say Religious Holidays Should Be Celebrated in Public Schools
At a time when most Americans see political correctness as a serious problem in this country, an overwhelming majority continues to believe religious holidays should be celebrated in the public schools. 
December 6, 2011Election 2012: Generic Republican 49%, Obama 41%
A generic Republican candidate now holds an eight-point advantage over President Obama in a hypothetical Election 2012 matchup for the week ending Sunday, December 4. This is the largest gap measured between the two since early September.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters finds the generic Republican earning 49% support to Obama's 41%.  Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate, and seven percent (7%) are undecided.  (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                
                
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                            December 6, 201137% See Increased Government Hiring As Good for Economy, 41% Say Bad
Americans are a bit more evenly divided when it comes to whether the economy benefits from the government hiring more unemployed people. But nearly a third still thinks the government should do nothing for the long-term unemployed.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that 37% of Americans think it would be good for the U.S. economy if the government hires more people, up just one point from October but the highest result found in over a year.
Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.
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December 6, 2011Election 2012:  Obama 46%, Perry 34%
Texas Governor Rick Perry now trails President Obama by double digits in a hypothetical 2012 Election matchup. 
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters finds Obama earning 46% support to Perry’s 34%.
The national survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on December 4-5, 2011 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.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                
                
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                            December 6, 201155% Say U.S. Should Never Have Been Involved in Iraq
Vice President Joe Biden late last week presided over the transfer of the chief U.S. military facility in Iraq to the Iraqi military, bringing even closer an end to the U.S. war there. Most voters remain convinced that the United States should never have invaded Iraq in March 2003 and believe all U.S. troops should be brought home by the end of this month as planned.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 29% of Likely U.S. Voters believe, looking back, that the United States should have become involved in Iraq. Fifty-five percent (55%) say America never should have gotten involved an even more negative assessment than we found in February.
(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 December 4-5, 2011 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.
December 6, 2011Paper Is More Forever By Froma Harrop
How many of you want your holiday greetings to arrive in the form of thick paper cards delivered by the United States Postal Service? Now, how many prefer your cheery wishes to arrive in your e-mail inbox, always available via a click or two, assuming you remember where they’re stored? Let’s have a vote on that loaded question.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                
                
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                            December 6, 201143% Say 99 Weeks of Benefits Increase The Unemployment Problem
Congress is again debating whether to extend the funding that makes possible up to 99 weeks of state and federal unemployment benefits, even as Americans continue to express skepticism about benefits that last that long.
Thirty-nine percent (39%) of American Adults believe 99 weeks is too long a period to provide unemployment benefits, while 17% say it’s too short a time. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just one-in-three Americans (33%) think the 99 week-period is about right.