Voters strongly agree that failing to raise the federal government’s debt ceiling is bad for the economy. But most see a failure to make big cuts in government spending as a bigger long- and short-term threat than the government defaulting on the federal debt.
Voters continue to support repeal of the national health care law and feel the new law will be bad for the country. But they also tend to agree that it won't force them to change their existing health insurance coverage.
Two years ago, in June 2009, the American economy emerged from recession, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. But as this week's Economist noted, with typical British understatement, "The recovery has been a disappointment."
Most voters continue to support a welcoming immigration policy but also believe that border control should be the nation’s top immigration priority.
Looking back, nearly half of American adults nationwide say mom influenced them more than dad when they were growing up.
Today is Father’s Day, and most adults will be doing something for their dad today.
Despite the big jump in gas prices in recent months, Americans are no more enthusiastic than they were a year ago about buying a car that runs on alternative fuel.
For the third week in a row, a generic Republican candidate edges President Obama in a hypothetical 2012 matchup, but the race to become the GOP candidate remains wide open.
Americans almost universally agree that it’s better for children to grow up in a home with both their parents and feel strongly that such children have an edge over those whose parents are divorced.
Many cash-strapped states are considering selling lottery tickets online to boost revenue. Some like Minnesota and New Jersey have already begun the process. But most Americans nationwide aren’t keen on the idea, perhaps because many think online gambling shouldn’t be legal.
"Being the world's policeman" is a phrase often used to suggest America is the nation chiefly responsible for peace and the establishment of democracy in the rest of the world. But just 11% of Likely U.S. Voters think that should be America’s role.
It was about six years ago that my old friend Anne and I were sitting around daydreaming, and I started talking about my "perfect" house: three bedrooms (I have two children), convenient to my son's school, a yard for the dogs and, oh, yes, a peek at the ocean. Then I mentioned my spending limit, and we both burst out laughing. Not possible. When we stopped laughing, Anne announced that her mother would find it for me.
While the well-deserved departure of Anthony Weiner draws rapt attention in our tabloid nation, the depredations of less colorful but more powerful politicians go unnoticed, so long as no genitalia are involved.
Mitt Romney declared in Monday night’s debate that any one of the current Republican candidates would make a better president than Barack Obama, and GOP voters overwhelmingly agree with him. More emphatically, they intend to vote Republican even if their first choice doesn’t win the nomination.
The economy remains the number one issue on voters' minds, but the number who consider it Very Important has fallen to its lowest level since late 2007. The importance of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan also has dropped to record lows.
Nearly two-out-of-three voters believe it is unlikely all remaining U.S. troops in Iraq will be brought home by the end of the year, and if the Iraqi government asks for some of those troops to stay, a plurality feels we should comply. Voters have mixed feelings about what America has accomplished in Iraq, but most feel the country is better off without Saddam Hussein in power.
A plurality of Republican primary voters think it would be good for Texas Governor Rick Perry to jump into the party’s presidential race and bad for the party if former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin joined the field. They are evenly divided about former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
"Can we afford the military budget?" Not quite the right question, but one being asked these days even in hawkish circles. It reflects a break in the Republicans' traditional reluctance to cut defense spending and a declining enthusiasm for changing other societies through force. The mix includes a re-emerged isolationist strain and new recognition that wars can no longer be charged on the national credit card.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney continues to lead the race for the Republican nomination, but Michele Bachmann has surged into second place following her Monday night entry into the campaign.
Barack Obama did not watch the Republican presidential candidates' debate in Manchester, N.H., on Monday night, we are told. He was busy addressing a campaign fundraising event in Miami.
