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                    <img src="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/var/plain/storage/images/_aliases/wide_266/public_content/business/jobs_employment/december_2011/43_say_99_weeks_of_benefits_increase_the_unemployment_problem/636611-1-eng-US/43_say_99_weeks_of_benefits_increase_the_unemployment_problem.jpg" />
                
            
                            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.
December 5, 2011Generic Congressional Ballot:  Republicans 43%, Democrats 38%
For the second week in a row, Republicans hold a five-point advantage over Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot, this time for the week ending Sunday, Dec. 4. 
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 43% of Likely U.S. Voters would vote for the Republican in their district’s congressional race if the election were held today, while 38% would choose the Democrat instead.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                
                
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                            December 5, 201129% View New Defense Secretary Panetta Favorably
The United States continues to fight in Afghanistan, the nation’s longest-running war, but a sizable number of Americans don’t know enough about President Obama’s new secretary of Defense to have any kind of opinion about him.
Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Likely U.S. Voters hold at least a somewhat favorable opinion of Leon Panetta, most recently the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, while 32% view him at least somewhat unfavorably, according to a new Rasmussen Reports survey.
December 5, 2011Election 2012:  Obama 41%, Huntsman 34%
Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman's level of support remains essentially unchanged, and he continues to trail President Obama by a seven-point margin in a hypothetical Election 2012 matchup. 
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters finds Obama earning 41% of the vote to Huntsman's 34%.
The national 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.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                
                
                    <img src="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/var/plain/storage/images/_aliases/wide_266/public_content/business/jobs_employment/december_2011/82_know_someone_out_of_work_and_looking_for_a_job/635800-1-eng-US/82_know_someone_out_of_work_and_looking_for_a_job.jpg" />
                
            
                            December 5, 201182% Know Someone Out of Work and Looking For A Job
Though the national unemployment rate fell slightly in November, more Americans than ever know someone who is out of work and looking for a job. The number who expect unemployment to be lower a year from now remains at its all-time low.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that 82% know someone who is out of work and looking for a job.
(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 1-2, 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 5, 2011Newt Keeps Pitching the America of His Imagination By Michael Barone
Here are a couple of things to keep in mind about Newt Gingrich, as he leads in polls for the Republican presidential nomination nationally and in Iowa and South Carolina, and may be threatening Mitt Romney's lead in New Hampshire.
December 5, 201137% Hold Favorable View of Boehner, 31% Say Same of Pelosi
It’s been nearly a year since she was arguably the most powerful person in Congress, but former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi remains the best-known and most unpopular congressional leader. She continues to hold a double-digit lead in terms of unfavorables over John Boehner who took her place as speaker.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                
                
                    <img src="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/var/plain/storage/images/_aliases/wide_266/public_content/business/general_business/november_2011/35_say_it_s_still_possible_for_anyone_in_america_to_get_rich_by_working_hard/635130-1-eng-US/35_say_it_s_still_possible_for_anyone_in_america_to_get_rich_by_working_hard.jpg" />
                
            
                            December 4, 201135% Say It’s Still Possible for Anyone in America to Get Rich By Working Hard
At a time when many Americans are lashing out at the top 1% income earners, the number of adults who believe it is possible for anyone in America to work hard and get rich is at its highest level in nearly three years. But one-out-of-two still don't share that belief.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that 35% say it is still possible for anyone living in America to work hard and get rich, up three points from September and a finding that has ranged from 26% to 34% since January 2009.
The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on November 27-28, 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 3, 2011Trump? The Republican Primary Is Now Officially A Gong Show By Joe Conason
Marketing genius is perhaps the most appropriate way to describe Donald J. Trump's newest incarnation as the announced host -- he can hardly be called a "moderator" -- of a post-Christmas Republican debate sponsored by Newsmax, the conservative magazine. Why did several candidates, including potential victim Jon Huntsman, instantly agree to join this spectacle?
December 3, 2011What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending December 2, 2011
Flavor of the month or the next presidential nominee of the Republican Party?
As Herman Cain’s campaign disintegrates, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has surged to the largest national lead held by any candidate so far in the race for the GOP’s 2012 nomination. Gingrich earns 38% of the vote from Likely Republican Primary Voters. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is a distant second at 17%. No other candidate reaches double digits. 
Gingrich also now edges President Obama by two points in a hypothetical Election 2012 matchup – 45% to 43% - after trailing by 12 points two weeks ago. 
Earlier in the year, both Texas Governor Rick Perry and Cain followed a similar path to take a slight lead over the president. However, their time as front-runners quickly came to an end. Neither man led the president more than a single time in a Rasmussen Reports poll. It remains to be seen whether Gingrich follows that path or is able to retain his status as the leading alternative to Romney. Scott Rasmussen discussed Gingrich’s surge with Fox News earlier this week.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                
                
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                            December 3, 201151% Think Cain Should End Campaign, 28% Disagree
Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain is expected to make a major announcement in Atlanta today, and most voters think he should end his campaign.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 51% of Likely U.S. Voters believe Cain should end his bid for the GOP nomination. Twenty-eight percent (28%) disagree, and 21% are not sure. (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 national survey of 500 Likely Voters was conducted on December 2, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                
                
                    <img src="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/var/plain/storage/images/_aliases/wide_266/public_content/lifestyle/general_lifestyle/november_2011/58_think_airport_security_now_about_right/634276-1-eng-US/58_think_airport_security_now_about_right.jpg" />
                
            
                            December 2, 201158% Think Airport Security Now About Right
Americans overwhelmingly believe in the safety of air travel in this country and are more satisfied with airport security measures.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 91% of American Adults think air travel in the United States is at least somewhat safe, with 47% who consider it Very Safe. Just six percent (6%) feel that air travel in America is not very or not at all safe.
December 2, 2011Election 2012: Obama 42%, Romney 40%
President Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney are again running neck and neck in an Election 2012 hypothetical matchup.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters shows the president with 42% of the vote, while Romney picks up 40% support.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                
                
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                            December 2, 201177% Say It’s Important Which Party Runs Congress
Voters overwhelmingly believe it’s important to their lives which political party controls Congress, but Republicans feel more strongly than Democrats about it.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 77% of all Likely U.S. Voters think it is at least somewhat important in terms of its impact on their own lives whether Republicans or Democrats control Congress. That includes 49% who say it is Very Important. Just 13% believe it’s not very or not at all important which party has majority control on Capitol Hill, with another 10% who are undecided. (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 national survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on November 30-December 1, 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 2, 2011Obama Full-Month Approval Index Up in November
When tracking President Obama’s job approval on a daily basis, people sometimes get so caught up in the day-to-day fluctuations that they miss the bigger picture. To look at the longer-term trends, Rasmussen Reports compiles the numbers on a full-month basis, and the results can be seen in the graphics below.
Overall, the president's numbers improved a bit in November, but are still lower than at any point prior to a few months ago.
December 2, 2011In the Race for the Senate, Democrats Show Signs of Life By Larry J. Sabato, Kyle Kondik and Geoffrey Skelley
The Senate’s curious and byzantine rules and traditions are well explained in Robert Caro’s Master of the Senate, part of his sprawling, multi-volume biography of Lyndon B. Johnson (the fourth volume is scheduled to be released next year). Johnson, through his own cunning and ruthlessness, was arguably the most powerful Senate leader ever, as he bent the supposedly uncontrollable upper chamber to his will.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                
                
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                            December 1, 201111% Have Finished Holiday Shopping, 49% Haven’t Started
After the much-hyped Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, only a few more Americans say they are done with their holiday shopping compared to last week. Nearly half still haven’t even started.
December 1, 2011Partisan Trends: Democrats Up in November
The number of Democrats in the United States increased by nearly two percentage points in November, while the number of Republicans held steady.
During November, 34.9% of Americans considered themselves to be Democrats, up from 33.1% in October. That’s just a tenth of a point below their best showing of 2011 which came in January.
Rasmussen Reports tracks this information based on telephone interviews with approximately 15,000 adults per month and has been doing so since November 2002. The margin of error for the full sample is less than one percentage point, with a 95% level of confidence.
December 1, 2011National GOP Poll: Gingrich 38% Romney 17%
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has surged to the largest national lead held by any candidate so far in the race for the Republican Presidential Nomination.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Republican Primary Voters finds Gingrich on top with 38% of the vote. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is a distant second at 17%. No other candidate reaches double-digits.  (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 national survey of 1,000 Likely  Republican Primary Voters was conducted on November 30, 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 1, 201159% Want US Troops Home from Afghanistan
As trouble with neighboring Pakistan shines a new spotlight on a troubled region, most voters are ready to bring U.S. troops home from Afghanistan.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 59% of Likely Voters nationwide want the troops to come home either immediately or within a year. Twenty-nine percent (29%) oppose any firm timetable and 12% are not sure. (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 November 28-29, 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.