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May 16, 2011

Obama's Hypocritical Rhetoric on Immigration Reform By Michael Barone

Barack Obama's immigration speech in El Paso May 10 was an exercise in electioneering and hypocrisy. Hypocrisy because while Obama complained about "politicians" blocking comprehensive immigration bills, he was one of them himself.

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May 16, 2011

Only 35% Say It’s Possible To End Illegal Immigration

Voters are more pessimistic than ever about the possibility of stopping illegal immigration for good in the United States.

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May 15, 2011

64% Say Recent Severe Weather Will Hurt The Economy

Americans strongly believe that the severe spring weather that has plagued the South and Midwest is bad news for the economy, and nearly one-in-three adults plan to make some kind of donation to the people most impacted by the storms.

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May 15, 2011

Sarah Palin's Birther Baptism by Fire By Debra J. Saunders

As governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin "demonstrated many of the qualities we expect in our best leaders," The Atlantic's Joshua Green reports in a must-read story.

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May 14, 2011

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending May 13, 2011

President Obama received a bounce in the polls following the bin Laden news, but over this past week, the bounce has largely faded. The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll shows that the president’s ratings have slipped back into the high 40s, right where they’ve been for most of the past year-and-a-half. The number who Strongly Disapprove of the president remains a bit lower than it was before the big news and enthusiasm for the president is up among his base voters.

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May 14, 2011

Obama's National Security Positives Fall Slightly From Last Week's High

Voter ratings for President Obama’s handling of national security issues have dipped from last week's high following the killing of Osama bin Laden, but the president’s grades on economic issues remain weak.

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May 13, 2011

Just 23% Have A Favorable Opinion of Napolitano

President Obama this week praised Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano for her efforts to fight illegal immigration, but she remains the most unpopular member of the president's Cabinet.

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May 13, 2011

51% Blame Extreme Weather on Long-Term Planetary Trends, 19% Blame Human Activity

U.S. meteorologists say the deadly storms tearing up the South are not a result of climate change. None the less, the extreme weather has rekindled the global warming debate in Washington, D.C.

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May 13, 2011

Only 30% Say U.S.-Mexico Border Secure, 64% Say It’s Not

President Obama on Tuesday encouraged Congress to move forward on immigration reform, saying his administration has “strengthened border security beyond what many believed was possible.” But most voters don’t share the president’s view.

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May 13, 2011

Billionaire Babies By Susan Estrich

Raj Rajaratnam should be about the last person in the world that I have any sympathy for. I don't know him. I don't have a lot in common with billionaires who would cheat to save $3 million, as he was convicted of doing. I dislike insider trading, not so much because it's unfair (it's also unfair that so many people are so much better than me at investing) but because it undermines confidence in the markets, and our economy depends on that confidence.

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May 13, 2011

The Return of the Real McCain By Joe Conason

For the longest time, a certain admirable, independent senator from Arizona disappeared from public life, replaced by an irresponsible, opportunistic and occasionally demagogic figure, who seemed to have been warped by his presidential ambitions and his disappointment in losing. But John McCain has now returned, just in time to refute the sinister attempt by his fellow Republicans to justify torture as the instrument of Osama bin Laden's demise.

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May 13, 2011

Just 23% Say Federal Government Has Consent of the Governed

Most voters nationwide continue to feel disconnected from their government and overwhelmingly believe that Congress puts party politics ahead of its constituents' concerns.

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May 13, 2011

Are You On Obama’s “Enemies List?” By Howard Rich

Wherever possible President Barack Obama has sought to dilute or disguise the ideological war his administration has been waging against capitalism over the past twenty-seven months. As a result, his massive bureaucratic bailout became an “economic stimulus.

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May 12, 2011

64% of GOP Voters See Divide Between Public and Government As Biggest Since the American Revolution

Republican primary voters are pretty skeptical about the nation’s political leadership.

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May 12, 2011

50% Give Government Positive Marks for Response to Weather Disasters

The recent severe weather hammering the South and the Midwest is garnering much media attention, and Americans are generally favorable to the government's response so far.

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May 12, 2011

53% Say Elections Are Rigged To Help Incumbents in Congress

Voters are still wary of the congressional election process but just over half believe elections are fair to voters.

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May 12, 2011

History Weeps at the Partition of India and Pakistan By Michael Barone

When you get into discussions about the Middle East with certain people, you start hearing that the great mistake was the partition of Palestine and the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. If that had somehow just not happened, you hear, everything would be all right.

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May 12, 2011

The Naked and the Red: Republicans Exposed By Froma Harrop

Two is a coincidence, they say, but three is a trend. Hot body shots of three Washington politicians are all over the Internet. All three are of Republicans, and all three are men. Do we have a trend here or just a creepy coincidence?

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May 12, 2011

Immigration Flight Clutters the Path By Debra J. Saunders

President Obama addressed an enthusiastic crowd Tuesday when he spoke in El Paso, Texas, about liberalizing federal immigration laws. Audience members exhorted the president to "tear down" the border fence and called immigration hard-liners "racist." 

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May 12, 2011

54% Expect Higher Interest Rates A Year From Now

Most American adults continue to believe interest rates will be higher in one year's time, but a majority says the rates they're paying now haven't changed over the past year.