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                            October 6, 201132% Say Government Should Do Nothing for the Long-Term Unemployed
Americans continue to have mixed feelings about how the government should respond to the long-term unemployed. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults finds that 32% feel the government should do nothing at all, while 25% think it should pay for their retraining. Ten percent (10%) say the government should extend unemployment benefits indefinitely, and 21% think the government should hire those long out of work, down from June's high-to-date of 24%.
October 6, 2011Obama 42%, Johnson 27%
Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson who recently made his first Republican debate appearance  earns the lowest level of support against President Obama out of all the 2012 GOP hopefuls.

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                            October 6, 2011Only 36% Think GOP Debate Moderators Ask Mostly About Important Issues
Voters are fairly satisfied with the number of debates in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, but most don’t think debate moderators ask enough about the major issues facing the nation.
October 6, 2011Obama Drags Feet to Avoid Offending Political Pals By Michael Barone
Leadership, said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in his press conference Tuesday announcing he would not reverse his decision not to run for president, is something you can't be taught or learn. "Leadership today in America has to be about doing the big things and being courageous."
October 6, 2011Herman Cain and the Non-Politician Politician By Kyle Kondik
In the last election cycle, several "non-politician politicians" -- candidates who have never held public office who ran for a major office -- went from obscurity to high office.

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                            October 6, 201160% Oppose Financial Bailouts; 74% Say Wall Street Benefited Most
The bailouts of the financial industry still leave a sour taste in the mouths of most Americans who feel as strongly as ever that the government was looking out for bankers rather than taxpayers and that crimes on Wall Street remain unpunished.
October 5, 201118% Say U.S. Heading In Right Direction
Eighteen percent (18%) of Likely U.S. Voters now say the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken the week ending Sunday, October 2.

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                            October 5, 201126% Have Favorable Opinion of Bernanke, 51% Unfavorable
Half of Americans nationwide believe the Federal Reserve Board chairman has too much power over the economy. Meanwhile, favorability ratings for current Chairman Ben Bernanke are at their lowest level yet recorded.
October 5, 2011Obama 45%, Santorum 34%
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum continues to trail President Obama by double-digits in a hypothetical 2012 presidential election.

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                            October 5, 2011Public Divided on Occupy Wall Street Protesters
As they marched through Manhattan, they chanted of how the “Big Banks Got Bailed Out, We Got Left Behind.” The Occupy Wall Street protesters found a slogan that resonates with the American people but not many people embrace the protesters views of an economy more regulated by the government.
Seventy-nine percent (79%) of Americans agree with the statement that the “The big banks got bailed but the middle class got left behind." A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American adults found that just 10% disagree with that statement and 11% are not sure.
October 5, 2011Good GOP Flip-Flops By Tony Blankley
William F. Buckley, Jr., founding father of the modern conservative movement, famously asserted his doctrine of voting for the most conservative candidate who is electable.

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                            October 5, 201136% Expect More Unemployment One Year From Today, 21% Expect Less
As 2011 rolls along, Americans have become far more pessimistic about the employment outlook.
October 4, 2011Election 2012:  Generic Republican 47%, Obama 41%
A generic Republican now holds a six-point advantage over President Obama in a hypothetical 2012 match-up for the week ending Sunday, October 2.
October 4, 201161% Say Global Warming Serious Problem
Most voters continue to believe global warming is a serious problem, but they still have mixed views on what the primary cause of climate change is. 
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 61% of Likely Voters say global warming is at least a somewhat serious problem.  Thirty-five percent (35%) don’t believe climate change is a serious problem.  Those figures include 28% who say it’s a Very Serious problem and 13% who believe it’s Not At All Serious.  (To see survey question wording, click here.)
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The national survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on September 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.
October 4, 201167% Say Obama Opponents Not Driven by Racism, But Blacks, Whites Disagree
Voters overwhelmingly reject the idea that opponents of President Obama’s policies are motivated primarily by racism, but there’s a strong difference of opinion between blacks and whites.
October 4, 2011Keystone XL Pipeline Not Worth The Risks By Froma Harrop
In Washington, D.C., conference rooms, the proposed pipeline running from Alberta, Canada, to Texas refineries on the Gulf of Mexico may look rather attractive. The 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline would supply the United States with abundant crude from a friendly neighbor. It would create 20,000 jobs, says owner TransCanada. And it would be reasonably safe for the environment, according to a U.S. State Department study.

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                            October 4, 2011Only 29% Think U.S. Has World's Best Economy
Perhaps these views are driven in part by the increased skepticism that Americans have about President Obama's economic advisers. Just 31% are at least somewhat confident in those who advise the president on economic policy, with only 14% who are Very Confident. Sixty-three percent (63%) lack confidence in the president’s economic advisers, including 44% who are Not At All Confident in them.
The number of adults confident in Obama’s economic advisers has fallen from 41% in September 2010. Fifty-seven percent (57%) put little or not faith in those advisers at that time.
October 3, 2011Generic Congressional Ballot:  Republicans 44%, Democrats 38%
Republicans have jumped back to a six-point lead over Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot for the week ending Sunday, October 2.  This is the widest gap between the two parties in a month of weekly tracking.
October 3, 2011Obama’s Full-Month Approval Rating Remains at All-Time Low in September
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.
In September, the number who Strongly Approved of the president’s job performance was at 21%.
October 3, 2011Romney, Christie Run Even With Obama
One’s in the race and one’s contemplating a run, but for now Mitt Romney and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie are both essentially even with President Obama in hypothetical Election 2012 matchups.