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.
On Tuesday, the Senate voted 40-59 against an amendment by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., to end the annual $6 billion (45-cents-per-gallon) tax subsidy for ethanol, as well as the 54-cents-per-gallon tariff on imported ethanol.
Twenty-seven percent (27%) 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, June 12.
The United States has defense treaties with more than 50 nations, but Rasmussen Reports is finding that most Americans aren't willing to go to bat militarily for the majority of them. Out of the latest list of nine countries we've asked about, just Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic earn the support of a plurality of adults.
While both General Motors and Chrysler have repaid sizable portions of their federal government bailouts, fewer than half of Americans now believe either automaker will fully repay taxpayers for the money they received.
While state lotteries across the country scramble for ways to attract customers, Americans seem to be less enthusiastic about the government-run gambling operations.
I'm sorry, Mitt. I'm probably the last person in the world you'd want saying a nice word about you. Maybe you can trot this out in the general election. Maybe the likes of me will keep you from ever getting there.
Last week, in a much-discussed, open, live, televised forum, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, asked Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke the $64 trillion question. While most commentators focused on the apt question, it was Bernanke's answer that shocked me when I heard it -- and ought to shock the nation much more than it so far has.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 45% of Likely U.S. Voters agree with the following statement: The gap between Americans who want to govern themselves and politicians who want to rule over them is now as big as the gap between the American colonies and England during the 18th Century.
For the third week in a row, a generic Republican candidate leads President Obama in a hypothetical 2012 election matchup.
Voters are more closely divided than they have been all year over who is more to blame for the nation’s current economic problems — President George W. Bush or President Barack Obama.
Ford, the Big Three automaker who didn't take a government bailout, remains the most well-liked of the three companies, although opinions of General Motors have improved.
Less than half of U.S. voters still see a need for the United States to belong to NATO, and most question whether America’s allies in the long-standing alliance will give their full support in Afghanistan and Libya.
When he ran for governor, Democrat Jerry Brown made a promise to voters -- "no new taxes without voter approval." That pledge was what you would call a gimmick. Brown knew he would have to woo or squeeze a few Republicans in order to get a the two-thirds vote necessary to qualify a tax hike for the ballot. On taking office, Brown promptly proposed a June special election to put an extension of temporary increases in state income tax, sales tax and car fees before voters.
It's sum ... sum ... summertime. Time to throw away the business books and do some brainless "beach reading." Except when you write a small-business column, you see entrepreneurial advice in just about any book you pick up. It goes with the territory. Truth is you can get business lessons from just about anyone in any field.
