Sometimes you get an idea of the way opinion is headed by the phrases you don't hear. Case in point: In all the discussion and debate these past weeks about a possible government shutdown if Congress and President Obama fail to agree on funding bills, I don't recall having heard the phrase "train wreck."
Most U.S. voters have taken notice of the recent spike in gasoline prices and they believe gas is likely to top the $5 mark by the beginning of summer.
Too bad the showdown with public employee unions has come to this, however long in the making. One can be pro-union and still feel a growing resentment at these workers' ability to set their own dream retirement benefits as the private sector's were being amputated. Not that they are to blame. They got what they could -- it's the American way -- though they overplayed their hand by resisting honest efforts to reform government, schools above all.
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, February 27. That’s up just one point from last week.
Most Americans still believe government workers have more job security than those in the private sector.
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.
Looking back, a slight majority of Likely Voters believe the United States should never have gotten involved in Iraq in the first place. They also believe the mission there was more of a failure than a success.
In the same weeks that are seeing the Middle East (with all its oil and geopolitical significance) begin to transform itself into we know not what, important economists are predicting that, if current trends continue, not only China, but India also will within a generation have larger economies than ours. And, of course, with strong economies almost inevitably come equivalently strong military capacities.
Thirty-seven percent (37%) of American adults think labor unions have “too much influence on American life and politics today,” according to a recently released CBS News/New York Times poll. Only half as many (19%) believe that unions have too little influence.
President Obama’s agenda includes an emphasis on education and utilizing clean energy, but most voters don’t know the Cabinet members the president is depending on to lead policy in these areas.
The number of American Adults identifying themselves as Republicans fell for the second straight month in February. The number of Democrats fell as well.
A plurality of voters fears that the growing unrest in the Arab world will have a negative impact on the fragile political situation in Iraq, and most think it is unlikely that all U.S. troops will be out of that country by the end of the year as planned.
Though I deem myself a sort-of liberal, I don't closely read the left-wing magazine The Nation. Its views don't budge for decades at a time, so one can get by just checking in now and then.
Congress is stalemated as Democrats fight $57 billion in spending cuts Republicans want to make in the federal budget for 2011, but most voters continue to believe that even the proposed GOP cuts won’t make a significant dent in the deficit.
"My spouse and I have been looking to buy a business for some time. We've found a good local business with a great location and lots of existing customers.
I am reluctant to join the chorus of scolds who chide Republicans for opposing Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to put a tax-increase extension on a special election ballot in June.
The Rasmussen Employment Index made a modest gain in January to reach 77.2.
Republicans now hold a six-point lead over Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot for the week ending February 27, 2011.
For the first time in nearly two years, more voters would vote for a candidate who promises to raise taxes only on the wealthy than one who promises to oppose all tax increases.
