At the State of the Union address, some Democrats and Republicans sat together to encourage more political civility, but when it comes to policy making, few voters are confident of much cooperation between the two parties.
President Lyndon Johnson once reportedly said of certain right-wing dictators who were U.S. allies at the time, “They may be bastards, but they’re our bastards.” Most Americans seem to share the late president’s realistic assessment of U.S. foreign policy.
Voters are fairly evenly divided as to whether the federal government spends too much or too little on national defense, but most also appear to dramatically underestimate how much is actually spent.
Billy the Kid was a psycho. It took the balm of time and multiple retelling of Old West sagas to turn this killing machine into a folk figure. You may recall former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's causing a fuss when he considered granting the little monster a posthumous pardon. Among the Kid's many victims were officers of the law. Richardson wisely decided to take a pass.
"We don't have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem." That's a Republican mantra often used to explain why the answer to Washington's deficit spending is not a tax increase, but more spending cuts.
Voters remain concerned that the new health care law will cause some employers to drop their health insurance coverage, and most still question the exemptions to the law the Obama administration is granting to some businesses.
The Rasmussen Employment Index made a modest gain in January to reach 77.2.
The number of American Adults identifying themselves as Republicans in January fell roughly a percentage-point-and-a-half from December to 35.4%. Also in January, the number calling themselves Democrats inched up just over one point to 35.0%.
"I have a successful retail business that I want to take online with a killer website and a social media marketing campaign on Facebook and Twitter. The problem, of course, is money. I need to raise $100,000 to build the website and launch the campaign, but am having trouble finding the money.
After falling in December, confidence among small business owners rebounded in January as more see the economy and economic conditions for their businesses improving, according to the Discover(R) Small Business Watch(SM). The monthly index rose to 91.0 this month, up 9.4 points from December 2010 and 5.5 points higher than one year ago, the highest the index has been since December 2007 when it stood at 92.7.
Republicans hold a seven-point lead over Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot for the week ending January 30, 2011.
Most Republican Primary voters are looking for experience in both the private sector and government in a potential presidential candidate. Private sector experience carries a bit more weight. They are also looking for someone who shares their views rather than simply picking someone who is electable.
For many Americans, the national color-coded terror alert system had become little more than a joke, so it's not surprising that a majority of voters agree with the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to abandon that system in favor of more specific warnings. A plurality also approves of the department’s reported interest in focusing more security on rail, ships and mass transit.
Most voters continue to favor repeal of the national health care law, but now that the Republican-run House has voted to repeal and sent it on to the Democratic-controlled Senate for action, confidence that the law ultimately will be repealed has fallen to its lowest level in four months.
Most Americans expect the unrest in Egypt to spread to other Middle Eastern countries and think that will be bad for the United States. But a sizable majority also believe the United States should keep its nose out of Egypt’s current problems.
Numbers can tell a story. Looking back on Barack Obama's second State of the Union message, and looking forward to the congressional session and the 2012 elections, they tell a story that should leave Democrats uneasy.
Four times this month, the U.S. Supreme Court has slapped down the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Four times the Big Bench unanimously reversed Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decisions. Unanimous is a big deal. It means that there's no left-right political divide in the Big Bench's findings -- just right on the law and wrong on the law.
Nearly half of the Republican Primary voters who support Sarah Palin say they are at least somewhat likely to vote for a third-party candidate if she does not win the GOP presidential nomination.
Americans are having a little more fun behind the wheel these days.
Most Americans seldom, if ever, darken the door of a movie theater these days, but plenty of them are watching movies at home.
