The number of Americans who consider themselves to be Democrats inched up again in December to 41.6%. That’s up two-tenths of a point since November and the third straight monthly increase in the number of Democrats.
In the final full month of his Presidency, just 13% of American adults said they Strongly Approved of the way that George W. Bush performed his job as president. Forty-three percent (43%) Strongly Disapproved.
Forty-six percent (46%) of U.S. voters believe working Americans should be allowed to opt out of Social Security to provide for their own retirement planning, an idea not likely to gain much traction with Democrats more strongly in control of Congress.
For lo these many years, the Democratic motorcade class has scolded American workers for driving gas-guzzling cars. Now that Americans have begun driving more fuel-efficient cars and driving less, how have the finger-waggers reacted? No, they are not planning a parade -- they already are working on a new tax on miles driven to make up for lost gasoline-tax revenue.
Welcome to 2009! Last year was a rough one for all of us, but many Americans are pinning their hopes on Barack Obama, who becomes president in less than three weeks.
As we approach the change from a Republican to a Democratic administration, I have been thinking about the differences in the basic character of our two historic parties -- the oldest and third oldest free political parties in the world (number two, at least by my count, is the British Conservative Party).
Just 39% of U.S. voters are at least somewhat confident they will receive all of their promised Social Security benefits from the federal government in their lifetimes. Only 13% are Very Confident of that payout.
Over half of Americans (52%) now believe it is possible for Israel and the Palestinians to live in peace, but just 35% think Barack Obama is likely to help end the conflict during his presidency.
Barack Obama's pick for commerce secretary, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, vows to create millions of technology jobs that can't be outsourced. Sounds good, particularly in this melting economy.
Americans have a bit more confidence in 2009 than in the year that just passed, but 50% of adults believe the country will still be in a recession this time next year.
Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell is absolutely right to warn against Obama's gigantic stimulus-spending package. McConnell says it "will be the largest spending bill in the history of our country at a time when our national debt is already the largest in history." As a result, he says the bill "will require tough scrutiny and oversight."
When I was younger, New Year's was a time fraught with frantic uncertainty revolving around the seemingly critical questions of whether I would have a date and-or something to do.
For many people, New Year’s resolutions are made to be broken, so this year it looks like most aren’t even bothering with the time-honored tradition. Fifty-two percent (52%) of adults say they will not make a New Year’s resolution.
Fifty-nine percent (59%) of men plan to kiss someone at midnight on New Year’s Eve, and 55% of women say the same.
Americans, while far more sympathetic to Israel than the Palestinians, are closely divided over whether the Jewish state should be taking military action against militants in the Gaza Strip.
As President-elect Obama vacations with his family in Hawaii and publicly complains about the intrusiveness of the press pool and the intense scrutiny of his Secret Service team, I suspect about now Obama may be recalling George Bernard Shaw's heartless observation that: "There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart's desire. The other is to get it."
As we ready ourselves to ring out the old and ring in the new, just 11% of adults say New Year's Day is one of the most important holidays of the year.
The beginning and the end of the 2008 General Election campaign were remarkably stable. Initially, after Barack Obama wrapped up the Democratic nomination, he was ahead of John McCain by four to seven points just about every night for the entire month of June. At the other end of the campaign, Obama was consistently up by about five to seven points for the last 40 days of the campaign.
Everyone knows what must be done if there is to be a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Israel's forceful response to rocket attacks from Gaza does not change that.
If President Bush had been looking for a textbook case of a federal offender who should never win a presidential pardon, Isaac R. Toussie would fit the bill.
