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April 1, 2015

Monica Lewinsky – Consensual Adult or Victim?

Monica Lewinsky, the White House intern who left a stain on Bill Clinton’s presidency, is now using her experiences to be a campaigner against bullying. Looking back on the sex scandal that led to Clinton’s impeachment nearly 20 years ago, do Americans consider her a victim or a willing accomplice? (To see survey question wording, click here.)

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on March 26 and 29, 2015 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.

March 31, 2015

More Voters Think They’re On The Same Page with Congress

While Republicans now run both houses of Congress, GOP voters remain critical of the legislators but not as much as Democrats and unaffiliated voters are.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on March 24-25, 2015 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.

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March 31, 2015

Privacy vs. Security: How the Debate Changes by Froma Harrop

The pilot who crashed the Germanwings plane, taking 150 lives, was too ill to work, according to doctors' notes found at his home. But Germany's strict medical privacy laws barred the doctors from conveying that judgment to the airline.

March 31, 2015

Voters Say Big Government Is Back

Bill Clinton made news when he declared nearly 20 years ago that the era of big government is over. Voters still prefer smaller, cheaper government but clearly recognize that Barack Obama, the next Democrat after Clinton to be in the White House, has reversed that trend.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 12% of Likely U.S. Voters now agree that “the era of big government is over.” That’s down from 18% last October and ties the lowest finding last measured in February of last year. Most voters (55%) disagree with that assessment, but a sizable 32% are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook

The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters nationwide was conducted on March 22-23, 2015 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.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

March 30, 2015

29% Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction

Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Likely U.S. Voters think the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey for the week ending March 26. 

This finding is up two points from the previous week which marked the lowest level of confidence this year.  The number of voters who think the country is heading in the right direction has been 30% or higher most weeks since mid-December after generally being in the mid- to high 20s since mid-June 2013.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook

The national telephone survey of 2,500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports from March 22-26, 2015. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

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March 30, 2015

Where the Red Line Came From -- Before it Was Crossed By Michael Barone

There are still nearly two years left in Barack Obama's presidency, but historians looking back on his record in foreign policy will surely identify one costly error: his refusal to follow through on the implied threat in stating that the Syrian regime's use of chemical weapons would be a "red line."

March 30, 2015

Voters Vote No on Ex-POW Bergdahl

Just over half of voters still disagree with the Obama administration’s decision to swap several Taliban prisoners for POW Bowe Bergdahl in Afghanistan.

The Army announced last week that Bergdahl will be charged with desertion as news reports have suggested since shortly after his release last May. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 30% of Likely U.S. Voters agree with the decision to trade Bergdahl for five Taliban leaders who were being held at the Guantanamo Bay terrorist prison camp.   Fifty-one percent (51%) disagree with that decision. Nineteen percent (19%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on March 26 and 29, 2015 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.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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March 30, 2015

Country Music, Tea Party 'Populism,' and Ted Cruz By Joe Conason

Nobody who knows Ted Cruz -- the Texas freshman Senator who became the first official contestant for the Republican Party's presidential nomination this week -- doubts that he is very, very smart. That includes Cruz himself, whose emphatic confidence in his own superior intelligence has not always endeared him to colleagues and acquaintances (whose opinions of his personality are often profanely negative).   

March 30, 2015

Costs Up, Quality Down: How Voters Still See Obamacare

Five years after its passage by Congress, attitudes about the national health care law remain largely unchanged: Voters expect it to increase health care costs and hurt the quality of care. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on March 26 and 29, 2015 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.

March 28, 2015

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending March 28, 2015

Americans clearly have issues with the federal government, and shelling out a portion of their income for taxes this time of year isn’t likely to make them feel any better.

Only 19% of voters now trust the federal government to do the right thing most or nearly all the time. Sixty percent (60%) consider the feds a threat to individual liberty rather than a protector of their rights.

March 27, 2015

Generic Congressional Ballot: Republicans 39%, Democrats 38%

Republicans lead Democrats by just one point on the latest Generic Congressional Ballot.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey for the week ending March 26 finds that 39% of Likely U.S. Voters would vote for the Republican candidate in their district's congressional race if the election were held today, while 38% would choose the Democrat instead. Twenty-four percent (24%) continue to prefer a third-party candidate or are undecided.

The week before, the two parties were tied. The gap between the parties has generally been two points or less most weeks for more than a year now.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook

The national telephone survey of 2,500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports from March 22-26, 2015. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Demographic details and trends for this survey are available for Platinum Members only.

March 27, 2015

Americans More Eager to Pay Their Taxes This Year?

Americans are slightly ahead of last year’s pace when it comes to filing their income taxes, perhaps in part because they're even more optimistic they’ll receive a refund. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls).  Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 800 American Adults nationwide was conducted on March 23-24, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

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March 27, 2015

Can Family Breakdown in Low-Education America Be Reversed? Maybe By Michael Barone

Our kids, at least many of them, are not doing very well. The reason, writes Harvard professor Robert Putnam in his just-published "Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis," is the "two-tier pattern of family structure" that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s and continues to prevail today.   

March 27, 2015

Just 31% Trust the IRS

The IRS has a PR problem.

It’s bad enough being the tax collector, but 50% of Likely U.S. Voters don’t trust the Internal Revenue Service to fairly enforce tax laws. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 31% do trust the IRS to enforce the laws fairly, but 19% more are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on March 22-23, 2015 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.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

March 26, 2015

How Are Americans Watching Movies At Home?

One-in-three cable or satellite television subscribers opt for premium cable channels, but TV viewers are looking elsewhere to watch movies.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 35% of Americans who have cable or satellite TV subscribe to a premium cable channel like HBO or Showtime. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls).  Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook

The survey of 800 Adults was conducted on March 17-18, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

March 26, 2015

GOP Voters Are Closely Divided on Cruz's Chances

Ted Cruz, the junior U.S. senator from Texas, is the first official Republican candidate for president, but GOP voters are almost evenly divided this early out whether he’ll be their party’s nominee in 2016. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on March 24-25, 2015 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.

March 26, 2015

Iran, Not Israel, Seen As Bigger Spying Threat

The Obama administration has accused Israel of spying on its nuclear negotiations with Iran, a charge the Israelis have denied. But while U.S. voters consider foreign spying a more serious threat these days, they continue to rank Israel well below China and Russia on the list of culprits.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 79% of Likely U.S. Voters consider spying by other countries to be a serious threat, up from 67% in late 2013. This includes 38% who say it’s a Very Serious one, compared to 26% who felt that way in the previous survey. Just 15% now say foreign spying is a not very or Not At All Serious threat. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on March 24-25, 2015 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.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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March 26, 2015

Obamacare Should Be Less Complex by Froma Harrop

Let's start on an upbeat. Next to what we had before, Obamacare has been a spectacular success. The Affordable Care Act has brought medical security to millions of previously uninsured Americans and has helped slow the rise in health care spending.

March 26, 2015

Obamacare: Voters vs. SCOTUS

President Obama yesterday celebrated the fifth anniversary of Congress’ passage of his national health care law, but most Americans still don’t like it.

Fifty-two percent (52%) of Likely U.S. Voters view the law unfavorably, while 44% share a favorable opinion of Obamacare. This includes 15% with a Very Favorable view and 35% with a Very Unfavorable one.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

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March 26, 2015

Why This Scandal Won't Hurt Hillary By Larry J. Sabato

Admit it: You love a juicy scandal. We claim to be high-minded and policy-oriented, but our noses are buried in the accounts of the latest political calamity -- and we read those stories before anything else.

The Hillary Clinton e-mail controversy is just the latest entrée in a decades-long, calorie-rich menu provided by the former first lady and her husband. But will it make a difference in 2016?