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                            March 2, 2013What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls -- For The Week Ending March 2, 2013
The sequester’s here and happening, but outside of Washington the nation pretty much took it in stride. At the beginning of the week, only 40% of Likely U.S. Voters thought President Obama and Congress should stop the so-called sequester spending cuts from going into effect on March 1. Despite the apocalyptic warnings coming out of Washington, D.C., that was up only slightly from the start of the month. Still, 46% felt it will be bad for the economy if the automatic spending cuts in government programs go into effect.
But 48% of voters think the president’s health care law is more likely to hurt the economy than cutting government spending. Additionally, most voters (54%) see raising taxes as worse for the nation’s economy than cutting government spending. Payroll taxes have already gone up this year for just about all working Americans.

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                            March 1, 2013Obama’s Monthly Approval Down One Point in February
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.
For the month of February, the president's Total Job Approval Rating fell one point from 54% in January to 53%. In December, it reached 56%, the highest level since May 2009. Prior to the election, that rating had remained in the narrow range of 44% to 49% for two years straight.

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                            March 1, 201379% Put Emphasis on Accuracy Over Justice in Journalism
Is it the role of journalists to fairly and accurately cover a news story, or is it more important for them to use their reporting to right wrongs that they see in society? That was the crux of the argument in a recent Washington Post ombudsman’s analysis of his paper’s coverage of the issue of gay marriage.  

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                            March 1, 201352% Want More Gun Control Laws; 10% Favor Handgun Ban
Just over half of voters think the country needs more gun control, but most feel safer living in a neighborhood where someone can own a gun for their own protection.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 52% of Likely U.S. Voters believe the United States needs stricter gun control laws. Forty-two percent (42%) disagree. (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 February 26-27, 2013 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 1, 2013How to Live Long Is Everybody's Guess By Froma Harrop
The latest dispatch from the food wars: For those at high risk of heart disease, following the Mediterranean diet results in 30 percent fewer heart attacks and strokes. Focused on nuts, beans, fatty fish, fruits and vegetables -- all washed down with olive oil and wine (separate glasses, please) -- the diet is said to be more effective in combating cardiovascular disease than the low-fat regimens now in vogue.   

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                            March 1, 201365% Say Ban Lobbyists for Firms That Live Off Government
Politico, an inside-the-Beltway publication, reported this week that big business groups did not join in the collective panic coming from official Washington over automatic reductions in the growth of federal spending. It did note an exception, however, among defense firms that are dependent upon government. “Northrop Grumman, for instance, derived 90 percent of its 2012 revenue from the U.S. government. The company recently warned the sequester could cause a new recession and 2 million job losses.” 
Voters are clearly unhappy with a system that many see as crony capitalism. As a result, 65% believe that companies that earn most of their revenue from the government should be banned from hiring lobbyists. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that only 15% of voters nationwide oppose such a ban. 
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                            March 1, 2013Let's Speak Plain English About Spending Cuts By Scott Rasmussen
To borrow a phrase, Mainstream America and Washington's Political Class have become two nations separated by a common language. This gap was highlighted by a recent Pew Research Center poll showing that "for 18 of 19 programs tested, majorities want either to increase spending or maintain it at current levels."

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                            February 28, 2013Americans See Honesty, Good Parenting As Tops When It Comes to Success
People define success in many ways, but Americans consider being honest and trustworthy and being a good parent at the top of the list. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 88% of American Adults consider being seen as honest and trustworthy Very Important to success. Nearly as many (87%) say the same of being a good parent. (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 American Adults was conducted on February 25-26, 2013 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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                            February 28, 201334% Say Promotions, Pay Raises Given To Best Workers
Few Americans believe promotions and pay raises in most companies are given to the best workers, and even fewer think that's the case in government agencies. But working adults believe a bit more strongly that the best workers are rewarded.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 34% of American Adults say the best workers are given promotions and pay raises in most companies. Twenty-four percent (24%) think politics is the deciding factor, while five percent (5%) think seniority is the reason. Twelve percent (12%) say something else, and 26% 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 February 23-24, 2013 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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                            February 28, 2013Only 6% Rate News Media As Very Trustworthy
Most voters still get their news from television and consider the news reported by the media generally trustworthy.
Fifty-six percent (56%) of Likely U.S. Voters say they get most of their news from TV, including 32% who get it from cable news networks and 24% who get it from traditional network news. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that another 25% use the Internet as their main source of news, while only 10% still rely on print newspapers. Seven percent (7%) get most of their news from radio. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
How did you do in the new Rasmussen Challenge? Check the leaderboard to find out. 
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on February 26-27, 2013 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.
February 28, 2013While Republicans Warn Against 'Greece,' That Is Exactly Where Austerity Budgeting Will Lead U.S. By Joe Conason
Indebted America is in danger of turning into destitute Greece, or so congressional Republicans and conservative commentators have been warning us for years now. For many reasons, this is an absurd comparison -- but it may not always be quite so ridiculous if Washington's advocates of austerity get their way
The Republicans actually want to impose Greek-style budget slashing on the United States. And the federal budget sequestration scheduled to take effect next week could represent the first serious step here toward the kind of fiscal policies that have proved so ruinous not only in Greece -- raising unemployment, destroying hope and encouraging extremism -- but across Europe.
February 28, 2013Discord and Disarray Won't Help Obama Legacy By Michael Barone
Barack Obama is said to believe that he can win the political fight over the sequester. That's certainly the conventional wisdom. 

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                            February 28, 201349% Rate Free Market Policies More Important Than Closing Income Gap
Voters rate policies that promote the free market as more important than ones that reduce the income gap between rich and poor, but Republicans and Democrats don’t see eye to eye. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 83% of all Likely U.S. Voters view economic policies that allow and encourage free market competition to be at least somewhat important, including 47% who regard them as Very Important. Just eight percent (8%) say free market-oriented policies are not very or Not At All Important. (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 February 24-25, 2013 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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                            February 27, 201334% Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction
Thirty-four percent (34%) of Likely U.S. Voters say the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken the week ending Sunday, February 24.
The latest finding is down four points from the previous week.
(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 3,500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen February 18-24, 2013. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

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                            February 27, 201386% Think Fair Employers Attract Best Workers
Most Americans (86%) agree that companies that treat their employees fairly attract the best workers.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just five percent (5%) disagree, while another nine percent (9%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Win an IPad: Take the Rasmussen Challenge!  Answers will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 27.
(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.
This national survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on February 23-24, 2013 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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                            February 27, 201354% Say Raising Taxes More Likely To Hurt Economy Than Spending Cuts
Most voters continue to see raising taxes as worse for the nation’s economy than cutting government spending. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 54% of Likely Voters think raising taxes is more likely to hurt the economy than cutting government spending. Twenty-seven percent (27%) see cutting spending as worse, while 11% say neither will hurt the economy. (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 February 24-25, 2013 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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                            February 27, 2013Only 41% View Economy As Fair to Those Willing to Work Hard
Most Americans may believe a middle-class lifestyle is within reach, but they still question the fairness of the economy to those who are willing to work hard. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 41% of Likely U.S. Voters think the U.S. economy is at least somewhat fair to people who are willing to work hard, while 53% disagree. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Win an IPad: Take the Rasmussen Challenge! Answers will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 27.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on February 24-25, 2013 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.
February 27, 2013Libertarians' Awkward Bedfellows By John Stossel
Last week, Conservative pundit Ann Coulter told me and a thousand young libertarians that we libertarians are puss- -- well, she used slang for a female body part.
We were in Washington, D.C., at the Students for Liberty conference, taping my TV show, and she didn't like my questions about her opposition to gay marriage and drug legalization.
"We're living in a country that is 70 percent socialist," she says. "The government takes 60 percent of your money. They take care of your health care, your pensions ... who you can hire ... and you (libertarians) want to suck up to your little liberal friends and say, oh, we want to legalize pot? ... If you were a little more manly, you'd tell liberals what your position on employment discrimination is."

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                            February 27, 201348% Think Health Care Law Will Hurt Economy More Than Spending Cuts, 29% Disagree
Despite the inside-the-Beltway warnings about the economic impact of the impending sequester spending cuts, voters are more worried about what President Obama’s new health care law will do to the economy. Forty-eight percent (48%) of Likely U.S. Voters think the health care law is more likely to hurt the economy than cutting government spending. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 29% believe spending cuts will hurt the economy more. Fifteen percent (15%) think neither will hurt economically. (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 February 24-25, 2013 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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                            February 26, 201346% Think Obama's Policies Are Too Hostile Toward Small Business
Voters continue to feel President Obama is friendlier toward big business than small business.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just two percent (2%) of Likely U.S. Voters believe the president's policies are too friendly to small business, compared to 19% who say they are too friendly to big business. Thirty-four percent (34%) think his policies are too hostile toward big business, but nearly half (46%) believe that to be true of his policies toward small business. (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 February 24-25, 2013 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.