Do we have a president or a perpetual candidate? It's not an entirely unfair question.
Even as Barack Obama was warning of the dreadful consequences of the budget sequester looming on March 1, he spent days away from Washington, apparently out of touch with Democratic as well as Republican congressional leaders.
In the meantime, Obama fans were lobbing verbal grenades at none other than The Washington Post's Bob Woodward.
One-in-four voters rate the U.S. health care system as poor, but most expect the system to get worse over the next couple of years. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 40% of Likely U.S. Voters consider the U.S. health care system good or excellent, while 24% rate it as poor. (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 2-3, 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.
Most Americans feel connected to a local church or religious organization, and nothing else comes close. Government and politics are near the bottom of the list.
Generally, people feel that they are connected and play a positive role in some organizations but not others. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 54% of American Adults feel at least somewhat connected to their local church or religious organization, with 34% who think they are Very Connected. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Voters continue to think President Obama is doing a better job handling national security area than dealing with the economy. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 44% of Likely U.S. Voters rate the way the president is handling economic issues as good or excellent, while 43% rate his performance in this area as poor. This is generally consistent with surveys for the past couple of years. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
How did you do in the new Rasmussen Challenge? Check the leaderboard to find out.
(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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it’s free) or follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
Barack Obama is said to believe that he can win the political fight over the sequester. That's certainly the conventional wisdom.
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.
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.
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.
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.
