17% Say U.S. Heading In Right Direction
Seventeen percent (17%) of Likely U.S. Voters now say the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken the week ending Sunday, September 25.
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September 28, 2011
September 28, 2011
56% Favor Balanced Budget Amendment
It’s an idea that’s been around for decades of deficit spending and most voters nationwide like the idea of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But they don’t expect it to happen.
September 28, 2011
Obama 39% Cain 34%
Herman Cain did well in last week’s GOP debate and won a decisive straw poll victory in Florida, but his numbers in a general election match-up against President Obama are little changed.
September 28, 2011
Plurality Says Romney Qualified To Be President, Voters Divided on Cain
Out of a list of five Republican candidates running for the White House in 2012, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is the only one a plurality of all voters considers qualified for the job. But Republican voters tend to see three top candidates as qualified.
September 28, 2011
President's Foreign Policy Failures Increase By Tony Blankley
President Obama, like most American presidents, is lucky that the public pays little attention to foreign policy and rarely casts its votes on the basis of presidential foreign-policy performance. It required something as dramatic as the November 1979 Iranian seizing of our diplomats as hostages, followed the next month by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to turn Jimmy Carter's foreign policy mess into a major negative issue for him in his failed 1980 re-election bid.
September 28, 2011
If Taxes Hiked to Reduce Deficit, 62% Think It Will Be Spent on New Programs
Americans think tax hikes are more likely than spending cuts in any deficit reduction deal that comes out of Congress and are more convinced than ever that any new tax monies will be spent on new government programs.
September 27, 2011
Election 2012: Generic Republican 46%, Obama 43%
A generic Republican candidate has fallen into a near tie with President Obama in a hypothetical 2012 election match-up for the week ending Sunday, September 25.
September 27, 2011
Only 9% Give Congress Positive Marks
Ratings for Congress are up slightly from the record lows of the past two months, but most voters still think it's doing a poor job. They're also a bit less convinced that most members of Congress are corrupt.
September 27, 2011
Obama 44%, Paul 34%
A month ago, they were neck-and-neck. Now President Obama has a 10-point lead over Texas Congressman Ron Paul in a hypothetical Election 2012 matchup.
September 27, 2011
71% Favor Term Limits for Congress
Voters strongly support term limits for all members of Congress but don’t think it’s very likely the national legislators will vote to limit how long they can serve. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 71% of Likely U.S. Voters favor establishing term limits for all members of Congress. Just 14% oppose setting such limits, and 15% are undecided about them. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
September 27, 2011
The Middle Class and Its Entitlements By Froma Harrop
To what are Americans entitled? Government-guaranteed health coverage in old age? Government-guaranteed health coverage at any age? Subsidized housing if they're low income? Subsidized food? Subsidies for growing wheat but not making shoes? Subsidies for homeowning?
September 27, 2011
60% Still Favor Death Penalty
The execution of Troy Davis last week for murdering a Georgia policeman prompted controversy here and abroad, but it did little to shift opinions on the death penalty. Still, a sizable majority of Americans worries that people may be executed for crimes they didn't commit.
September 26, 2011
Generic Congressional Ballot: Republicans 42%, Democrats 40%
Republicans hold just a two-point advantage over Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot for the week ending Sunday, September 25. That is the highest level of support for Democrats in nearly three months and ties the narrowest margin between the two parties in the last two years.
September 26, 2011
39% See 'Pro-Gun' As Positive Label, 27% Say It's A Negative
Rasmussen Reports periodically asks Likely U.S. Voters to rate political labels, and the latest national telephone survey finds that 39% consider it a positive when a political candidate is described as being “pro-gun.”
September 26, 2011
Obama 44%, Perry 38%
While Texas Governor Rick Perry has been widely criticized for his debate performance last Thursday in Florida, that criticism doesn't seem to have moved the numbers in a hypothetical Election 2012 matchup with President Obama. The president still holds a single-digit lead over the frontrunner in the GOP primary race.
September 26, 2011
59% Oppose Government Loan Help for Alternative Energy Company Like Solyndra
The questionable financial dealings of solar panel manufacturer Solyndra and its ties to the Obama administration are drawing little public attention so far, but most voters agree government help is not the best way to develop alternative energy sources.
September 26, 2011
Still Looking for a Candidate to Replace Obama By Michael Barone
The Republicans' presidential debate Thursday night sponsored by Fox News and Google gave primary voters and caucus-goers at least one good reason to reject every candidate on the stage. The interesting question now is whether someone else will enter the race -- at just about the same point in the election cycle in which Bill Clinton entered the Democratic race in 1991.
September 26, 2011
73% See Significant Deficit-Cutting Agreement As Unlikely Before 2012 Election
Regardless of their views on the content of any major deficit reduction plan, voters do not expect any significant reduction in federal government spending before next year’s election.
September 25, 2011
35% Say Legal System Places Individual Rights Over Public Safety
More than a third of voters believe the U.S. legal system worries too much about individual rights when it comes to public safety, but fewer believe it puts those rights over protecting national security.
September 24, 2011
What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending September 24, 2011
For many Americans, their home is their primary investment in the future. Concern remains at record levels that that investment is at risk, and the sour economy continues to play heavily on next year’s race for the White House.
