75% Say Oprah Has Been Influential in Shaping Public Perceptions
Oprah Winfrey’s television talk show is coming to a close after a 25-year run, and the vast majority of Americans believe she’s been influential in shaping public opinion.
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May 21, 2011
May 21, 2011
Women on Trial By Susan Estrich
Shame on The New York Times. A housekeeper gets pregnant by the famous and powerful man for whom she works. For 10 years, she continues to work in the home and never says a word. After 20 years of service, she retires and buys a house 100 miles away to raise her son.
May 21, 2011
What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending May 21, 2011
There was more muddle in the Middle East as the week came to a close.
May 20, 2011
12% Say U.S. Should Help Defend Cuba If It's Attacked
Treaties signed over the years sometimes make strange bedfellows, and surprisingly one such regional treaty puts the United States in the position of helping Fidel Castro’s Cuba if it gets in a jam.
May 20, 2011
68% View Schwarzenegger Unfavorably
News of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s marital infidelity and the resulting love child appears to have made a serious dent in the returning movie star's audience base.
May 20, 2011
60% Say Federal Government Encourages Illegal Immigration
Most voters continue to believe that the federal government’s policies encourage illegal immigration but remain closely divided over whether it's better to let the federal government or individual states enforce immigration laws.
May 20, 2011
NY-26 Special Election: Mind The Debate, Forget The Decision By Kyle Kondik
The nation got a preview of the Democrats' sweeping congressional election victories in 2010 when Democratic candidates pulled off victories in three close special House elections. The results were just the first of many for Democrats in the last cycle, when…
May 20, 2011
The Gingrich Style By Joe Conason
It is hard to see why anyone was surprised by Newt Gingrich's self-ignited implosion in the earliest hours of his presidential candidacy. The career of the former House speaker and Georgia congressman is practically bursting with proof that he suffers from chronic paranoid hysteria -- a condition that has done more to advance than diminish his status among conservatives.
May 20, 2011
71% Say Middle East Peace Agreement Must Recognize Israel’s Right to Exist
Voters continue to believe strongly that a Middle East peace treaty must include an acknowledgement by Palestinians of Israel’s right to exist, but there’s very little confidence that there ever will be peace between Israelis and Arabs.
May 20, 2011
Fix the IMF, Go for Growth, End Bailout Nation By Lawrence Kudlow
As the International Monetary Fund gets ready to choose a successor to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned following his arrest on charges that he sexually assaulted and raped a hotel housekeeper, it would be a good thing to step back for a moment and ask: What should the IMF do? More specifically, can the IMF possibly morph itself into a worldwide force for economic growth instead of Bailout Nation?
May 19, 2011
64% Still Put Border Security Ahead of Legalizing Illegals Already Here
Voters aren’t convinced the U.S. border with Mexico is secure, and they still put that goal far ahead of legalizing illegal immigrants already in the country. A majority of voters also continue to favor a welcoming immigration policy.
May 19, 2011
Election 2012: Obama 43%, Christie 35%
President Obama leads seven long-shot Republican candidates in hypothetical 2012 matchups. But in a result consistent with polls involving the bigger GOP names, the president’s support stays in a very narrow range. In every matchup tested so far this year, the president’s support has stayed between 42% and 49%.
May 19, 2011
55% Think Arab World Protests Make Israel Less Safe
Most voters think the growing political unrest in the Arab world is putting Israel further at risk.
May 19, 2011
Racial Voting Surge: Obama's Re-election and the Democrats' 2006 Senate Class By Thomas F. Schaller
After two strong congressional cycles in 2006 and 2008, the Democrats were "shellacked" by Republicans in 2010. As the 2012 cycle approaches, uncertainty prevails for both parties: Each is trying to hold or expand its majority in one chamber while attempting to weaken and maybe topple the opposition in the other.
May 19, 2011
Housing: A Healthy Bust By Froma Harrop
Just as busts follow booms, booms are supposed to follow busts. But there has been no boom, not even a boomlet, to light a candle in the gloom of the housing collapse. Many economists thought that a recovery from the real-estate meltdown that started in 2007 would be well on its way by 2011.
May 19, 2011
33% Say Internet Good for American Culture
Americans have mixed feelings about the Internet’s impact on the nation, but they appear less optimistic about it than they were several years ago.
May 19, 2011
Gingrich and Romney Run Against Their Own Party By Michael Barone
Exit Mike Huckabee. Enter Newt Gingrich. Exit Donald Trump. It's been a busy week in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.
May 18, 2011
29% Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction
Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Likely U.S. Voters say the country is heading in the right direction for the second week in a row, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken the week ending Sunday, May 15.
May 18, 2011
52% See Home-Buying As Family’s Best Investment
While just over half of American adults still believe buying a home is a family’s best investment, very few would recommend selling a home in the current market.
May 18, 2011
54% Blame Bush Recession For Current Economic Problems, 39% Blame Obama
A majority of voters continues to blame the nation’s economic problems on the George W. Bush years but still trust their own economic judgment more than President Obama’s.
