What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending April 22, 2011
It was a week for looking back, but when Americans did look ahead, they didn’t like much of what they saw.
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April 23, 2011
April 22, 2011
78% Believe Jesus Christ Was the Son of God
Today is the day Christians remember the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, who 78% of all Americans believe to be the son of God who came to Earth to die for our sins.
April 22, 2011
55% Say U.S. Military Involvement in Libya Unlikely To End This Year
Most voters now expect the U.S. military’s role in Libya to last beyond this year.
April 22, 2011
The Trouble With Trump By Joe Conason
Everything we really need to know about the character of Donald Trump was revealed when the wannabe president frivolously accused Barack Obama's late grandparents of committing fraud with his birth announcement. Trump told CNN that they had placed the Aug. 13, 1961, announcement in the Honolulu Advertiser because they wanted to get "welfare" and other benefits. But this casual falsehood revealed only the tiniest hint of the truth about Trump that Americans will discover if he actually runs for the White House.
April 22, 2011
The Map: The Crystal Ball's First 2011 Take on 2012's Electoral College By Larry J. Sabato and the Crystal Ball Team
With 18 months to go until November 2012, there is exactly one use for a current projection of the 2012 Electoral College results. This is merely a baseline from which we can judge more reliable projections made closer to the election. Where did we start--before we knew the identity of the Republican nominee for president, the state of the economy in fall 2012 and many other critical facts?
April 22, 2011
38% Say Earth Day Has Helped Raise Environmental Awareness
Today marks the 42nd year that Earth Day has been celebrated, but Americans are closely divided over whether the informal annual holiday has raised the environmental consciousness of their fellow countrymen.
April 22, 2011
South By Southwest By Kyle Kondik
The classic Alfred Hitchcock thriller "North by Northwest" contains a few of Hollywood's most memorable--and ludicrous--sequences, including a famous scene in which our hero, played by Cary Grant, finds himself being shot at by a crop duster at a bus stop near a cornfield.
April 21, 2011
27% Call Americans Selfish For Putting Economy Ahead of Global Warming
Americans still don’t think they are being selfish for placing their economic concerns ahead of the fight against climate change. But they strongly believe improving the environment occurs on a personal level.
April 21, 2011
Just 9% Give Congress Good or Excellent Ratings
As members of Congress and the president haggle over ways to reduce the federal budget deficit, ratings for the bicameral legislature have fallen to the lowest level since late 2009.
April 21, 2011
Voters Remain Closely Divided Over Libya
Support for continuing U.S. military operations in Libya is holding steady from two weeks ago after a drop-off in support from just after the mission began. But voters remain almost evenly divided over U.S. military involvement in the Libyan political crisis.
April 21, 2011
Curbing Medicare Costs Without Vouchers By Froma Harrop
About 10 years ago, a new radiation treatment for prostate cancer came on line. A single course of "intensity-modulated radiation therapy" cost Medicare about $42,000. The older radiation therapy cost $10,000. Hospitals bought the new machines and stopped using the traditional method. This tacked another $1.5 billion per year to Medicare spending on prostate cancer alone.
April 21, 2011
No Poking President at Facebook By Debra J. Saunders
Last year, when President Obama wanted to convince Americans that his policies were paying off and creating jobs, he visited a solar-panel plant in Fremont, Calif. "The true engine of economic growth will always be companies like Solyndra," quoth the president.
April 21, 2011
41% Support Internet Poker, 42% Oppose
Most Americans have no problem with money on the table in a friendly game of poker but have decidedly mixed feelings if that game is shifted to the Internet.
April 21, 2011
Mr. Obama: Taxing the Rich Won't Increase Revenues By Michael Barone
Did Barack Obama take Tax 1 in law school? I did, and I remember the first day of classes, when mild mannered Professor Boris Bittker asked a simple question, "What is income?"
April 20, 2011
22% Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction, Ties Lowest Level of Obama’s Presidency
Twenty-two percent (22%) 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, April 17. That ties the lowest number of Obama’s presidency, last reached in mid-March.
April 20, 2011
63% Still Believe Border Control Is Top Immigration Priority
Nearly two-thirds of voters still believe border control should be the top priority in the fight against illegal immigration, but they also continue to support a welcoming immigration policy.
April 20, 2011
60% Reject Government ID for Online Security
In an effort to enhance online security and privacy, the Obama administration has proposed Americans obtain a single ID for all Internet sales and banking activity. But a new Rasmussen Reports survey finds most Americans want nothing to do with such an ID if the government is the one to issue it and hold the information.
April 20, 2011
54% Say Cleanup From Gulf Oil Spill At Least Somewhat Successful
A year ago today, an explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig marked the beginning of the most devastating oil spill ever in the Gulf of Mexico. Most voters now think the cleanup from that spill has been fairly successful and appear less concerned about the long-term effect on the environment. But voters still give low grades to both the federal government and the companies responsible for their response to the spill.
April 20, 2011
The Republican Dwarfs By Susan Estrich
I must admit that it took me at least a minute to figure out the Drudge Report headline: "Paw In."
April 20, 2011
Only 51% See Buying A Home As Family’s Best Investment
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that 51% now believe buying a home is a family’s best investment. That’s down from 55% in March and from 73% in February 2009.
