“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” Less than two months after President John F. Kennedy uttered these famous words in his inaugural address, he created the Peace Corps by executive order. Fifty years later, most Americans continue to have a favorable opinion of the government-run volunteer program.
A majority of voters, for the first time, support an immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan or the creation of a timetable to bring them all home within a year.
While a majority of voters nationwide continue to favor repeal of the national health care law, those who have health insurance don’t think it’s very likely they will have to change their coverage.
The labor union movement is in deep trouble. Only 6 percent of private-sector employees are union members.
In recent national polling about the situation in Wisconsin, Rasmussen Reports and Quinnipiac found a slight plurality in favor of Governor Scott Walker and his efforts, the Pew Center found a plurality opposed, and Gallup and the New York Times reported strong opposition.
Most Americans favor some kind of government action to help the unemployed, but now nearly half oppose the idea of the government simply hiring more workers.
The number of voters who believe politics inside the beltway will become more partisan over the next year has reached its highest level in nearly six months.
Last month, the website Politico reported that the Department of Justice dropped its representation of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, his former deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, and other defendants in a lawsuit filed by convicted al-Qaida operative Jose Padilla and his mother. The Department of Justice continues to represent Defense Secretary Robert Gates, but no longer the Bushies.
Most Americans don’t think the laws they live under apply to the rich and famous in quite the same way.
The number of adults nationwide who expect interest rates to go up over the next year has risen again this month to a new high.
Big economic-growth stats are trumping oil prices and the Mideast tinderbox. In optimistic trading on Thursday, stocks soared nearly 200 Dow points. Oil barely fell to just under $102 a barrel. Know what? The market may be shouting out that the recent oil spike is not going to derail economic recovery.
President Obama once famously noted that “elections have consequences.” Legislators in Washington, D.C. and Madison, Wisconsin can certainly attest to the truth of that statement. Republican gains have translated into major budget battles involving issues and programs that Democrats have held dear for years.
My guess is that there was not a single member of the United States Supreme Court who was not personally appalled that the Westboro Baptist Church would target the funeral of a soldier who died in battle so they could get publicity for their anti-gay views.
Gas prices have been rising dramatically in recent days, and opposition to President Obama's continuing ban on oil drilling off the Eastern seaboard and in the eastern portion of the Gulf of Mexico is up from early December when the policy was first announced.
Fewer than half the nation’s voters believe the congressional agenda of either major party is in the political mainstream.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker won his job last November with 52% of the vote, but his popularity has slipped since then.
Most voters believe those who work for the government get better retirement benefits than those who work for private companies and also think it’s unlikely their state can afford the benefits given to state workers.
If you are a normal, trusting consumer of American journalism, you might well have gotten the impression by now that the current attempt to break public-sector unions -- with its epicenter in Wisconsin -- is overwhelmingly supported by the nation's voters.
This week, Charlie Sheen owns network news. No wonder Americans hate the media.
It is already obvious that control of the Senate will be up for grabs in 2012, with Republicans needing just 3 or 4 seats to take control (depending on whether the GOP wins the presidency and, along with it, the vice president’s tie-breaking vote).
