Over the Christmas holiday, I read a couple of books that, at least for me, may provide some guidance in the upcoming tumultuous and probably consequential year. The first book was "Munich, 1938" by David Faber (grandson of former British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan), by far the most authoritative book on that world-changing event.
Republican candidates start the year by opening a nine-point lead over Democrats, the GOP's biggest in several years, in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot.
Television is still likely to rule as the primary source of political news for most Americans this year.
Hope for a stronger economy has declined in recent months, with pessimism up sharply from a year ago.
State Attorney General Martha Coakley holds a nine-point lead over her Republican rival, state Senator Scott Brown, in Massachusetts’ special U.S. Senate election to fill the seat of the late Edward M. Kennedy.
Inside the House and Senate health care bills lurks a ticking time bomb -- a new federal entitlement, under the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act, which would allow Americans to buy into a voluntary federal long-term care insurance program.
The midterm elections this November have spawned midyear panic, largely by Democrats. With their majorities in the Senate and House, Democrats have the most to lose. And historically, the president's party sheds congressional seats at this point in the electoral cycle.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger reportedly intends to ask this week for a federal bailout to keep his state from going bankrupt. But most voters have never been fans of any kind of federal bailout, and most continue to oppose a bailout for California, even when told what specific budget cuts may be necessary.
While most Americans continue to oppose the overall health care plan working its way through Congress, two reforms in the plan are supported by more than 70% of the public - creating a new national insurance exchange and requiring health insurance companies to accept applicants with pre-existing conditions.
When it comes to paying for the cost of the proposed health care reform plan, voters are okay with taxing the rich but strongly reject cuts in Medicare and excise taxes on “Cadillac” health plans provided by employers.
Voters feel more strongly than ever that Congress is performing poorly and that most of its members are in it for themselves.
Forty-two percent (42%) of U.S. voters now favor the health care reform plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s the most positive result since mid-November, but still most voters remain opposed.
Fifty-three percent (53%) of voters favor a ban on abortion coverage in any health insurance plan that receives federal subsidies. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 40% are opposed to such a ban in the proposed health care legislation now before Congress.
In December, the number of Americans identifying themselves as Democrats fell to the lowest level recorded in more than seven years of monthly tracking by Rasmussen Reports.
The New York Times reports that “the Obama administration’s $75 billion program to protect homeowners from foreclosure has been widely pronounced a disappointment, and some economists and real estate experts now contend it has done more harm than good.”
Business is good for the government these days.
Government employees are much more bullish about the economy than those who work in the private sector. That’s a big change from the beginning of the year when those on the public payroll were a bit more pessimistic than private sector workers.
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.
If the health care plan before Congress becomes law, 47% of voters nationwide believe states should have the right to opt out of it.
Thirty-four percent (34%) of voters nationwide favor a single-payer health care system where the federal government provides coverage for everyone. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 52% are opposed to such a system, and 14% are not sure.
Fifty percent (50%) of Americans believe the country will still be in recession at the end of 2010, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
