President Obama detailed his plan for winning – and ending – the war in Afghanistan in a long-awaited speech last night at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Eighty-nine percent (89%) of U.S. voters have been following recent news about Afghanistan, including 51% who say they’ve been following the news Very Closely.
Congress, beware. Voters are now evenly divided over whether their own congressman deserves another term in office.
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.
Members of Congress may rely upon the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), but voters are skeptical. The CBO has projected that the health care legislation now being considered by Congress would make the federal budget deficit a bit smaller over the coming decade, but only 17% of voters believe that’s true.
Thirty-three percent (33%) of voters nationwide believe that their representative in Congress is the best person for the job. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 42% disagree and 25% are not sure.
Seventy-one percent (71%) of voters nationwide say they’re at least somewhat angry about the current policies of the federal government. That figure includes 46% who are Very Angry.
Voters are narrowly divided on the importance of a political candidate’s religious faith but are less enthusiastic about the role of religion in politics and government.
Not surprisingly, when you ask about the President’s Job Approval in different ways, you get different results.
The U.S. Senate is now formally beginning debate on a plan to reform health care in America, but most voters remain opposed to the plan working its way through Congress.
Only 18% of voters nationwide believe that most people join AARP, once known as the American Association of Retired Persons, because they support its political agenda, but it is still perceived by many as a partisan organization.
So what’s the problem? Forty-nine percent (49%) of voters nationwide now rate the U.S. health care system as good or excellent, up from 29% a year-and-a-half ago.
In 2006, Massachusetts implemented its own statewide version of health care reform and 32% of the state’s voters consider that reform a success. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the Bay State finds that 36% consider the plan a failure and another 32% are not sure.
Forty-nine percent (49%) of voters nationwide now rate the U.S. health care system as good or excellent. That marks a steady increase from 44% at the beginning of October, 35% in May and 29% a year-and-a-half ago.
A blog entry posted at CQPolitics.com looked at a recent Rasmussen Reports poll and another by the Kaiser Family Foundation and concluded that the “new polls disagree on whether a government overhaul of the nation's health care system will leave people better off or worse off.”
Voters are a bit less inclined this month to blame President Obama’s policies for the country’s current economic problems.
Political junkies often get so focused on the day-to-day tactics of campaigning and spinning that they forget about the fundamentals.
Former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs has indicated that he might consider an independent bid for the White House in 2012, and early polling shows he could attract up to 14% of the vote.
Next year's gubernatorial contest in Massachusetts is tighter than ever, even though it's now a three-way race.
Democratic incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand may have a serious problem on her hands if Rudy Giuliani gets in next year’s race for the U.S. Senate in New York State.
Attorney General Martha Coakley holds a 15-point lead among likely Democratic Primary voters in Massachusetts in the race to fill the U.S. Senate seat of the late Edward M. Kennedy.
