The Rasmussen Report from Creators Syndicate

The Political Ground Is Shifting Under the President for 05/24/2013

Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Despite a tough couple of weeks, President Obama's job approval ratings are holding up fairly well. As I write this, 47 percent of voters nationwide offer their approval. That's little changed from attitudes of late and essentially the same as the president enjoyed during most of his first term in office.

But if you dig just a bit beneath the surface, it becomes clear that the controver ...

Updated: Fri May 24, 2013

Controversies Doom Obama's Effort to Restore Faith in Government for 05/17/2013

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

It's impossible to predict the lasting impact of the controversies now besetting the Obama administration, but the risks to the president's agenda are sizable.

On the legislative front, they could doom the already cloudy prospects for comprehensive immigration reform. The implementation of President Obama's health care law is also likely to be a bit more challenging. It's possible, too, ...

Updated: Fri May 17, 2013

Why the Benghazi Hearings Are Likely to Be a Bust for 05/10/2013

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Foreign policy matters rarely top the list of voter concerns. That's especially true in times of challenging economic news.

In recent weeks, though, national security topics have been working their way into the headlines. First came the Boston Marathon bombings and questions about terrorist connections. The civil war in Syria entered the news with reports of chemical warfare followed by ...

Updated: Fri May 10, 2013

Voters Don't Like Political Class Bossing Them Around for 05/03/2013

Fri, 03 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

There are many ways to describe the enormous gap between the American people and their elected politicians.

Most in official Washington tend to think that their elite community is smarter and better than the rest of us. Many hold a condescending view of voters and suggest that the general public is too ignorant to be treated seriously. Only 5 percent of the nation's voters, however, bel ...

Updated: Fri May 03, 2013

Americans Seem to Be Taking Terrorism in Stride for 04/26/2013

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

The news from Boston over the past couple of weeks has been the stuff of nightmares.

Homemade bombs killing and injuring innocent people at a high-profile public event were followed by a massive manhunt. People in the surrounding suburbs were ordered to stay inside, businesses closed, and SWAT teams overwhelmed a typically quiet community. The Boston police commissioner warned everyone: ...

Updated: Fri Apr 26, 2013

GOP Needs to Get Over the Makers vs. Takers Mindset for 04/19/2013

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Mitt Romney's secretly recorded comment that 47 percent of Americans are "dependent on the government" and "believe they are victims" isn't the only reason he lost the presidential campaign. But the candidate himself acknowledged after the election that the comments were "very harmful."

He added, "What I said is not what I believe."

But ma ...

Updated: Fri Apr 19, 2013

Gun Debate Highlights Voter Distrust of Government for 04/12/2013

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Gun control advocates sound puzzled by congressional resistance to relatively modest gun control legislation. Many cite a poll showing 90 percent of Americans support more background checks and suggest the National Rifle Association is the only reason Congress won't implement the will of the people.

There are a few problems with this argument. First, it implies that Congress normally do ...

Updated: Fri Apr 12, 2013

To Fight Inequality, It's Time to End the College Admissions Scam for 04/05/2013

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

There's a strong desire among many Americans today to address a growing problem of income inequality. That desire helped President Obama raise taxes on upper-income Americans a few months ago.

It's reflected in the fact that just 35 percent believe the U.S. economy is fair to the middle class, and only 41 percent believe it's fair to those willing to work hard. Still, it's not really th ...

Updated: Fri Apr 05, 2013

What Happens After Immigrants Arrive Is Important, Too for 03/29/2013

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Sixty-eight percent of voters believe that, when done legally, immigration is good for America. Most voters for years have favored a welcoming policy of immigration. Unlike many issues these days, there is virtually no partisan disagreement.

These facts raise a question that should make everyone in official Washington uncomfortable. If immigration is good for America and there is suppor ...

Updated: Fri Mar 29, 2013

It's Time To Bust Up the Big Banks for 03/22/2013

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Americans have a healthy respect for free market competition and are resistant to government interference — even when they don't like what the market is up to. For example, 69 percent of Americans believe that large corporate executives are overpaid, but only 17 percent want the government to regulate their pay.

In that context, it's remarkable that 50 percent of voters nationwide ...

Updated: Fri Mar 22, 2013

Beware of the New Elites for 03/15/2013

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0700

James Carville famously kept the 1992 Clinton campaign on message with the simple refrain, "It's the economy, stupid!" That's just as true for politicians today as it was two decades ago.

However, many politicians, particularly Republicans, tend to misunderstand all that Carville's phrase encompasses. It's not just about economic growth. Fairness is a big part of the equation. ...

Updated: Fri Mar 15, 2013

Health Care Law Now Faces Biggest Challenge: American Consumers for 03/08/2013

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0800

President Obama handily defeated congressional Republicans in the political fight over his health care law. But the law will now face a much tougher opponent — the creativity of Americans determined to gain more control over their own health care decisions. The end result will be a system much different than the president hopes for — and his opponents fear.

To understand why ...

Updated: Fri Mar 08, 2013

Let's Speak Plain English About Spending Cuts for 03/01/2013

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0800

To borrow a phrase, Mainstream America and Washington's Political Class have become two nations separated by a common language.

This gap was highlighted by a recent Pew Research Center poll showing that "for 18 of 19 programs tested, majorities want either to increase spending or maintain it at current levels."

On the surface, those results appear to support the Politi ...

Updated: Fri Mar 01, 2013

Sequester Puts Elected Washington on Trial for 02/22/2013

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

There's a panic bubbling to the surface in Washington, D.C.

It's being brought about by the so-called sequester, scheduled to take effect next Friday, March 1. The sequester, a series of automatic across-the-board spending reductions, is a gimmick the politicians came up with in 2011 to force themselves to reach some kind of long-term deficit reduction deal.

The expectation was ...

Updated: Fri Feb 22, 2013

For GOP, There's Plenty of Learning to Go Around for 02/15/2013

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

There's still a lot of confusion in the Republican Party in the aftermath of the 2012 election. Part of the confusion stems from the struggle between the party establishment based in Washington and the party's base of voters all over the country. Sixty-three percent of Republican voters nationwide recognize that their leaders in Washington have lost touch with the base.

Added to that ch ...

Updated: Fri Feb 15, 2013

For Obama, It's Chiefly About Firing up His Base for 02/08/2013

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

As President Obama prepares for his State of the Union address, he has indicated that gun control and immigration will be two of his top priorities. His administration's actions also indicate an ongoing commitment to place a high priority on environmental concerns. These items, though, tend to rank fairly low on voter lists of priorities.

Consider than 86 percent of voters nationwide ra ...

Updated: Fri Feb 08, 2013

Real Border Control Has to Come First in Any Immigration Deal for 02/01/2013

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

A bipartisan group of eight U.S. senators has proposed an immigration reform plan that appears to broadly reflect what voters would like to see. But there's a catch.

Most Americans (56 percent) want our nation to have a welcoming policy of legal immigration. With such an approach, the only people who would be excluded are national security threats, criminals and those who would seek to ...

Updated: Fri Feb 01, 2013

Politicians Need to Catch Up When It Comes to the People's Money for 01/25/2013

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0800

President Obama in his inaugural address made it clear he intends to protect the nation's entitlement programs. In the world of Washington politics, this amounts to a pledge that the president will make sure that no changes will be made to programs like Social Security and Medicare.

Republicans in Congress won't challenge him because just about everybody in official Washington shares th ...

Updated: Fri Jan 25, 2013

Searching for Answers After Newtown for 01/18/2013

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Following the school shooting horror in Newtown, Conn., our nation shares a heartfelt belief that something must be done.

Polls instantly showed an increase in support for stricter gun control laws. Fifty-one percent of American adults expressed that view in Rasmussen Reports polling.

But there is even more support (81 percent) for taking action on mental health issues. That's p ...

Updated: Fri Jan 18, 2013

Republican Establishment Declares War on GOP Voters for 01/11/2013

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Official Washington hailed the deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff as a significant bipartisan accomplishment. However, voters around the country viewed the deal in very partisan terms: Seven out of 10 Democrats approved of it, while seven out of 10 Republicans disapproved.

Just a few days after reaching that agreement, an inside-the-Beltway publication reported another area of bip ...

Updated: Fri Jan 11, 2013