Obama’s Popularity in Perspective
With new polls out showing that support for President Obama's policies declining rapidly, Dave Weigel weighs in to remind us that Obama's doing better than his predecessors at comparable periods. Matt Yglesias helpfully puts the data into a handy dandy chart. Even aside from the fact that this is looking at Obama's topline approval -- which everyone acknowledges is good -- ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on June 18, 2009 17:09
Obama Approval Dropping as Hard Choices Made
As President Obama settles into his fifth month in office, his personal popularity remains high but his job approval is slipping drastically, according to a new NYT/CBS News poll. A substantial majority of Americans say President Obama has not developed a strategy to deal with the budget deficit, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, which also found ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on June 18, 2009 09:26
Cell Phone Driving Dangerous: We Know, Don’t Care
The release for a new Harris Poll is titled "Large Majority of Drivers Who Own Cell Phones Use Them While Driving Even Though They Know This Is Dangerous." The key findings: 72% of those who drive and own cell phones say they use them to talk while they are driving; A quarter of drivers with cell phones report using them ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on June 9, 2009 09:33
Republicans More Trusted than Democrats
Mary Katharine Hamm and AllahPundit pass along a stunning poll result from Rasmussen Reports: Voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats on six out of 10 key issues, including the top issue of the economy. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 45% now trust the GOP more to handle economic issues, while 39% trust Democrats more. This is the first ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on June 8, 2009 15:55
Republican Party of Whites?
A Gallup poll released yesterday finds that, "More than 6 in 10 Republicans today are white conservatives, while most of the rest are whites with other ideological leanings; only 11% of Republicans are Hispanics, or are blacks or members of other races. By contrast, only 12% of Democrats are white conservatives, while about half are white moderates or liberals and ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on June 2, 2009 08:14
Joe Sestak to Challenge Specter in Democratic Primary
Talking Points Memo is reporting that Rep. Joe Sestak from Pennsylvania will be challenging Arlen Specter in the Democratic Primary. Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) is privately telling supporters that he intends to run for Senate, TPMDC has confirmed. "He intends to get in the race," says Meg Infantino, the Congressman's sister, who works at Sestak for Congress. "In the not too distant ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on May 28, 2009 00:12
Elites Losing Climate and Gun Argument
Michael Barone (via Glenn Reynolds) argues that elites are "out of touch" on climate change and gun control: Many years ago, political scientists came up with a theory that elites lead public opinion. And on some issues, they clearly do. But on some issues, they don't. Two examples of the latter phenomenon are conspicuous at a time when Barack Obama enjoys ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on May 11, 2009 09:59
Berkeley Energy Police Coming
A reader sends along a recent Survey USA poll question: The city of Berkeley is considering a law that would require all homes to be audited to be sure they meet strict energy standards in the city's plan to fight global warming. This would mean new double-paned windows, attic insulation, a new white roof that reflects heat, a forced-air furnace and ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on April 27, 2009 13:22
Jerry Brown Next California Governor?
Taegan Goddard passes along a Tulchin Research poll showing that Jerry Brown is the overwhelming favorite to get the Democratic nomination for California governor. Granted, the primary is more than a year away. Still, this is rather amusing. The first time Brown got elected governor, I was in grade school and he was a 37-year-old swinging bachelor who famously dated Linda ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on April 26, 2009 15:37
Great Minds Think Alike
A Gallup poll showing that 48% of Americans believe their federal income tax burden is "about right," and 46% saying it's "too high" has naturally generated some conversation. Both Dave Schuler and Kevin Drum, though, looked behind the numbers and realized the 48% figure isn't so impressive once you factor in the fact that somewhere between 40% and 50% of Americans ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on April 14, 2009 14:17
Poll: Attack North Korea!
An overwhelming majority of Americans want to go to war with North Korea over Sunday's missile test/satellite launch, a new Rasmussen poll finds. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of U.S. voters nationwide favor a military response to eliminate North Korea’s missile launching capability. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that just 15% of voters oppose a military response while 28% are ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on April 6, 2009 06:01
Rush Limbaugh’s Approval at 19 Percent
CBS' Brian Montopoli reports on a new poll by his network that has Rush Limbaugh's favorability ratings at 19 percent: No talk show host in history has been re-elected with numbers that low. Oh, wait . . .Posted in Outside The Beltway on March 18, 2009 08:53
Iraqis Happier, More Optimistic
A new poll shows that Iraqis are decidedly happier and more optimistic than they were just a year ago but that they're still unhappy with the United States invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime and put their lives into a state of chaos. Iraqis are more upbeat about their future and less concerned about violence and insecurity, according to a poll ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on March 16, 2009 09:34
Quote of the Day - Drinking Republicans
"There’s a lot of interesting data in the NBC/WSJ poll, although much of it is good news for the Dems and sobering news for the GOP (there’s been so much sobering news the last four years I feel like drinking). " - Glen Bolger Glen's a founding partner of Public Opinion Strategies, which employs my wife as its Chief Operating Officer ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on March 9, 2009 14:49
How Many Dates Until Sex?
via @pwgavin, I see that Washingtonian magazine's Kelli DiNardo has done a "Dating Diaries Roundtable: How Many Dates Until Sex?" complete with names, bios, and photos of the respondents. @pw seems mildly upset by this, snarking, "Wow, looks like it won't be long before Washingtonian mag moves from Best Dentist to Best Stripper." But it's a pretty useful service if you're into ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on February 27, 2009 13:56
