The transition between President Obama and President-elect Donald Trump is producing some odd public opinion effects. For example, suddenly Americans are far more confident about the direction of the economy since October 2012. Could this be for substantive reasons? It’s a possibility, but an equally likely explanation is raw partisanship. …
Americans’ partisan attitudes about, well, everything are bleeding over into foreign policy. This has been happening for some time with U.S. public attitudes toward Israel. In the wake of the 2106 election — and Russian interference in the election — that polarization is affecting how Americans think about Russia as well. CONT.
Daniel W. Drezner (Fletcher School), Washington Post