2016: An Unanchored, Puzzling Presidential Election

So far, the 2016 presidential campaign is not about anything very much, excepting issues specific to the leading and emerging candidates. It has been mostly about controversies swirling around Hillary Rodham Clinton, including the legacy question, which she shares with Jeb Bush. And more recently the focus has turned to […] Read more »

Americans, Japanese: Mutual Respect 70 Years After the End of WW II

Adversaries in World War II, fierce economic competitors in the 1980s and early 1990s, Americans and Japanese nonetheless share a deep mutual respect. About two-thirds of Americans trust Japan a great deal or a fair amount and three-quarters of Japanese say they trust the United States, according to a new […] Read more »

Climate Change, Tax Pledge Among Issues to Watch for 2016

Two issue positions show potential to carry unexpected clout in the 2016 presidential election — support for action to address climate change and opposition to a no-tax pledge, a new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds. Openness to political compromise also has the support, and the priority, to carry weight in […] Read more »

Americans Support Iran Talks, But Doubt They’ll Prevent A Weapon

Every politician likes to tout what they believe the “American People” want. As the debate over the Iran nuclear deal inevitably heads toward the meat grinder that is Congress, President Obama tried to preemptively frame that debate. And he claimed to have the “American people” on his side. … Polls, […] Read more »