Last week, al Qaeda fighters took over Fallujah, which in 2004 was the bloodiest battle for the U.S. military. That development allowed critics to charge that those American deaths are now in vain after the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. … But here’s a reality check: The American public already gave […] Read more »
The president’s hump year
The sixth year of a two-term presidency is rarely kind. The public’s initial romance with the president has faded. The brief momentum he thought he earned by winning reelection has faded too. The White House doesn’t set the agenda any more; events are in charge now. … And if the past […] Read more »
How Obama Can Get His Groove Back
Even with no real scandal and only one demonstrable policy blunder, the health-care rollout, President Barack Obama had a miserable 2013 as his public standing plummeted. History suggests it is tough for a second-term president to rebound. Here are five ways Obama could defy those odds. CONT. Al Hunt, Bloomberg Read more »
Gallup: A review of the year’s major findings, from politics to well-being
Gallup.com chronicled Americans’ responses to the major issues and events that will define 2013 in the annals of history, from Edward Snowden’s revelations about U.S. government spying to the federal government shutdown, to the possibility of war with Syria. Gallup’s editors and writers explored what was perhaps the biggest development […] Read more »
CNN Poll: Afghanistan war arguably most unpopular in U.S. history
Support for the war in Afghanistan has dipped below 20%, according to a new national poll, making the country’s longest military conflict arguably its most unpopular one as well. The CNN/ORC International survey released Monday also indicates that a majority of Americans would like to see U.S. troops pull out […] Read more »
Most Want Some Troops in Afghanistan Despite Strong Criticism of the War
Two-thirds of Americans say the war in Afghanistan hasn’t been worth fighting, but 55 percent nonetheless favor keeping some U.S. forces there for training and counterinsurgency purposes, a new ABC News/Washington Post poll has found. Public support for a smaller but continued U.S. military presence is steady despite the current […] Read more »