Majorities of voters approve of how law enforcement, the White House and the media handled the Boston Marathon bombings. And despite the new attack on U.S. soil, most give positive marks to the government for its handling of terrorism, and rank terrorism far below the economy on Washington’s to do […] Read more »
Gridlock is no way to govern
Larry Summers is a brilliant, award-winning economist. Monday, in his monthly op-ed column for The Post, he opined about politics and history [“Sometimes, gridlock is good for America,” April 15]. Our advice, as political scientists, is that Summers should stick to economics. [cont.] Norman J. Ornstein & Thomas E. Mann, Washington […] Read more »
Trust in Government, Obama Approval Slip
President Barack Obama’s re-election glow is gone. Congress’ reputation remains dismal. And only about one in five Americans say they trust the government to do what’s right most of the time, an Associated Press-GfK poll finds. [cont.] Charles Babington & Jennifer Agiesta, AP Read more »
State Governments Viewed Favorably as Federal Rating Hits New Low
Even as public views of the federal government in Washington have fallen to another new low, the public continues to see their state and local governments in a favorable light. Overall, 63% say they have a favorable opinion of their local government, virtually unchanged over recent years. And 57% express […] Read more »
A New Budget for a New Party
The keening on the left about President Obama’s budget proposal this week suggests that large portions of the Democratic base still don’t understand the political and economic dynamics of the party’s changing electoral coalition. Much of this year’s Washington story is about Obama aligning the Democratic agenda with the priorities […] Read more »
Half Still Have No View on Effect of Sequestration
Americans’ views of the budget sequestration have changed little since the cuts went into effect more than a month ago, despite the increased discussion of the effect on government employees and the decisions on the part of some officials to voluntarily return part of their pay as a result. Currently, […] Read more »