Obama’s approval rating grows following memorable week

Could Barack Obama’s great week mark a turning point in his poll numbers? After months of stagnant approval ratings, a new CNN/ORC poll finds that for the first time in more than two years, 50% of Americans approve of the way Obama is handling the presidency. CONT. Jennifer Agiesta, CNN […] Read more »

Why Gun Control and Abortion Are Different From Gay Marriage

The legalization of same-sex marriage is a potent example of a dominant theme in American history: Over time, civil rights expand, and discrimination ebbs. … As a result, it’s fair to divide the major issues in American political life into two broad categories. In one category are the rights-based issues […] Read more »

UT/TT Poll: Texans Wary of Domestic Use of Military

Texas voters think Gov. Greg Abbott was right to send the Texas State Guard to monitor U.S. military exercises here, and they consider federally ordered domestic military intervention likely under certain circumstances, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. CONT. Ross Ramsey, Texas Tribune Read more »

Republicans Tread Carefully in Criticism of Confederate Flag

The massacre of nine African-Americans in a storied Charleston church last week, which thrust the issues of race relations and gun rights into the center of the 2016 presidential campaign, has now resurfaced another familiar and divisive question in the emerging contest for the Republican nomination: what to do with […] Read more »