Fox News Poll: Republicans give Walker top marks, Democrats put Clinton on top

Just average. That’s how American voters rate the 2016 presidential field. The latest Fox News poll asks voters to grade a number of potential contenders based on how well they think they would do as president. Comparing letter grades — like you get in school — gives a different take […] Read more »

The Republican Discovery of the Poor

… The Republican appropriation of leftist populist rhetoric (and even policies) poses a significant threat to liberal prospects in 2016. They plan to bring the fight to the Democrats on their own turf. … Democrats counter this emerging Republican populism with the argument that Republicans have failed to follow up […] Read more »

The Parent Agenda, the Emerging Democratic Focus

… The emerging Democratic agenda is meant to appeal to parents. The policies under discussion — paid family leave; universal preschool; an expanded earned-income tax credit and child tax credit; free community college and perhaps free four-year college in time — are intended both to alleviate the burdens on middle-class […] Read more »

Clinton’s Greatest Political Strength May Be Hiding in Plain Sight

Much of the debate about Hillary Rodham Clinton’s potential appeal to female voters may be focusing on the wrong group of women. Probably the most frequently asked question about Clinton’s possible coalition as a Democratic nominee in 2016 is whether she can win back the working-class white women who have […] Read more »

In Iowa, Republican field wide open as moderates stake their caucus claims

Less than a year before Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses, it appears that every Republican contender is making a serious play to win the state, setting up what is likely to be one of the most active, competitive campaigns here in recent memory. Political observers in Iowa say the field is wide […] Read more »