After splitting evenly two months ago, a majority of Americans now support U.S. air strikes in Iraq – but without additional credit to Barack Obama for ordering them. Support for the military action against Sunni insurgents in Iraq is up by 9 percentage points since June, from 45 to 54 […] Read more »
Nothing Obama and Holder say will change racial debate over Ferguson
… We don’t have to wonder what the reaction would be if Obama talked about the racial components of the events in Ferguson, because we’ve seen it before. There would be an explosive backlash on the right, no matter what Obama actually said. … During the Obama years, the opinions […] Read more »
The mythical swing voter
… The short story is much of the apparent changes in public opinion are actually changes in patterns of nonresponse: When it looked like Romney jumped in popularity, what was really happening was that disaffected Democrats were not responding to the survey while resurgent Republicans were more likely to respond. […] Read more »
America’s political barometer
There is no special insight in saying the American electorate is deeply unhappy with our political leadership, the economy, and the direction of the country. But, as pollsters, we do keep looking to find new and insightful ways to measure this discontent and compare it across time. Even after a […] Read more »
Obama’s vision of a post-racial America looks even more distant than before
… In many ways, Obama’s difficulty in navigating matters of race as president mirrors his struggles in other areas. He has repeatedly and eloquently spoken about race — and his experiences in making his way in the world as the son of a white mother and a Kenyan father — […] Read more »
As World Boils, Fingers Point Obama’s Way
… Americans often think of their president as an all-powerful figure who can command the tides of history — and presidents have encouraged this image over the years because the perception itself can be a form of power. But as his critics have made the case that Mr. Obama’s mistakes […] Read more »