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 »
Hillary Clinton Is Still Popular, More So Than Obama, Biden
Though currently she is — at least temporarily — out of political life, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continues to enjoy a strong favorability rating, now 64%. Americans view Clinton more favorably than the president and vice president, as well as Clinton’s successor, Secretary of State John Kerry. […] Read more »
Obama Job Approval Back Up to 50% Level Last Week
Aided by a mini-rally as the Boston police tracked down the two Boston marathon bombing suspects, President Barack Obama’s job approval averaged 50% last week, the first time it has been at that level since late February, prior to the federal budget sequester. [cont.] Jeffrey M. Jones, Gallup Recent polls: […] Read more »
Public Pessimism On Economy Is Increasing
For the third year in a row, the nation’s economic recovery has hit a springtime soft spot. Reflecting that weakness, only 1 in 4 Americans now expects his or her own financial situation to improve over the next year, a new Associated Press-GfK poll shows. The sour mood is undermining […] 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 »
Washington’s Trust Deficit
In this town, it should go without saying that the best policy isn’t always the best politics. But, sometimes we need a reminder of just why it is so very hard to get what many see as “common sense” solutions out of Congress. Getting in the way of “Grand Bargains” […] Read more »