In a time of political polarization, one thing still unites left, right and center: the disdain people have for Washington, their elected leaders and the political system. Everywhere people look, there are reasons to feel shut out, manipulated or deprived of the whole truth. Big money permeates political campaigns. Political […] 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 »
CNN Poll: Romney tops Obama but loses to Clinton
If a rematch of the 2012 presidential election were held today, GOP nominee Mitt Romney would top President Barack Obama in the popular vote, according to a new national survey. But a CNN/ORC International poll also indicates that if Romney changes his mind and runs again for the White House, […] Read more »
‘Takers’ just as likely to vote Republican as ‘makers,’ data show
… Now comes a new paper from Dean Lacy of Dartmouth College, which aims to answer the question of whether the “takers” do indeed vote Democratic no matter what. The short answer is a qualified ‘no’: “benefiting from government spending has no effect on the probability of voting for Obama […] Read more »
Is Obama the Worst President of the Modern Era?
I’ve received several requests to post something about this Quinnipiac survey of American adults released yesterday in which 33% of respondents say Barack Obama is the worst president among the 12 who have served since World War II. That tops the list of worst presidents, beating even former president George […] Read more »
Questions for the GOP’s 2016 field of candidates
Texas Gov. Rick Perry once famously described the 2012 Republican presidential field as the “weakest . . . in history.” Republicans expect better things in 2016, but today there are as many question marks as exclamation points behind the names of their prospective candidates. … The Republican nomination contest is unsettled and […] Read more »