Obama hits another new low on Rasmussen Reports

Whitman surges to 8 point lead over Brown for CA governor

The tie is broken for now, with Republican Meg Whitman, coming off last weekend’s state GOP Convention, moving out to her best showing yet in the race to be the next governor of California.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in California finds Whitman earning 48% support, while Democrat Jerry Brown picks up 40% of the vote. Six percent (6%) prefer some other candidate in the race, and six percent (6%) are undecided.

These new numbers move California from a Toss-Up to Leans GOP in the Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 Gubernatorial Scorecard.

Early this month, Brown was slightly ahead 43% to 41% in a contest that has been neck and neck since last September. Brown, currently the state’s attorney general, bounced briefly ahead immediately following the state Democratic Convention in April, but the race tightened again in June after Whitman's Republican primary win.

66% say U.S. on wrong track

Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Likely Voters say the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken the week ending Sunday, August 22.

While up a point from last week, confidence in the nation’s current course has ranged from 27% to 35% since last July.

Following Congress' passage of the national health care bill in late March, the number of voters who said the country was heading in the right direction peaked at 35%, largely due to a surge of enthusiasm by Democrats. It was the highest level of optimism measured since early September 2009.

Fifty-four percent (54%) of Democrats now feel the country is heading in the right direction. Ninety-one percent (91%) of Republicans and 72% of voters not affiliated with either political party feel the country is heading down the wrong track.

Sixty-six percent (66%) of all voters say the country is heading down the wrong track, down one point from last week. Following passage of the health care bill, this number dropped to 60% but has since returned to levels found prior to the passage of the bill.

48% view Obama's views as extreme, whatever that means

Forty-eight percent (48%) of U.S. voters now regard President Obama’s political views as extreme. Forty-two percent (42%) place his views in the mainstream, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

By comparison, 51% see the views of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as mainstream. Thirty-five percent (35%) think Clinton’s views are extreme. Fourteen percent (14%) are undecided.

Among five top contenders for the White House in 2012, only former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is viewed as more extreme than the president. Just 38% say Palin’s views are mainstream, while 55% regard them as extreme.

Mitt Romney, the ex-Massachusetts governor who unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, is considered mainstream by 45% and extreme by 33%. Twenty-two percent (22%), however, are not sure about his views.

Forty-four percent (44%) say the views of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, another unsuccessful 2008 GOP hopeful, are in the mainstream. Thirty-eight percent (38%) think Huckabee is extreme, and another 18% are not sure.

It’s important to note that the questions did not define “mainstream” or “extreme.”

Feds anger 83% of normal people, but only 8% of political class

With midterm elections less than three months away, nearly two-out-of-three U.S. voters (65%) remain at least somewhat angry at the current policies of the federal government, including 40% who are Very Angry.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters nationwide finds that just 30% are not angry at the government, with 13% who are Not At All Angry.

In surveys since last September, those angry at the government have ranged from 66% to 75%. Those who are Very Angry have run from 33% to 46%.

Yet while 83% of Mainstream voters are angry at the government’s policies, 92% of those in the Political Class are not.

But 59% of all voters also continue to feel that neither Republican nor Democratic political leaders have a good understanding of what is needed today. This finding has not changed in nearly a year. Twenty-six percent (26%) disagree with that assessment, and another 15% are not sure.

Still, most voters believe the Democratic congressional agenda is extreme, while a plurality describe the Republican agenda as mainstream. Most voters also believe it is at least somewhat likely that Republicans will win control of both houses of Congress in the upcoming elections, and nearly half say there will a noticeable change in the lives of Americans if this happens.

40% see conservatism as cool; 39% see liberalism as uncool

Just 26% of voters think Obama shares the same political views they have. Twenty-three percent (23%) believe that of Democrats in Congress. The good news for Democrats is that only 26% also think the average Republican in Congress has about the same views politically as they do.

When it comes to the average GOP congressman, 42% of voters believe the GOP representatives are more conservative than they are while 24% say the GOP office holders are more liberal.

What’s in a political label? Forty percent (40%) of voters view being described politically as a conservative as a positive description, while 16% see it as a negative. By comparison, 14% say being described as a political liberal is a positive, but 39% see it as a negative description.

These findings comes at the same time that 57% of voters believe the Democratic congressional agenda is extreme, while a plurality (45%) describes the Republican agenda as mainstream.

Snyder leads Bernero by 12 points in Michigan governor contest

Republican Rick Snyder starts the general election campaign with a double-digit lead over Democrat Virg Bernero in the first Rasmussen Reports survey of the Michigan governor’s race following Tuesday’s party primaries.

Snyder earns 49% of the vote, while Bernero, currently the mayor of Lansing, picks up 37% support. Three percent (3%) favor some other candidate in the race, and 11% remain undecided.

In early June, Snyder posted a 42% to 30% lead over Bernero, who defeated state House Speaker Andy Dillon to claim his party’s nomination. Snyder, a wealthy businessman, claimed the GOP nomination by defeating Congressman Peter Hoekstra and state Attorney General Mike Cox.

Eighty-six percent (86%) of Republicans now support Snyder, while 79% of Democrats favor Bernero. Voters not affiliated with either major party prefer the Republican by better than three-to-one.

Sixty percent (60%) of Michigan’s voters now rate the economy as poor. Just five percent (5%) think it is good or excellent. Bleak as these numbers are, just 28% believe the economy is getting better, but 42% say it is getting worse.

Sixty-six percent (66%) of voters who think the economy is improving prefer Bernero. Fifty-nine percent (59%) of those who say it’s getting worse favor Snyder.

Perhaps tellingly, Barack Obama carried Michigan with 57% of the vote in the 2008 election, but just 46% now approve of his performance as president. Fifty-four percent (54%) disapprove. This is comparable to Obama’s approval ratings nationally in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

Rasmussen: 54% oppose stealth jihad's Ground Zero mosque

According to a new national poll by Rasmussen, those who are aware of the proposed mosque at Ground Zero oppose it by a 54 to 20 percent margin. This is an even more dramatic degree of opposition than that established earlier this month by a Quinnipiac University poll conducted in New York City which found 52% to 31% opposed.

It seems a safe bet that these numbers will become more pronounced over time as Americans learn that the driving force behind the Ground Zero Mosque, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, adheres to the same intolerant, supremacist agenda as did the perpetrators of the 9/11 attack. The authorities of Islam call it “Shariah.”

It turns out that there is no difference between Rauf’s agenda and al Qaeda’s; they both want to bring Shariah to America. They apparently disagree only on the techniques by which that is to be accomplished.

For al Qaeda and its ilk, the preferred means is through terrifying violence. For the likes of Rauf, it is through dawa – the “stealth jihad” of proselytization, recruitment and indoctrination that enable the penetration of Western societies and the conduct of aggressive influence operations to create beachheads for Shariah and, ultimately, its triumph. The latter is best described by the Muslim Brotherhood’s mission statement: “…Eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and ‘sabotaging’ its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.”

That Shariah-dictated stealth jihadist program would appear to be consistent with Imam Rauf’s agenda according to a preeminent Islamic scholar, Andrew Bostom. Bostom published an op.ed. in the New York Post yesterday in which he cites a landmark study issued in August 2007 by the New York Police Department (NYPD) entitled “Radicalization in the West – The Homegrown Threat.”

Bostom specifically warned New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly that, “Imam Feisal Rauf, the central figure in the coterie planning a huge mosque just off Ground Zero, is a full-throated champion of the very same Muslim theologians and jurists [among them prominent figures in the Saudi Arabian application of Shariah known as Wahhabism] identified in a landmark NYPD report as central to promoting the Islamic religious bigotry that fuels modern jihad terrorism.” He added: “The report noted that Saudi ‘Wahhabi’ scholars feed the jihadist ideology, legitimizing an ‘extreme intolerance’ toward non-Muslims, especially Jews, Christians and Hindus. In particular, the [NYPD] analysts noted that the ‘journey’ of radicalization that produces homegrown jihadis often begins in a Wahhabi mosque.”

In short, the Muslim Brotherhood’s stealth jihad aimed at furthering Shariah’s penetration of the West not only complements the violent jihadists’ efforts – it feeds into them.

Almost 6 out of 10 embarrassed by America's politicians

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 26% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-three percent (43%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -17 (see trends).

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of voters are embarrassed by the behavior of America’s Political Class.

Thirty-one percent (31%) believe the United States is generally heading in the right direction. At the same time, investor confidence has fallen to a new 2010 low and 51% of investors report their personal finances are getting worse.

Poll: 61% of Americans favor Arizona-style immigration law

Voters by a two-to-one margin oppose the U.S. Justice Department’s decision to challenge the legality of Arizona’s new immigration law in federal court. Sixty-one percent (61%), in fact, favor passage of a law like Arizona’s in their own state, up six points from two months ago.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 28% of voters agree that the Justice Department should challenge the state law. Fifty-six percent (56%) disagree and another 16% are not sure.

These findings are unchanged from late May when the possibility of such a challenge first surfaced in news reports.

Eighty-six percent (86%) of all Likely Voters say the immigration issue is at least somewhat important to how they will vote for Congress this November, with 55% who say it is Very Important.

Obama approval index hits new low at Rasmussen Reports

Republican Angle's lead over Harry Reid grows to 11 points

Sharron Angle, following her come-from-behind Republican Primary win Tuesday, has bounced to an 11-point lead over Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada’s closely-watched U.S. Senate race.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Nevada, taken Wednesday night, shows Angle earning 50% support while Reid picks up 39% of the vote. Five percent (5%) like some other candidate, and six percent (6%) are undecided.

A month ago, Angle led Reid 48% to 40% but ran poorest against the incumbent of the three GOP primary hopefuls as she has for months.

Obama hits lowest approval level in Rasmussen poll

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows that 23% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-five percent (45%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -22. That’s the lowest Approval Index rating yet measured for this president (see trends).

Enthusiasm for the president among Democrats, which bounced following passage of the health care law, has faded again. Just 48% of those in the president’s party now Strongly Approve of Obama’s performance. That’s down from 65% earlier.

Among men, 20% Strongly Approve and 50% Strongly Disapprove. Among women, those numbers are 27% and 40% (see other recent demographic highlights).

Rasmussen: 63% favor repeal of Obamacare

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 25% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-three percent (43%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -18 (see trends).
Following passage of health care, enthusiasm for the president among Democrats soared. Today, however, just 49% of Democrats Strongly Approve of Obama’s performance. That’s down from a high of 65%. It remains to be seen whether this is a temporary aberration or the beginning of a lasting change.

Sixty-three percent (63%) of voters nationwide favor repeal of the health care law. That’s the highest level of support for repeal yet measured.

The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the number who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve. It is updated daily at 9:30 a.m. Eastern (sign up for free daily e-mail update). Updates are also available on Twitter and Facebook.

Overall, 44% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president's performance. Fifty-four percent (55%) disapprove. The Rasmussen Reports Media Meter shows that media coverage of the President has been 51% positive over the past week.

Just 27% are even somewhat confident that Congress knows what it’s doing when addressing that nation’s economic challenges. That figure includes only 6% who are Very Confident that Congress knows what it’s doing.

41% say random selection would produce a better Congress

The latest national telephone survey of Likely Voters finds that 41% say a group of people selected at random from the phone book would do a better job addressing the nation’s problems than the current Congress. Almost as many (38%) disagree, however, and another 20% are undecided.

These findings show little change from early January and early September 2009. However, the number of voters who feel a random selection could do better is up eight points from early October 2008, just before the presidential election.

Yet while 57% of Mainstream voters think a random selection from the phone book would do a better job than the current Congress, 90% of the Political Class disagree.

Only 32% of all voters are at least somewhat confident that their representatives in Congress have the voters' best interests in mind. Sixty-six percent (66%) don't share the confidence, down 10 points from October 2008.

Again, while 79% of the Political Class are confident that their members of Congress do have their best interests at heart, 84% of Mainstream voters don't see it that way.

Independent Crist now leads in Florida Senate race with 38%; Rubio 34%

The Florida Senate race appears to be a whole new ballgame with Republican Governor Charlie Crist’s decision to run as an independent.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Florida Voters finds Crist earning 38% support to Republican Marco Rubio’s 34% and Democrat Kendrick Meek’s 17%. Eleven percent (11%) are undecided.

Two weeks ago, before Crist announced his decision to run as an independent candidate, Rubio held a seven point advantage in the race.

Since then, Crist has gained eight (8) percentage points in the poll while Rubio and Meek have each dropped three (3) points. It remains to be seen if this is a temporary bounce or a lasting change in the race.

Crist, who announced his decision to run as an independent last Thursday, is now once again embracing President Obama’s economic stimulus plan, a move that first got him in trouble in the Republican Party. He’s also clearly courting Democrats who have been less than enthusiastic to date about Meek’s candidacy

Dems face election routs in Illinois and Nevada

From Rasmussen:

Illinois Senate: Kirk (R) 46%, Giannoulias (D) 38%

Illinois Governor: Brady (R) 45%, Quinn (D) 38%

Nevada Senate: Harry Reid stuck at 40%, loses to all comers

Nevada Governor: Brian Sandoval (R) 53%, Rory Reid (D) 35%

Rasmussen: 58% favor repeal of Obamacare

Three weeks after Congress passed its new national health care plan, support for repeal of the measure has risen four points to 58%. That includes 50% of U.S. voters who strongly favor repeal.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters nationwide finds 38% still oppose repeal, including 32% who strongly oppose it.

For the previous two weeks following passage of the controversial plan, 54% of voters have favored repeal and 42% have opposed it.

But only 38% of voters think it is even somewhat likely that the health care bill will be repealed. Fifty-one percent (51%) see repeal as unlikely,

Those figures include 11% who say it’s very likely to be repealed and 18% who say repeal is not at all likely.

Still, 52% believe the health care plan will be bad for the country.

48% choose Tea Party over Obama on issues

On major issues, 48% of voters say that the average Tea Party member is closer to their views than President Barack Obama. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 44% hold the opposite view and believe the president’s views are closer to their own.

Not surprisingly, Republicans overwhelmingly feel closer to the Tea Party and most Democrats say that their views are more like Obama’s. Among voters not affiliated with either major political party, 50% say they’re closer to the Tea Party while 38% side with the President.

The partisan divide is similar to that found in the President’s Job Approval Ratings and on the Generic Congressional Ballot.

“Unaffiliated voters are continuing the pattern they established in 2006 and 2008 of opposing the party in power,” notes Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports. In his new book, Scott makes the case that “the American people don’t want to be governed from the left, the right, or the center. They want to govern themselves.”

Voters trust GOP more on 9 out of 10 issues

Voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats on nine out of 10 key issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports, but the gap between the two parties has grown narrower on several of them.

Following the passage of the health care bill, 53% now say they trust Republicans on the issue of health care. Thirty-seven percent (37%) place their trust in Democrats. A month earlier, the two parties were essentially even on the health care issue.

These results are consistent with the finding that 54% of voters want the health care bill repealed. Rasmussen Reports is tracking support for repeal on a weekly basis. Still, health care ranks just number five among voters on the list of 10 important issues. The economy remains the top issue of voter concern as it has been for over years.