Public Opinion Strategies

Since 2005, Public Opinion Strategies has read and coded every gubernatorial state of the state speech to track emerging issues. (Yes, it’s a long and tedious job, but someone has to do it!)  All the speeches for 2010 have now been given and so it’s time to assess what’s important in the states and what [...] Read more

Prior to the passage of health care reform the big question on everyone’s mind was whether signing the legislation into law would give President Obama and the Democrats the boost they need to get back on track this year.     
It’s been just over two weeks, and clearly the answer to that is a resounding “no.”
The President [...] Read more

Alex Bratty authored an article, “What Do Hispanics — and All Voters — Want?” on Pajamas Media today. 
The piece takes a looks at the some of the data from the latest survey released by Resurgent Republic, and identifies some of the key opportunities for Republicans to improve their standing with Hispanic voters. Read more

Recently, I wrote about the political gravity President Obama has been experiencing during his first year in office.  Indeed, as we’ve seen in all the polls approval ratings for him and his party have steadily declined since he assumed office in February 2009.
A key part of why the public has soured on the new President [...] Read more

Although the President told us a few months ago that his focus would be fully on the country’s economy and reining in government spending, here we are again consumed by the health care debate.  What gives?
Certainly, the President and Democrats are devoting some time to dealing with economy and the federal budget deficit…but, not enough. [...] Read more

When President Obama took office in January 2009 he enjoyed soaring job approval and favorable image scores. But, as time has passed the laws of political gravity have taken hold as we have watched ratings for him and his party steadily decline throughout his first year in office.
Now, as we’re settling into 2010 we’re seeing [...] Read more

As President Obama prepares to deliver his first State of the Union address this evening, his team might want to consult our latest NBC/WSJ poll* since it paints a pretty clear picture of what the public thinks he should be spending his time on.
A majority of Americans tell us he is giving too little attention [...] Read more

This weekend on CNN’s State of the Union with John King, Christina Romer, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said she expects the economy to get better by the spring and that she thought this was a “realistic estimate.”
I sure hope she’s right about that, but unfortunately with the unemployment rate stuck [...] Read more

The New Year has brought with it a flurry of announcements from Democrats who say they’d rather retire than fight on in 2010. Hardly a surprise when you consider the public sentiment we’re measuring in the NBC/WSJ poll.
Over the course of 2009 the image of the Democratic Party slipped steadily from an 18-point net positive [...] Read more

President Obama announced on Tuesday that the government is going to spend more money to create new jobs.  No doubt, with unemployment still over the double-digit threshold we certainly need new jobs – but is more spending by the government really the answer?
Not according to the public in a slew of recently released public polls: Read more

Six-in-ten Americans think [...] Read more