Public Opinion Strategies

While my post yesterday (http://pos.org/2013/05/coming-soon-the-role-of-06-president-bush-to-be-played-by-barack-obama/ ) centered on how President Obama’s second term in office is shaping up to be a sequel of his predecessor’s, there’s a ton of evidence suggesting that the coming attractions of the 2014 mid-term election cycle could mirror what happened in 2006. While Democrats may get excited about watching a [...] Read more

Three scandals are currently plaguing the Obama Administration, The IRS targeting of Tea Party and other conservative groups during the 2012 election, the misrepresentation of facts and editing of talking points regarding a 9/11/2012 terrorist attack on the US consulate in Benghazi that killed four Americans, and the Department of Justice’s subpoena of AP phone [...] Read more

The storyline begins with an embattled President narrowly defeating a Massachusetts politico, going on to claim a mandate from the American people for his policies and programs. The first time that happened, then-President Bush spent the initial part of his second term trying to reform Social Security, even though voters’ top priority for the government [...] Read more

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post today in loving memory of Stephen M. Kinney, my mentor and my friend.  As anyone who knew him well could tell you, Steve was fiercely passionate in all that he did.  He was passionate in his love for his wife Cindy.  He was passionate [...] Read more

The partners of Public Opinion Strategies are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our friend and partner, Steve Kinney.  Steve died May 19, 2013 at the age of 69 from cancer in hospice care at his home in Redondo Beach, California.  Steve had long been a leading consultant in California Republican politics. Steve loved [...] Read more

While the academic year is drawing to a close in schools across the country, Americans are not ready to let Congress and the president take a vacation from the issue of education reform.  In a new Gallup study conducted May 4-5, eight-in-ten (81%) adults say “improving the quality of education received by American school children” [...] Read more

During the 2012 election, one of the perceived advantages President Obama held over Mitt Romney was the president’s seemingly firm grasp of foreign policy issues.  During the summer months of the campaign, fully 47% of voters felt President Obama was better equipped to handle foreign affairs issues compared to 32% for Romney according to a [...] Read more

With the recent bombing in Boston, terrorism has returned to the forefront of American minds.  But did the horror of last month’s attack have the effect of making Americans more worried about becoming a victim of terrorism themselves?  Fortunately, there is historical data available to answer that question.  Many thanks to the public opinion archives [...] Read more

With the flurry of media attention surrounding the Gang of Eight releasing the details of its bipartisan immigration reform bill a couple weeks ago, immigration reform has once again moved to the front-burner of American political discourse.  Catchphrases such as “securing our borders” and “providing a pathway to citizenship” have been used so much in [...] Read more

This is the first in a series of posts on a survey of 3,103 18-29 year-olds conducted by the Harvard Institute of Politics and Knowledge Networks. The survey was conducted March 20, 2013 – April 8, 2013. President Obama’s approval rating with 18-29 year olds is 52% approve/46% disapprove. This is marginally better than his [...] Read more