All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

Americans are overwhelmingly dissatisfied with conditions in the United States today and isolationist sentiments are at an all time high, according to a poll released today by the Pew Research Center.

For the first time in the institute's 45 years conducting the poll, more respondents agreed (49 percent) that the United States "should mind its own business internationally and let other countries get along the best they can on their own" than disagreed (44 percent). A majority, 76 percent, believes that the country should focus more on problems at home and not concentrate as much on international issues.

Andrew Kohut, the president of the Pew Research Center, told the Associated Press in an interview that the "very bad economy" factored heavily in the growth of isolationist sentiment.

The poll also reflects a decidedly pessimistic mood among members of the public: only 25 percent reported feeling satisfied with conditions in America today, and even fewer, 15 percent, said they feel satisfied with conditions in the world.

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A Rasmussen Reports poll out this week finds that 36 percent of American adults now call themselves Democrats – a figure that is down two points from a month ago and one that represents a four-year low.

The percentage that describes themselves as Democrats has fallen five points this year, according to Rasmussen. There are still, according to the poll, more Democrats than Republicans: 33.1 percent of Americans say they are members of the GOP. But the 2.9 point gap between the two is the smallest it has been since December 2007.

The percentage of American adults unaffiliated with either party has increased one-half point from last month. It now stands at 30.8 percent in the poll.

The slide in party identification is not good news for Democrats, including President Obama, who has seen his approval rating fall below 50 percent in Rasmussen polling. The drop comes in part because of increasingly skeptical views of his handling of the war in Afghanistan and health care reform.

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Below, a chart showing public opinion on whether troop levels in Afghanistan should be increased, decreased or held the same over the course of 2009:



Polling Analysis: Afghanistan 2009 Vs. Iraq 2007

Poll: Assessments of Obama's Handling of War

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President Obama is expected to announce that he will send additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan during his address Tuesday night -- something just a third of the public supports.

According to the latest CBS News Poll conducted November 13-15, slightly more, 39 percent, would like to say the number of troops decreased, and 20 percent want troop levels kept the same.

As was the case with the war in Iraq, views on sending more troops are influenced by partisanship: half of Republicans support a troop increase, but just 17 percent of Democrats do. 34 percent of independents think troops should be increased.

The president will need to convince Americans that sending more troops will improve what most Americans consider to be a bad situation there. Sixty-nine percent of Americans told the CBS News Poll that things are going badly for the U.S. in Afghanistan, and just twenty-three percent -- the lowest measured by this poll -- think things are going well.

The CBS Poll -- conducted prior to the president's address about the future course of the war in Afghanistan -- found just 36 percent think additional troops will make things better in Afghanistan, and 22 percent expect more troops to make things worse. Thirty-one percent expect no difference.

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A recent CBS News Poll suggests there may be some cracks in support among a group that was instrumental in bringing Barack Obama to the White House – independents.

According to a CBS News Poll conducted November 13-16, a declining percentage of independents now approve of the way Mr. Obama is handling his overall job as president as well as some key policy areas compared to last month.

Even though more independents continue to approve (45 percent) than disapprove (40 percent) of the president's overall job performance, the percentage that approves is down 7 points from last month, and the number that disapproves is up 5 points.

In February 2009, when CBS News took its first measure of the president's job rating, 56 percent of independents approved of the job he was doing and that number soared to 65 percent as Mr. Obama marked his 100 days in office. Support for the president among independents has mostly declined since then.



The latest CBS News Poll finds that independents give Mr. Obama his lowest approval rating on his handling of Afghanistan. Just 30 percent approve of the way he is handling that conflict, down 14 points from October. In addition, 71 percent of independents think the war is going badly, up from 48 percent in September. Sixty-nine percent of Americans overall say the war in Afghanistan is going badly for the U.S.

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More Americans than ever believe the war in Afghanistan is going badly for the United States, a new CBS News poll finds.

Sixty-nine percent now say things are going badly for the U.S. in Afghanistan, a sharp increase from the 53 percent who said so in September. Just 23 percent say things are going well, down 12 points from September.

The findings reflect the most negative assessment of the war ever measured in CBS News polls.

Special Report: Afghanistan

Assessments have declined in particular among Republicans and independents. In September, 47 percent of Republicans thought the war was going well for the U.S.; that figure has now fallen to 27 percent. Among independents, positive assessments of the war have fallen from 34 percent in September to 21 percent.

The new poll also suggests that Americans have become increasingly skeptical about President Obama's handling of Afghanistan. Just 38 percent now approve of the president's performance on Afghanistan, down from 43 percent in October and 58 percent in April. Forty-three percent disapprove, an increase of nine points from last month.

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The Obama administration appears to be going against public opinion with its decision to try five terrorist suspects – including self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed – in a civilian trial in New York City.

A new CBS News poll finds that only 40 percent of Americans believe suspected terrorists should be tried in an open criminal court. Fifty-four percent say such suspects should be tried in a closed military court.

There is a correlation between where people stand on the trials and their political beliefs. Roughly six in ten Republicans and independents favor closed military trials, while 54 percent of Democrats prefer open civilian trials.

Read the Complete Poll

The suspects have been held at the Guantanamo Bay prison facility, which the Obama administration has promised to close. Americans have become increasingly resistant to doing so, according to the poll: fifty percent now say the facility should be kept open, while 39 percent back the administration's plan to close it.

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A slim majority of Americans believe the U.S. military had information that could have prevented the shootings at Fort Hood Army post, a new CBS News poll finds.

Fifty-one percent of Americans say the military had sufficient information to prevent the shootings, while 29 percent say it did not. Another 20 percent are not sure.

Republicans and independents were slightly more likely than Democrats to say the military had sufficient information, though the percentages were relatively stable across the political spectrum.

Forty-eight percent of Americans – including 65 percent of Republicans – deem the shootings an act of terrorism, while 38 percent say it was not terrorism. Fourteen percent say they don't know if the attack, allegedly carried out by Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was terrorism.

Read the Complete Poll

President Obama spoke at a memorial service for those killed in the attack, and he gets relatively high marks for his performance in the wake of the incident. Fifty-seven percent say they approve of how Mr. Obama dealt with the shootings, while just 18 percent disapprove. One in four aren't sure how they feel.

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Americans would strongly prefer a health care bill that includes a public option to a bill without it, a new CBS News poll shows, and only one in four say their preference is no health care legislation at all.

However, most Americans remain doubtful that the proposals currently before Congress would help them personally, according to the poll, conducted Nov. 13 -16. And amid a debate over restricting abortion coverage in the health care bill, more than half say federal subsidies for health care plans should not be allowed to pay for abortions.


The Public Option

When asked what kind of health care bill Congress should pass, 51 percent of Americans said a bill that contains a government-run health insurance plan, or "public option." Sixteen percent said a bill without a public option, while only 26 percent said they want no bill at all. Seven percent did not know or had no answer.

Democrats (by 72 percent to 13 percent) and independents (by 47 percent to 15 percent) prefer a bill with a public option over a bill without one. Among Republicans, just 23 percent want a public option, 20 percent want a bill without it, and 51 percent want no health care reform bill at all.

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She may be among the biggest names in politics at the moment, but former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is not exactly America's sweetheart.

Just 23 percent of those surveyed in a new CBS News poll have a favorable view of the former Alaska governor. That matches her favorable rating in July, when Palin announced she was resigning from her job as governor.

Thirty-eight percent, meanwhile, have an unfavorable view of Palin -- also roughly matching her July rating. Another 37 percent say they are undecided or haven't heard enough, despite the spotlight on Palin in recent days tied to the imminent publication of her memoir, "Going Rogue."

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