All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

The Supreme Court today ruled in favor of white firefighters in the closely watched New Haven, Conn., case, finding that they were unfairly denied promotion.

With that in mind, we took a look at recent polling on the public's opinion about affirmation action, which shows that slightly more Americans favor than oppose affirmative action generally.

In this particular case, the group of white firefighters, the plaintiffs, believed they were discriminated against when the city of New Haven threw out the results of an exam because too few minorities scored high enough.

A CBS News/New York Times Poll, conducted June 12-16, found 50 percent in favor of programs that make special efforts to help minorities get ahead, with 41 percent opposed. For over a decade more Americans have favored affirmative action programs than opposed them.


Six in ten Republicans oppose such programs, while 67 percent of Democrats favor them. Independents are divided, with 44 percent in favor and 46 percent opposed.

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Health care reform has been a priority for President Obama, who promised to make significant changes to the country’s health care system while campaigning for the presidency. It is also a high priority for Americans; in a CBS News/New York Times Poll conducted in April 2009, it was cited as the most important domestic issue facing the country other than the economy.

Most Americans think health care needs no less than a major overhaul. A late April CBS News/New York Times Poll found 49% of the public saying it had some good elements but needed fundamental changes, and another 38% felt there is so much wrong with it that it needs to be completely rebuilt. Just 12% thought it works pretty well and only minor changes are necessary. Americans have expressed similar views since the early 1990s, when the question was first asked by the CBS News Poll.

U.S. HEALTHCARE SYSTEM NEEDS:
(CBS News/New York Times Poll, April 2009)
12% Minor changes
49% Fundamental changes
38% Rebuilding

Criticism of the current health care system is non-partisan, shared by Republicans, Democrats and independents alike.

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CBS News and the New York Times released several polls tonight in conjunction with President Obama's first 100 days in office.

Here are links to our stories on the polls:

100 Days In, High Marks For Obama

Blacks See Improved Race Relations

Support For Same Sex Marriage Grows

Public Does Not Want Torture Probe

CBSNews.com Editor-In-Chief Daniel Farber discussed the findings with CBS News director of Surveys Sarah Dutton. You can watch the video below.

A sizable portion of the nearly $800 billion economic stimulus bill passed earlier this year will go toward government spending in transportation, health care, the environment and other areas.

In the wake of these massive expenditures and the current economic downturn, Americans are once again engaged in the longstanding debate over the size and role of government. Have the recession and financial tough times caused Americans to embrace a larger government that provides more services to its people, or are there fears about increased government spending, as reflected in the views of some of the tea party attendees last week?

According to CBS News Polls, Americans’ views on the size of government they prefer have not changed much recently. Opinion on this issue is relatively stable, and has been for many years. It is however, marked by a wide partisan divide.

In early April, a CBS News/New York Times Poll found that 48 percent of Americans said they would choose a “smaller government providing fewer services,” while slightly fewer, 41 percent, said they would opt for a “bigger government providing more services.”

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This post was written by Sarah Dutton and Jennifer De Pinto.

There has been talk recently about the possibility of nationalizing ailing U.S. banks, especially as the government’s ownership stake rises with additional bailout money. Americans overwhelmingly reject government ownership and control of the banks, but that notion received a lukewarm reception even in the midst of the Great Depression.

In a CBS News Poll conducted in early February, Americans said they trusted the federal government (54 percent) more than the financial institutions (27 percent) when it comes to deciding how bailout money should be spent.

But the public stopped short of endorsing a government takeover of the nation’s banks -- in fact, most opposed it. In that poll, 76 percent of Americans said the government should not own and control the banks, and just 14 percent thought the government should do that.

Interestingly, back in 1937 when the country was still mired in the Great Depression, a Gallup poll asked the same question and found that while there was more support for government control of the nation’s banks than there is now, Americans were divided about it even then.



That question asked about the government "owning and controlling" the banks, without mentioning "nationalization." There is evidence suggesting that including the word "nationalization" in a poll question makes a real difference in how Americans react to the idea.

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The war in Afghanistan rivals the war in Iraq as a top foreign policy concern, according to a CBS News/New York Times Poll conducted in February 2009. That poll found Americans almost as likely to choose the war in Afghanistan as the war in Iraq for the foreign policy area that the public wants the President and Congress to concentrate on most.





Afghanistan is a priority for more Democrats than Republicans. President Obama has drawn attention to the war there in recent weeks, and the war in Iraq has long been unpopular with Democrats.

In addition, a growing percentage of Americans thinks the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan should be increased, even as most also say it’s important to bring troops home from Iraq. Forty-two percent think troops in Afghanistan should be increased, up from 34 percent in January.

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