[mikema63]

The current polling average has him under by ten points. If you want to quible.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls ... -5493.html

[Drlee]

I was looking forward to the Rasmussen polls this week. I wanted to see how they would put lipstick on this pig of a week.

The republicans (my party) are in complete disarray. I hope they get their act together soon. For the good of the country.

[Doug64]

I was looking forward to the Rasmussen polls this week. I wanted to see how they would put lipstick on this pig of a week.

Here you go. But I'm afraid you're going to be a bit disappointed, thanks to the timing.

Here's this week's round-up of polls. Anyone that wants to check out any possible links over the next week can go to the link to the left. (Anyone wanting more details on a particular poll, just ask):

Business executive Donald Trump is used to making decisions. President Trump is learning politics is a more collaborative process.

On the executive level, the new president can order the go-ahead for the Keystone XL pipeline which has long been delayed for political reasons. Most voters have supported the Keystone project for years.

But when it comes to the repeal and replacement of Obamacare, House Republicans are a house divided. At this writing, despite Trump’s ultimatum to pass Speaker Paul Ryan’s proposed replacement for the health care law, passage by the House GOP appears unlikely. Still, most voters believe big changes in the health care law are likely in the next few months.

Yet while a sizable majority has long favored changes in the law, 52% of voters now worry the president and congressional Republicans will change it too much. Thirty-six percent (36%) are more concerned that they’ll change the health care law too little.

Over in the Senate, even though appellate court Judge Neil Gorsuch sailed through his confirmation hearing this week, Republicans may be forced to change the rules to ensure the confirmation of Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee. Voters remain confident, though, that Gorsuch will be confirmed and think opposition to his nomination is driven more by politics than concerns about his judicial thinking.

The president’s team hopes to get a major tax reform initiative through Congress by August, but Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has already indicated that may not be possible. Most voters have said for years that they prefer a smaller government with fewer services and lower taxes over one with more services and higher taxes.

The United States has the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world, and Trump hopes to cut that as part of his tax reform effort. Voters tend to see cutting the corporate tax rate as an economic plus but are evenly divided over his plan to cut it by over half.

Seventy percent (70%) believe the unwillingness of politicians to cut government spending is more to blame for the size of the federal deficit than taxpayer’s unwillingness to pay more in taxes.

The president is also proposing major cuts in foreign aid. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of voters believe the $42.4 billion the U.S. government is slated to give in economic and military aid to other countries this year is too much.

Trump has proposed the cuts to help fund a big increase in defense spending and the repair and replacement of infrastructure nationwide. Most voters agree that any new spending must be offset by budget cuts elsewhere.

Trump is expected to dismantle former President Obama’s climate change policies, but voters think the government isn't doing enough about the problem.

Forty-seven (47%) of voters believe America’s intelligence agencies have their own political agenda.

The rape of a 14-year-old girl in a Maryland suburban high school by two older students who were in this country illegally has moved the sanctuary city debate back on the front burner. Most voters don’t want to live in a community that shields illegal immigrants from the government, and many question the safety of such communities.

The Trump administration is turning up the heat on sanctuary cities. Fifty-two percent 52% of voters believe the federal government should cut off funds to cities that provide sanctuary for illegal immigrants.

Americans continue to feel that too many people are getting financial help from the government and that anti-poverty programs just make the problem worse.

Most Americans think welfare programs in this country are being abused. Florida has recently proposed a bill that would cut food stamp eligibility for hundreds of thousands of residents, and a sizable number of Americans agree that food stamps are too easy to come by.

Is the auto industry poised for a good year? Thirty-eight percent (38%) of Americans are likely to buy or lease a car in the next year. That’s the highest finding in years.

Forty percent (40%) of voters say the United States is headed in the right direction. That’s the lowest weekly finding since Trump took office January 20, but it compares to 26% a year ago.

The new president’s job approval ratings were in the mid- to high 40s at the end of the week.

In other surveys last week:

-- Fifty-six percent (56%) of Americans think when it comes to team sports for children, it’s more important to reward the winners than to make sure everyone is recognized for participating.

-- While ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft are gaining popularity - and notoriety - across the country, the vast majority of Americans say they seldom, if ever, use either service.

-- Last summer when Uber announced that it was launching a test program of driverless cars in Pittsburgh, 17% said they would hire a self-driving car through a service like that.

-- Spring has sprung, and most Americans are in a better mood.

[Drlee]

The president’s team hopes to get a major tax reform initiative through Congress by August, but Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has already indicated that may not be possible. Most voters have said for years that they prefer a smaller government with fewer services and lower taxes over one with more services and higher taxes.

The problem is not that the people want cuts it is that the republicans want to cut stuff the people want. Sesame Street and Meals-on-wheels? The people do not want the books balanced on the backs of the poor and middle class.


The United States has the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world, and Trump hopes to

cut that as part of his tax reform effort. Voters tend to see cutting the corporate tax rate as an economic plus but are evenly divided over his plan to cut it by over half.

This is a modern fiction. Once the normal deductions against our corporate taxes are taken, the US is not particularly higher than others.

Seventy percent (70%) believe the unwillingness of politicians to cut government spending is more to blame for the size of the federal deficit than taxpayer’s unwillingness to pay more in taxes.

Interesting choice of words. You do know that this statement argues against tax cuts. Right?

The president is also proposing major cuts in foreign aid. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of voters believe the $42.4 billion the U.S. government is slated to give in economic and military aid to other countries this year is too much.

I agree. Turkey, for example should get nothing. Afghanistan, Pakhistan, Egypt and Iraq. Not a cent IMO. Israel gets too much .

Trump has proposed the cuts to help fund a big increase in defense spending and the repair and replacement of infrastructure nationwide. Most voters agree that any new spending must be offset by budget cuts elsewhere.

But as we know the devil is in the details. This kind of question is absolutely meaningless unless you identify what cuts and who you are asking.

Trump is expected to dismantle former President Obama’s climate change policies, but voters think the government isn't doing enough about the problem.

And there is a perfect example.

Forty-seven (47%) of voters believe America’s intelligence agencies have their own political agenda.

And they are idiots.

The rape of a 14-year-old girl in a Maryland suburban high school by two older students who were in this country illegally has moved the sanctuary city debate back on the front burner. Most voters don’t want to live in a community that shields illegal immigrants from the government, and many question the safety of such communities.

Another idiotic but common misconception. Sanctuary cities do not shelter anyone against the federal government. They simply do not use their own police for immigration enforcement. For very good reason I might add. Criminal aliens should do time and be deported at the first offense other than minor traffic offenses.

The Trump administration is turning up the heat on sanctuary cities. Fifty-two percent 52% of voters believe the federal government should cut off funds to cities that provide sanctuary for illegal immigrants.

See the above. These voters are being preyed upon by republicans who are deliberately miss-characterizing what sanctuary cities are doing. I will take them seriously when they even breathe a word about workplace enforcement.

Americans continue to feel that too many people are getting financial help from the government and that anti-poverty programs just make the problem worse.

Until they need it. Or their mom gets Alzheimer's and needs a nursing home at $5K per month or more and they get the bill. Again. Do they want to cut school lunches? Do they want to cut kindergarten? Do they want to cut federal aid for vaccinations or child health? It is a meaningless question without asking them which programs. And they do not know that cash welfare programs are state programs.

Most Americans think welfare programs in this country are being abused. Florida has recently proposed a bill that would cut food stamp eligibility for hundreds of thousands of residents, and a sizable number of Americans agree that food stamps are too easy to come by.

And again. They do not realize who is on these programs. They do not know this:

Economic Policy Institute in Washington.

... Cooper said there are 41.2 million working people, or nearly 30 percent of the workforce, receiving public assistance such as food stamps, housing subsidies and cash assistance to make ends meet. Nearly half of those workers, 19.3 million people, had full-time jobs and most were earning less than $12.16 per hour in wages, Cooper wrote in his analysis.

Raise the minimum wage so that someone who is working hard can afford to fucking eat? What a concept.

-- Fifty-six percent (56%) of Americans think when it comes to team sports for children, it’s more important to reward the winners than to make sure everyone is recognized for participating.

That is because these mental midgets are incapable of imagining doing both.

While ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft are gaining popularity - and notoriety - across the country, the vast majority of Americans say they seldom, if ever, use either service.

DUH.

[Doug64]

Here's this week's round-up of polls. Anyone that wants to check out any possible links over the next week can go to the link to the left. (Anyone wanting more details on a particular poll, just ask):

Americans are still sounding more confident than they did for much of the Obama presidency, but how long will it stay that way?

Confidence in the housing market continues to grow among homeowners, with 41% who think their home will be worth more a year from now.

Forty percent (40%) of Americans now expect the economy to be stronger a year from today. That’s down from 50% in January, the highest level of optimism in surveying since January 2009, but the latest finding remains higher than regular results since the fall of 2012.

Thirty-eight percent (38%) of voters think the country is headed in the right direction. This finding continues to fall after reaching a high of 47% just after President Trump’s inauguration in January. It ran in the mid- to high 20s for most of last year, however.

Belief that the United States has the edge in the war on terror remains higher than it has been in several years, while concern about the dangers of domestic Islamic terrorism is down.

They still have doubts, but Americans are more confident these days that they aren't being overtaxed. Still, they’ve slowed down on paying their income taxes with less than a month to go until Tax Day.

Forty-five percent (45%) of Americans believe that compared to people who make more or less than they do, they are paying more than their fair share of taxes.

Most voters continue to think the federal government is too big and too expensive, but most Democrats now disagree.

Republicans (72%) are twice as likely as Democrats (37%) to agree with former President Ronald Reagan that “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Fifty-six percent (56%) of unaffiliated votes share that view.

Voters in general also tend to view illegal immigrants as the source of more major crime and a big drain on taxpayers’ wallets.

The Justice Department has officially announced that sanctuary cities are violating federal laws and could lose billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded grants if they continue to thwart efforts to deport illegal immigrants. Most voters don’t want to live in a sanctuary community, and many question the safety of such communities.

Congressional Democrats already say they will oppose everything that the new president attempts, but most voters think the Republican-Democrat divide is going to get even worse. Just after the presidential election, voters were more hopeful than they’d been in several years that the two major political parties would work together.

Republicans give the president high marks for leadership so far. Democrats and unaffiliated voters don’t and think he’s too confrontational.

The early clashes on Capitol Hill have hurt House Speaker Paul Ryan's popularity and made the Democrats' most visible congressional leader, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, more liked and more disliked.

The president in an executive order signed this week put the emphasis on domestic energy development over concerns about global warming. Most voters have said in regular surveying that the United States does not do enough to develop domestic energy sources.

Voters agreed with Trump’s emphasis on new job creation in his recent speech to Congress. Most say job creation is more important than fighting global warming.

Now the president and congressional Republicans are moving on to tax reform in hopes of making big change by August. Voters tend to see cutting the corporate tax rate as an economic plus but are evenly divided over Trump’s plan to cut it by over half.

In other surveys last week:

-- At week’s end, 43% of voters approved of the job the new president is doing.

-- In response to the growing economy, the Federal Reserve Board is cautiously raising interest rates for the first time in years. Voters are slightly less wary of the economic power the Fed chairman has, but most still think the Fed is too cozy with big banking interests.

[Doug64]

A couple days late, but here's this week's round-up of polls. Anyone that wants to check out any possible links over the next week can go to the link to the left. (Anyone wanting more details on a particular poll, just ask):

President Trump ended the week with a bang – first with an airstrike against a Syrian military airfield suspected of launching a chemical weapons attack and then with the confirmation of his first U.S. Supreme Court nominee.

It’ll be interesting to see if either of these headline events reverses the downward trend in the president’s daily job approval ratings from the high 50s in late January to the mid-40s now.

Trump earned a monthly job approval of 48% in March, down three points from 51% in his first full month in office.

Senate Republicans exercised the so-called "nuclear option" on Friday, reducing the numbers of votes needed to confirm a U.S. Supreme Court nominee to a simple majority, following unified Democratic opposition to Judge Neil Gorsuch. Most voters expected Gorsuch to be confirmed all along and said opposition to Trump's first Supreme Court nominee was driven more by politics than by concerns about his judicial thinking.

Voters think it’s unlikely the president could nominate anyone to the Supreme Court who would appeal to both Republicans and Democrats, but they still don’t like the Senate changing its rules to make it easier for a nominee to be confirmed.

Sixty-nine percent (69%) of Democrats and 54% of unaffiliated voters rate the Republican Congress’ leadership style as too confrontational, but only 31% of GOP voters agree.

Fifty-six percent (56%) of GOP voters say their views are closest to those of the president, while just 25% say they are more in sync with congressional Republicans.

Voters in general think Republicans in Congress are nearly as big a threat to Trump’s agenda as Democrats are.

The two former Presidents Bush and wannabe Jeb Bush have been critical of Trump. Most Democrats think the GOP should be more like the Bush family than like the president, but most Republicans disagree.

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of all voters rated Syria a vital national security interest for the United States in mid-October. We’ll let you know early next week what voters think now following the Syrian government’s chemical attack on civilians and the U.S. military response.

Russia considers Syrian President Bashar al-Assad an ally, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has denounced Trump’s bombing decision. Prior to the Syrian incident, most U.S. voters said Russia is a likely influence on Trump’s foreign policy. A plurality (46%) believes Russia is now a bigger long-term threat to the United States than China.

Still, voters are closely divided over the importance of Congress investigating whether Russia interfered with the last U.S. election, but if it does, they think the Clintons’ ties to the Russians should be part of the probe.

Trade relations between the United States and China were a hot topic at the Thursday/Friday meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Florida. Most voters here think the current trade situation between the two countries is better for China. Only six percent (6%) believe the United States benefits more.

The president has proposed cutting the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency by nearly a third and dismantling nearly all of the Obama-era global warming policies. Most Republicans say creating jobs is more important than stopping global warming; most Democrats disagree. Unaffiliated voters are evenly divided.

In the face of the media’s unrelenting negative coverage of the president, it’s no surprise that Republicans are twice as likely as Democrats to think current media coverage of political issues and events is worse than in the past.

In other surveys last week:

-- Consumers may still be riding the wave of economic enthusiasm since Trump was elected, but that consumer confidence is starting to wane. Still, it’s better than it was in the closing months of the Obama presidency.

-- This loss of confidence parallels similar downturns Rasmussen Reports has seen in the president’s daily job approval ratings and our weekly survey asking voters if the country is headed in the right direction.

-- Fifty-four percent (54%) of Americans think there are too many lawyers in this country. Just 10% say there aren’t enough.

[Doug64]

With Easter here, here's a few questions on what American Adults think of the holiday:

Do you consider Easter to be one of our nation’s most important holidays, least important holidays or somewhere in between?

• Most important holidays: 37%
• Least important holidays: 16%
• Somewhere in between: 45%
• Not sure: 3%

Republicans

• Most important holidays: 53%
• Least important holidays: 13%
• Somewhere in between: 33%
• Not sure: 1%

Independents

• Most important holidays: 27%
• Least important holidays: 14%
• Somewhere in between: 55%
• Not sure: 5%

Democrats

• Most important holidays: 33%
• Least important holidays: 21%
• Somewhere in between: 43%
• Not sure: 3%

Will you attend a Church service to celebrate Easter this year?

• Yes 50%
• No 39%
• Not sure 11%

Republicans

• Yes 70%
• No 23%
• Not sure 8%

Independents

• Yes 37%
• No 47%
• Not sure 16%

Democrats

• Yes 47%
• No 43%
• Not sure 9%

[Doug64]

Here's this week's round-up of polls. Anyone that wants to check out any possible links over the next week can go to the link to the left. (Anyone wanting more details on a particular poll, just ask):

Foreign policy dominated the news cycle for the second straight week, thanks to the chilling relations between the United States and Russia, escalating tensions with North Korea and the U.S. decision to drop the biggest ever conventional bomb on an ISIS enclave in eastern Afghanistan.

Most voters support President Trump’s missile strike last week on a Syrian airfield suspected of housing chemical weapons used by Bashar al-Assad’s regime against civilians. However, they feel further action against the Syrian government should come from the United Nations and not the United States alone.

Russia, a long-time ally of the Syrian regime, opposed last week’s airstrike, and Russian officials gave U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson an icy reception during his first official trip to Moscow this week. President Trump says U.S. relations with Russia are at “an all-time low,” but voters think the United States can still work with Russia on some issues.

Even though they strongly believe the United States and Russia are headed for another Cold War, voters here appear less concerned about the worsening relations between the two countries than they have been in recent years.

Following his first meeting with the Chinese president last week, President Trump reversed his campaign promise to label China as a currency manipulator right away. When it comes to the current trade situation with China, most voters believe it benefits Beijing more than Washington.

Trump added that another reason for his reversal is that he hopes to have China’s support on containing the growing nuclear threat from North Korea. In March, voters said the North Koreans are more eager for a war but weren’t overly enthusiastic about doing something militarily about it.

On the domestic front, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has ordered a review of the reform agreements President Obama's Justice Department required of several urban police departments following high-profile police shootings. Voters think those agreements are unlikely to deter crime and agree with Sessions that they merit a second look.

President Trump has proposed moving toward a merit-based legal immigration system that grants visas based on one’s skill levels rather than their family connections. Republicans and unaffiliated voters like that idea. Democrats prefer keeping the existing family-based system.

Voters still aren’t convinced that senior members of the Obama administration spread secretly obtained information about the incoming president and his team to members of the media. A plurality (47%) agrees, however, that it’s likely Obama or his top aides knew that the nation’s intelligence agencies were spying on the Trump campaign and transition teams.

Voters oppose congressional Republicans’ recent decision to allow Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to sell or share users’ browsing history and other personal information the way Google and Facebook do.

Tomorrow is Easter, and while it may not be the top holiday for Americans, half of them will still honor the holiday in church.

In other surveys this week:

-- The income tax filing deadline is almost here, and voters continue to have an unfavorable opinion of the Internal Revenue Service. Still, they are more confident the agency will fairly enforce tax laws.

-- Even after the shooting and death of an eight-year-old student and a teacher at a school in San Bernardino, California, earlier this week, most Americans still think schools are safe places for children.

-- Sixty-one percent (61%) of Democrats agree with Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez that Trump is not the legitimately elected president.

-- Thirty-six percent (36%) of voters think the United States is headed in the right direction. A year ago, 27% felt that way.

-- Virgin Galactic owner Richard Branson insists he'll have commercial travelers in space by the end of next year, but a trip to space isn’t high on most Americans’ to-do lists.

[Zagadka]

-- Sixty-one percent (61%) of Democrats agree with Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez that Trump is not the legitimately elected president.

I know this isn't a conversation thread, but... WTF?

[Doug64]

I know this isn't a conversation thread, but... WTF?

The way Rasmussen phrased what you quoted from the newsletter overstates the case a bit. The actual question wording and results:

Did Donald Trump win the presidential election fairly last November?

• Yes 55%
• No 33%
• Not sure 11%

Republicans

• Yes 87%
• No 9%
• Not sure 4%

Independents

• Yes 59%
• No 27%
• Not sure 14%

Democrats

• Yes 23%
• No 61%
• Not sure 15%

You can argue what the respondents may have meant is that while the election process was fair, the Trump campaign used dirty tricks to influence how people voted and therefore was not "fairly elected" rather than the Democratic delusion (as exemplified by Tom Perez) that because Trump got less of the popular vote than Clinton he didn't "win the election."

[Doug64]

Here's this week's round-up of polls. Anyone that wants to check out any possible links over the next week can go to the link to the left. (Anyone wanting more details on a particular poll, just ask):

America First was high on the Trump administration’s agenda this past week.

On Tuesday, President Trump signed his latest executive order, this one directing federal agencies to “aggressively promote and use American-made goods and to ensure that American labor is hired to do the job.” Voters are all for the order to “buy American, hire American,” even though many suspect it will cost taxpayers more.

Americans strongly believe in buying things made in the U.S.A., and most don’t think the government protects domestic businesses enough.

Voters agreed with the president’s emphasis on new jobs in his first major speech to Congress earlier this year.

On the foreign relations front, Vice President Mike Pence warned North Korea earlier this week that the U.S. military is ready to respond if that country persists in its nuclear threats against the United States. Most voters view Pence favorably and believe he is qualified to be president.

The new administration is taking a much harder line against North Korea than President Obama did. Voters strongly consider North Korea a danger to the United States and tend to support Trump’s tough response to that country’s nuclear weapons program.

The president’s daily job approval appears to be rebounding. It rose again to the 50% level two days this week after falling to a low of 42% at the beginning of the month. Trump ended the previous week with a strongly supported airstrike against a Syrian military airfield suspected of launching a chemical weapons attack and the confirmation of his first U.S. Supreme Court nominee.

The same pollsters who called the presidential election wrong last November show the president with a worse job approval rating than we do. Rasmussen Reports called it right in November, so you decide who’s got it right now.

Forty-one percent (41%) of voters now think the country is headed in the right direction. That’s a five-point improvement from the week before. Prior to the latest finding, the right direction number had been dropping in recent weeks from the mid-40s following Trump’s inauguration.

Still, with several special congressional elections on the calendar this year, 46% of voters say Trump will hurt Republican candidates running for Congress. But 60% of GOP voters see the president as a boost to their candidates.

Voters also say the current Congress isn't helping the candidates of either major party.

Congress is wrestling with tax reform, and Americans like the idea of a flat tax rate system. But they aren’t ready to eliminate tax deductions even if it means lower tax rates.

Most voters say they want to pay their fair share in taxes. But 45% of Americans still think that they are paying more than their fair share.

Nine-out-of-10 Americans (89%) said they would meet last Tuesday’s deadline for filing their income taxes.

In other surveys last week:

-- United Airlines is in hot water after a video went viral of security forcibly removing a man from a plane to make room for traveling employees. But Americans are more likely to blame the passenger than the airlines for such disputes.

-- Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are more ubiquitous than ever these days, but just 17% of voters think social media has had a good impact on politics in America.

-- Thirty percent (30%) of voters under 40 said last fall that their political opinions are influenced by their family and friends on social media sites.

-- Most Americans say they've done their part to help clean up the environment, but far fewer see Earth Day - celebrated annually on April 22 - as a motivating factor.

[Doug64]

Here's this week's round-up of polls. Anyone that wants to check out any possible links over the next week can go to the link to the left. (Anyone wanting more details on a particular poll, just ask):

Today marks the 100th day of Donald Trump’s presidency. It’s an unofficial and somewhat arbitrary marker held over from the FDR presidency, but one the media and presidential administrations fixate on nonetheless.

Only 29% of Likely U.S. Voters believe Trump’s first 100 days have been a success. Forty-five percent (45%) view his first months in office as a failure, while 25% rate them as somewhere in between. But a closer look finds that 57% of Republicans think Trump’s first 100 days have been successful versus 72% of Democrats who regard them as a failure. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 23% say the president’s first 100 days have been a success, 43% a failure.

Democrats are also unhappy with their own party’s attempts to oppose Trump in his first 100 days.

Trump’s job approval rating in Rasmussen Reports’ Daily Presidential Tracking Poll has ranged from a high of 59% shortly after his January 20 inauguration to a low of 43% in early April. By comparison, President Obama’s daily approval rating was running in the mid-50s at this early stage of his presidency.

Forty-two percent (42%) of voters said the country is heading in the right direction for the week ending April 20. Prior to the previous week, this number had been dropping steadily to new lows for the Trump administration from the mid-40s for the previous four weeks.

It’s no wonder that President Trump is talking about major cuts in the size and reach of the feds. Just 26% trust the federal government to do the right thing most of the time.

Following a spate of violent murders in Long Island suspected to be at the hands of the MS-13 street gang, Attorney General Jeff Sessions pushed for labeling the gang as a terrorist organization in an effort to crack down on illegal immigration. Voters support the move, but aren’t so convinced it will cut down on violent crime in the United States.

The United States dropped their biggest non-nuclear bomb on an ISIS camp in Afghanistan earlier this month, and while nearly half of voters still see the Middle East nation as a national security interest, they’re not convinced the situation there is likely to change.

Most Americans worry that France is losing the fight against radical Islamic terrorism and think the United States and the rest of the world needs to get involved to help turn the tide.

Americans doubt that Europe can ever completely defeat the scourge of terrorism, and many have changed their travel plans accordingly.

In other surveys last week:

-- On Monday, Arkansas conducted the nation’s first double execution since 2000. Most Americans still support the death penalty, although only 35% think it actually helps to deter crime.

-- Gun sales in the United States are down since Trump took office even though Americans now think it’s easier to get a gun than it used to be.

-- A radio host recently claimed Senator Bernie Sanders is the most popular politician in America today and would have defeated Trump by a landslide in the presidential election had he been the Democratic nominee. The independent Senator ran on a Democratic socialist platform, but despite his political popularity, voters don’t share his economic views.

-- With Earth Day just behind us and Arbor Day ahead, most voters think the environment in this country is doing well.

[Doug64]

Here's this week's round-up of polls. Anyone that wants to check out any possible links over the next week can go to the link to the left. (Anyone wanting more details on a particular poll, just ask):

The unemployment rate on Friday fell to a 10-year low, but Americans still suspect there’s more to be done.

College graduation season is upon us, but 71% think the new graduates will have a hard time finding a job. However, just 29% believe they have marketable skills.

Of course, it doesn’t help that many graduates are coming out of schools where Americans suspect free speech is a thing of the past. It’s tough to deal with challenges in the workplace if you can’t deal with challenges to your own opinions.

President Trump is proposing the biggest overhaul of the U.S. tax code in decades. Voters agree cutting taxes is a good economic move but worry the president and Congress may cut too much.

The United States has the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world. While voters tend to favor cutting it, they are evenly divided over Trump’s plan to cut the corporate tax rate by over half.

Voters are more receptive to the president’s proposal to kill the federal “death tax” and to eliminate most income tax deductions in exchange for a higher initial standard deduction. But they draw the line at ending all deductions in exchange for lower tax rates.

Trump earned a monthly job approval rating of 47% in April, down one point from March. At week’s end, his daily job approval stood at 46%.

One hundred days into Trump’s presidency, voters are almost evenly divided over whether they miss President Obama. Seventy-eight percent (78%) still think it’s likely that Trump will reverse or abolish most of Obama’s accomplishments.

The House on Thursday repealed and replaced some of the key provisions in Obamacare, although prospects for passage of the changes by the Senate are not good. Still, just 18% of voters want to leave the health care law as is.

The federal government owns over one-quarter of the land in the United States, and Obama added a half-billion acres to that total in the closing days of his presidency. Trump is giving Obama’s last-minute land grab back. One-in-three voters (34%) think the government already owns too much land, while 18% say it doesn’t own enough.

Most voters don’t trust political polls and tend to think pollsters are out to block Trump’s agenda.

We told you last November that Real Clear Politics’ review of the findings of the top pollsters in the country showed that Rasmussen Reports called the 2016 presidential election right. Now another independent look at the highly criticized polling of the Trump-Clinton race, this time by the American Research Group, confirms that Rasmussen Reports was the most accurate pollster in the final survey before Election Day.

Voter attitudes about pollsters parallel Rasmussen Reports’ findings over the years about the news media. Forty-four percent (44%) believe most reporters are trying to block Trump from passing his agenda. By comparison, 48% said most reporters were trying to help Obama pass his agenda in 2010.

The biggest story of Trump’s first 100 days as president may be the war he’s engaged in with what he calls the “fake media.”

A plurality (44%) of voters continues to believe the average reporter is more liberal than they are. Just 17% say that reporter is more conservative, while 24% view the average reporter as about the same as themselves ideologically. These perceptions have changed little over the years.

Voters strongly consider North Korea a danger to the United States and tend to support the president’s tough response to that country’s aggressive nuclear weapons program.

Just 31% of Americans, however, think most of their fellow countrymen can locate North Korea on a map.

In other surveys last week:

-- Thirty-eight percent (38%) of voters say the United States is headed in the right direction.

-- Voters believe the nation’s stock of nuclear weapons is crucial to its national security and don’t want to reduce it.

-- The Kentucky Derby is scheduled to be run today, but most Americans aren’t planning to watch the famous horse race.

[Drlee]

Of course, it doesn’t help that many graduates are coming out of schools where Americans suspect free speech is a thing of the past. It’s tough to deal with challenges in the workplace if you can’t deal with challenges to your own opinions.

What nonsense. More typical Rasmussen agenda based polling.

A great many Americans have no clue what college is about. 20% never graduate from High school. "Many graduates" . Only 29% of those who attend college graduate. The rest of this statement is just partisan sloganeering.

Look guy. I am not surprised that many people watch Sean Hanity. I am not surprised that many people believe what this abject moron says. The fact that they believe him does not make them any less stupid.

[Doug64]

Look guy. I am not surprised that many people watch Sean Hanity. I am not surprised that many people believe what this abject moron says. The fact that they believe him does not make them any less stupid.

They don't have to watch Hannity, they just need to read about what's been happening at places like Berkley, Claremont, and Middlebury. These numbers for American Adults is a lot higher than Hannity's audience count.

Is there more freedom of speech or less freedom of speech on U.S. college campuses today than there has been in the past? Or is the level of freedom of speech about the same?

• More 23%
• Less 44%
• The level of freedom of speech is about the same 27%
• Not sure 6%

Republicans

• More 29%
• Less 50%
• The level of freedom of speech is about the same 17%
• Not sure 4%

Independents

• More 16%
• Less 48%
• The level of freedom of speech is about the same 28%
• Not sure 8%

Democrats

• More 25%
• Less 33%
• The level of freedom of speech is about the same 35%
• Not sure 7%

Are most college administrators and professors more interested in a free exchange of ideas or in students agreeing with certain politically correct points of view?

• A free exchange of ideas 33%
• Students agreeing with certain politically correct points of view 47%
• Not sure 20%

Republicans

• A free exchange of ideas 22%
• Students agreeing with certain politically correct points of view 67%
• Not sure 10%

Independents

• A free exchange of ideas 28%
• Students agreeing with certain politically correct points of view 47%
• Not sure 26%

Democrats

• A free exchange of ideas 48%
• Students agreeing with certain politically correct points of view 30%
• Not sure 22%

[Drlee]

And you just illustrated the problem beautifully. Thank you.

These poll numbers do not represent any approach to the truth. They represent the result of a carefully designed and executed political propaganda campaign.

Clearly the right grabs and runs with any aberration to excite their base. And their base is not particularly educated. So when Berkeley (a notoriously left-wing school) does something unusual the republicans try to paint it as a national trend.

The very poll itself is designed to deliver a political message.

[Doug64]

You're kinda missing a few things. First, looking at the first poll it's hardly massive numbers of Republicans versus everyone else that has a plurality thinking that there less freedom of speech on campuses, only 50% while almost as many Independents and even a third of Democrats agree. You can hardly blame that on a "not particularly educated" Republican base. For that matter, you can't blame the high numbers on education. While the crosstabs didn't include education they did include include income as a stand-in, and those least likely to say that there's less free speech on campus are the least wealthy -- under $30,000 a year. Those making from $30,000 up to $200,000 are all at 44% and those making more than $200,000 are at 57%.

And you get almost the same thing for the second poll, with those least likely to believe that administrators and professors more interested in students espousing a politically correct POV being the poorest at 42%. From there it climbs to 48% for those making up to $50,000, to 52% for those making up to $100,000, drops to 44% for those making up to $200,000, then jumps to 54% for those making over $200,000. Sorry, you can't blame this one on uneducated Republicans.

And BTW, the myth that Republicans are THE party of the uneducated is just that -- a myth. According to Pew Research, 46% of those with an education of HS or less are or lean Democrat, while 45% are or lean Republican. For those with some college, 46% are/lean Republican and 45% are/lean Democrat. It's only with college graduates that the divide really hits, where 53% are/lean Democrat and 41% are/lean Republican. I'd say that the Liberals want to keep it that way, hence the long ongoing drive to shut down Conservative voices on campuses -- can't have young impressionable minds exposed to the wrong ideas, now can we?

[Drlee]

You cannot be that stupid. Don't try that nonsense with me. It won't work. But thanks for this statistic:

It's only with college graduates that the divide really hits, where 53% are/lean Democrat and 41% are/lean Republican.

And then the really educated:

Pew: Democrats lead by 22 points (57%-35%) in leaned party identification among adults with post-graduate degrees.

This is not indoctrination. It is education.

[Doug64]

You cannot be that stupid. Don't try that nonsense with me. It won't work. But thanks for this statistic:

And then the really educated:

This is not indoctrination. It is education.

If the Left wasn't so terrified of students being exposed to the "wrong" opinions, you might have a point. Beyond that, as Will Rogers said, there is no one as ignorant as an educated man outside his own field.

[Pants-of-dog]

Lol. What are these oh so scary "wrong" opinions to which people supposedly are never exposed?