We've run across some worthwhile pieces recently. See below for the links:
Everybody wants a more efficient government, it seems, and everybody's got their own public policy version of the killer app to make it happen. Now along comes former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw with what is a pretty radical op-ed piece in The New York Times titled, "Small-Town Big Spending."
The PBS Newshour snagged a very interesting breakdown of presidential approval ratings by various kinds of places where people live. President Obama is most popular in what is labeled the "Industrial Metropolis" and least popular in "Mormon Outposts" and "Evangelical Epicenters." Interestingly, his popularity has risen the most since the election in "Tractor Country" and dropped the most in "Immigrations Nation." Swivel has the entire breakdown right here.
Public Policy Polling points out that if the 2008 voting turnout had matched the expected voter composition of the 2010 elections, John McCain might well have defeated Barack Obama (instead Obama's raw-vote margin of victory was the largest in history by a non-incumbent) -- McCain would've won Ohio, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Florida if those voters saying they plan to vote (or not vote) in 2010 had comprised the 2008 electorate.
But Democrats are trying to find reasons to muster optimism, as evidenced by this Washington Post op-ed written by the man who in 1994 was among the first Democrats to predict the Republicans would take the house for the first time in 40 years. Brief summation -- at least this time the Democrats see the tsunami coming and still have time to rally the troops and limit damages.
And that rallying of troops, it more and more appears certain, will involve reminding voters how much they did not -- and still do not -- much approve of President George W. Bush's handling of economic matters. This USA Today/Gallup poll shows that 71 percent of Americans believe Bush deserves blame for the bad economy. The bad news for President Obama and the Democrats -- those who believe President Obama deserves blame for the bad economy is at 48 percent, up from 32 percent last year. Predictably, the poll showed a gulf in partisanship. "Republicans by 4-1, 44%-10%, were more likely to give Obama a great deal of the blame than Bush. Democrats by more than 20-1 targeted Bush: They said the former president bore a great deal of the blame; just 3% said that of the current one."
Everybody wants a more efficient government, it seems, and everybody's got their own public policy version of the killer app to make it happen. Now along comes former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw with what is a pretty radical op-ed piece in The New York Times titled, "Small-Town Big Spending."
The PBS Newshour snagged a very interesting breakdown of presidential approval ratings by various kinds of places where people live. President Obama is most popular in what is labeled the "Industrial Metropolis" and least popular in "Mormon Outposts" and "Evangelical Epicenters." Interestingly, his popularity has risen the most since the election in "Tractor Country" and dropped the most in "Immigrations Nation." Swivel has the entire breakdown right here.
Public Policy Polling points out that if the 2008 voting turnout had matched the expected voter composition of the 2010 elections, John McCain might well have defeated Barack Obama (instead Obama's raw-vote margin of victory was the largest in history by a non-incumbent) -- McCain would've won Ohio, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Florida if those voters saying they plan to vote (or not vote) in 2010 had comprised the 2008 electorate.
But Democrats are trying to find reasons to muster optimism, as evidenced by this Washington Post op-ed written by the man who in 1994 was among the first Democrats to predict the Republicans would take the house for the first time in 40 years. Brief summation -- at least this time the Democrats see the tsunami coming and still have time to rally the troops and limit damages.
And that rallying of troops, it more and more appears certain, will involve reminding voters how much they did not -- and still do not -- much approve of President George W. Bush's handling of economic matters. This USA Today/Gallup poll shows that 71 percent of Americans believe Bush deserves blame for the bad economy. The bad news for President Obama and the Democrats -- those who believe President Obama deserves blame for the bad economy is at 48 percent, up from 32 percent last year. Predictably, the poll showed a gulf in partisanship. "Republicans by 4-1, 44%-10%, were more likely to give Obama a great deal of the blame than Bush. Democrats by more than 20-1 targeted Bush: They said the former president bore a great deal of the blame; just 3% said that of the current one."
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