Foreign Policy: The Public Sends a Muddled Message
Opinion surveys find much in the way of public frustration, but little in the way of direction on the international and military front.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Guest Contributor
Opinion surveys find much in the way of public frustration, but little in the way of direction on the international and military front.
A Stateline.org backgrounder examines the issue of gay marriage three years after a historic Massachusetts court ruling legalized same-sex marriage in the state. All eyes are now on the highest courts in California, Connecticut and Maryland, where decisions on the constitutionality of gay marriage are likely this year.
“Correction” edged out “plunge” as the most used term, according to a Project for Excellence in Journalism search of stories on Google News for Feb. 27 and Feb. 28.
To keep lawmakers focused on debate — and limit lobbyists’ influence — statehouses from coast to coast are restricting cell phones, instant messaging and use of those mini-computers found under the thumbs of compulsive e-mailers on the floors of state legislatures.
The federally assisted State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) has substantially reduced the number of American children without health coverage; advocates in Congress and governors of both parties, see the program as the foundation for universal health coverage. But the Bush administration is calling for cutbacks.
As the number of declared presidential candidates grows, followers of early poll readings should bear in mind some caveats. Early frontrunners for the Republican nomination in most of the past seven open contests have gone on to win the nomination, but this year there are two GOP frontrunners instead of one clear leader. On the Democratic side, even when there is a clear frontrunner as there is this year with Sen. Hillary Clinton, the early polls have been less reliable in predicting who will capture the nomination.
The scramble among states to move up their presidential primaries next year has renewed calls from a number of the nation’s chief election officers to end the helter-skelter and move to a slower nominating process, such as by staging four regional primaries.
The strong showing of Democrat Barack Obama in early trial heat polls for the 2008 presidential election raises anew the question of whether the American public is ready to support an African American candidate for president. Recent polling points to two significant shifts on this question.
A bevy of big donors poured some of their personal fortunes into last year’s gubernatorial, state legislative and ballot-measure contests. But the super-rich had a mixed record in their single-handed efforts to sway election outcomes. In some cases, the motives of wealthy donors even backfired against their candidates or causes.
Huge discrepancies exist between student scores on state-designed tests and on national tests.
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