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In Iraq, Progress - and Problems

Tomorrow's deadline for withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraqi cities and towns is likely to be met there with a combination of delight – and apprehension. Most Iraqis never have appreciated the presence of U.S. troops on their soil; not...

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June 29, 2009 in International Polls | Permalink | User Comments (1)

Mark Sanford and the Affairs of State

Mark Sanford’s behavior is, shall we say, not helpful politically – particularly in the base. The overview is not pretty at all: In a Gallup poll just last month, 92 percent of Americans said it was “morally wrong” for a...

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June 24, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (3)

Iran's Election: The Odds of Fraud

An outfit called Terror Free Tomorrow claims in an op-ed in today’s Washington Post that the contested Iranian elections likely were not fraudulent, since a pre-election poll it sponsored showed the declared winner, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, with a big lead. TFT’s...

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June 15, 2009 in International Polls | Permalink | User Comments (19)

Affirmative Action: Words Matter

Do you generally favor or oppose affirmative action programs for racial and ethnic minorities? Let me put that another way: Do you think affirmative action programs that give preferences to blacks and other minorities in hiring, promotions and college admissions...

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June 5, 2009 in Race | Permalink | User Comments (18)

Hold on Groves: Mystery Hour at the Senate

Three weeks after Robert M. Groves sailed through his confirmation hearing to lead the U.S. Census Bureau, a Republican U.S. senator has placed the nomination on hold. As for who and why, it’s Mystery Hour at the U.S. Senate. A...

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June 4, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (9)

"Medical Bankruptcies:" a Data Update

The academic group that put out a much-covered and deservedly much-debated study on so-called "medical bankruptcies" a few years ago has released an update today. In some important ways it improves on the earlier version, which I’ve blogged about before....

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June 4, 2009 in Problem Polls | Permalink | User Comments (12)

Obama and the Muslim World

Ahead of President Obama’s speech tomorrow in Cairo, views of the United States in the Muslim world can best be described as better, but far from good. And views the other way – Americans’ attitudes about Islam – have their...

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June 3, 2009 in President Obama | Permalink | User Comments (7)

What We Don't Know About China

What’s most interesting about public opinion in China, 20 years after Tiananmen Square, is what’s not asked there. Think about, say, confidence in the national government, elections, the military and the judicial system; views of national leaders; or satisfaction with...

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June 2, 2009 in International Polls | Permalink | User Comments (0)