April

Last week, forced to write about the political impact of Osama bin Laden’s killing without a single poll, I confined myself to reciting the history and theory behind rally effects…

A huge problem for a column ostensibly devoted to polls and politics – the biggest story of the decade breaks the day before the piece is due and there is…

It’s amazing how quickly some analysts jump to conclusions without any facts to break their fall. Discussions of Dean Heller’s potential appointment to John Ensign’s (R) Senate seat provide the…

I admit to having a soft spot for Latvia – part of my family emigrated from the Baltic nation where, generations ago, they were rabbis, teachers and owners of an…

While Washington has been transfixed by budget deal-making, voters have been focused elsewhere, keeping worried watch over what they perceive to be a deteriorating economy – a perception fueled, importantly,…

Though House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) released details of his Medicare plan after this piece was written, it’s already clear the plan contains three elements that are anathema…

The Republican zeal for budget-cutting is masking a particularly insidious aspect of their zealotry, unrelated to deficit reduction – the GOP has declared war on women’s health, and heaven only…

With Richard Wirthlin’s passing, the world of survey research lost a pioneer, the business of political consulting lost a giant and I lost a role model, whose creative mind, interpretative…

Budget-cutting isn’t easy. As we go through the process, or at least through the debate, both parties err in interpreting public opinion. Democrats can take some solace from the fact…