When asked who they would like to see running for president in 2012, Republicans cite familiar names from the 2008 presidential campaign season, topped by vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. This is according to a CNN/Opinion Research poll that provides a very early test of GOP voters' preferences.

Palin, the governor of Alaska, led with 29 percent among the 462 Republicans who responded to the poll taken Feb. 18-19. Palin built a sizable fan club on the Republican right as the party's surprise vice presidential pick with her effusive campaign style and strongly conservative views, though she committed several stumbles that raised serious doubts among many other voters.

Palin's lead was not big enough, however, to clearly establish her as the early candidate to beat in a nominating race that will take shape over the course of the next three years. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who emerged as the longest-lasting challenger to eventual presidential nominee John McCain in the 2008 Republican nominating campaign, was close behind at 26 percent.

Barack Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night turned around the slide in his approval ratings, with his public support jumping back up to 67 percent, according to a Gallup poll conducted Feb. 24-26. Prior to that, his approval rating in the previous Gallup survey had dipped to 59 percent. Most noticeable was the fact that approval of Obama among Republicans rose from 27 percent to 42 percent.

Third term Republican Sen. Robert Bennett is looking like a shoo-in for re-election in 2010 when matched up against Rep. Jim Matheson or Ken Jennings, (yes, Ken Jennings who made his name by winning 74 times on the TV game show Jeopardy, making him the longest reigning champion).

Bennett leads Matheson 55 percent to 32 percent and Jennings by 57 percent to 21 percent, according to a Research 2000 poll conducted Feb. 23-25. The poll found Bennett also would easily hold off a GOP primary challenger should one time state Sen. David Leavitt (brother of former governor and HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt) or Attorney General Mark Shutleff.

Democrat Scott Murphy remains a mystery to a majority of upstate New Yorkers, according to the first independent poll conducted in the race to fill an open House seat. Nearly a month into the race, 60 percent of likely voters have yet to form an opinion about Murphy, according to a Siena College Research Institute poll released Thursday.

The poll showed Murphy, a political newcomer, rated favorably by 29 percent of the likely voters who responded to the survey, compared to 47 percent for Republican nominee James Tedisco, who has served in the state legislature for 30 years. The name of Tedisco, the current Assembly minority leader, drew a response of "no opinion" from 34 percent of respondents.

Overall, the Siena poll, conducted Feb. 18-19, gave Tedisco a 12-point lead in the 20th District race, 46 percent to 34 percent, with 20 percent undecided. Critically, voters who described themselves as independents favored Tedisco by a similar margin, 45 percent to 31 percent.

Moderate Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand gave up the seat when she was appointed to the Senate to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, triggering the March 31 special election.

Either Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison or Gov. Rick Perry would beat Democrat Tom Schieffer in a contest for the Texas governor seat in 2010 but Hutchison would be the stronger GOP candidate, according to a Public Policy Polling survey conducted Feb. 18-20.

Hutchison has set up an exploratory committee about making the race, which would pit her against Perry in a GOP primary. Schieffer, brother of CBS newsman Bob Schieffer, just finished his tour as ambassador to Australia under President Bush and had been a Democratic state representative from Fort Worth in the 1970s.

Hutchison leads Schieffer 54 percent to 30 percent with 16 percent undecided, while Perry is ahead of him by 45 percent to 35 percent with 19 percent undecided. Hutchison runs more strongly than Perry because she takes 20 percent of the Democratic vote and has a 23 point lead among independents. Schieffer suffers compared to either Perry or Hutchison in name recognition. Forty-three percent of voters are not sure enough about him to have either a favorable or unfavorable opinion, compared to 11 percent each for Hutchison and Perry.

Seventy-five percent of Americans have experienced job layoffs or pay cuts in their own families or have seen it happen to close friends or other families, and anxiety is high that they will take or see more such hits in the near future, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted Feb. 19-22.

Eighteen percent report someone in their household losing a job and 26 percent say they have experienced pay cuts. Sixty percent say job losses or pay cuts have affected close friends or families that they know. Fifty-two percent are concerned about having hours or pay cut in the next few months, 46 percent are concerned they'll lose their jobs and 46 percent are concerned about having enough money to pay rent or their mortgage.

As a result, 67 percent of those polls say they have cut back on spending, with 31 percent saying they have cut back sharply. A survey released yesterday by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that Americans were skimping on health care as one way of saving money.

Public support remains strong for President Obama in the wake of the stimulus bill fight that pitted him against nearly solid congressional Republican opposition, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Feb. 22-23.

Yet Rasmussen also reports the federal government, which is engaged in a major financial intervention to try to stem the nation's deep economic recession, still faces a deep well of public skepticism.

When presented with the statement, "Government is not the solution to the problem; government is the problem," 59 percent of the 1,000 respondents identified as likely voters agreed, while 28 percent disagreed and 14 percent said they were not sure. While not identified as such in the question, that statement was the most memorable quote from President Ronald Reagan's first inaugural address in January 1981.

Fifty-three percent of Americans have cut back on health care for financial reasons over the last 12 months and the 19 percent who couldn't say they have experienced serious money problems as a result, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll conducted Feb. 3-12.

The survey detailed these ways that people have cut back:

If Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison challenges and beats Gov. Rick Perry in a Republican primary in 2010 (see our post yesterday on her chances), some speculative match-ups on who might seek her seat suggest that it could produce a competitive race, according to a Public Policy Polling survey conducted Feb. 18-20.

The strongest candidates in the poll were Republicans Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Attorney General Greg Abbott, although neither has signaled intentions to seek the seat. The poll also included a match-up if GOP state Sen. Florence Shapiro runs. PPP tested them against two Democrats, former state comptroller John Sharp) and Houston Mayor Bill White who has announced his intention to run, though his eye was on Hutchison as his foe.

Sixty-eight percent of Americans who watched Barack Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress last night had a positive reaction to it, 24 percent said their reaction was somewhat positive and 8 percent registered a negative reaction, according to quick poll by CNN/Opinion Research. However, the pollster cautions that its sample was about 8 to 10 points more Democratic than the general public.

The number of viewers who thought Obama's policies would move the country in the right direction gew by 17 points after the speech. Eight-five percent said the speech made them feel more optimistic while 11 percent said they felt more pessimistic after it. The economic plan outlined by Obama in the speech drew the support of 82 percent of viewers.

Americans are solidly behind funding new government programs to create jobs, aiding states in serious financial trouble and aiding homeowners in danger of foreclosure, but they oppose aid to automakers who are in danger of bankruptcy or aid to banks and financial companies in danger of failing, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted Feb. 20-22.

The Federal Government has taken many steps to deal with problems in the economy in recent months. Please tell me whether, in general, you favor or oppose the government doing each of the following:

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison would beat Gov. Rick Perry if she chooses to run against him in a Republican primary in Texas in 2010, according to a Public Policy Polling survey conducted Feb. 18-20 among likely Republican voters.

Hutchison, who has taken several jabs at Perry, leads him 56percent to 31 percent with 13 percent undecided. Both have high favorable to unfavorable ratios with Perry at 60 percent to 27 percent and Hutchison at 76 percent to 15 percent, but Perry's unfavorables are clearly higher.

"Rick Perry is in grave danger of losing in the primary," said PPP's Dean Debnam. " It's partly because he's worn out his welcome with a certain segment of the Republican electorate but the even bigger reason is that Kay Bailey Hutchison is just a lot more popular than him."

We know Barack Obama's approval ratings have remained strong even after a month, but what about his fellow Democrats on Capitol Hill? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi doesn't fare too well with 43 percent viewing her unfavorably compared to 36 percent who give her positive marks, according to a CNN/Opinion Research poll conducted Feb. 18-19. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is seen unfavorably by 30 percent and favorably by 22 percent.

Those figures have to be taken with a grain of salt because neither has run for national office and don't get a lot of face time with Americans. That's underscored by the fact 20 percent of respondents were unsure of their opinion on Pelosi and 48 percent unsure about Reid.

Democrats, in general, are doing far better than Republicans in the public mind. A Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted Feb. 19-22 said voters approved of congressional Democrats by a 50 to 44 percent margin while disapproving of Republicans 56 percent to 38 percent. They trust Democrats more than Republicans to cope with the nation's problems over the next few years by 56 percent to 30 percent.

Americans approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president by 63 percent to 22 percent and by large margins they believe that he is trying to work with Republicans more than Republicans are trying to work with him, according to a New York Times/CBS News Poll conducted Feb. 18-22. The findings were in line with polls released today by Washington Post/ABC News and Gallup.

Seventy-seven percent were generally optimistic about the next four years under an Obama administration, 65 percent said Obama had the same priorities for the country that they did and 53 percent believe Obama cares about their problems "a lot" with another 30 percent saying he does "some."

Nearly three-quarters of those polled say Obama was trying to work with Republicans to get things done compared to 31 percent who said Republicans were trying to work with Obama. When the same question was asked about whether Democrats in Congress were trying to work with Republicans, 45 percent said they were and 43 percent said they weren't. Fifty-six percent said it was more important for Obama to stick to his policies than work with Republicans in a bipartisan way while 79 percent wanted Republicans to work with Obama than stick to their guns.

Americans approve of the job Barack Obama is doing by 68 percent to 25 percent, but that includes less than 40 percent of Republicans, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted Feb. 19-22.

Only 37 percent of Republicans give him positive marks and 32 percent support his stimulus package. Obama does better among independents with 67 percent approving of him, and 61 percent backing the stimulus package. But Obama gets credit for making the attempt at bipartisanship with 73 percent believing he has tried to compromise with Republicans while only 34 percent say the Republicans have tried to compromise with him.

Barack Obama's decision to significantly increase U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan according is supported by almost two-thirds of Americans, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted Feb. 20-22.

Sixty-five percent of Americans overall back Obama on sending an initial wave of 17,000 troops and 50 percent would support a second wave of 13,000 troops later.

The support crosses party lines with 75 percent of Republicans backing the move, 65 percent of Democrats and 57 percent of independents.

It's hard to be neutral about the influential conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh and, if some people think he's divisive, well, he is, according to a Public Policy Polling survey conducted Feb. 17-18. He's divided the public just about down the middle in terms of people who see him favorably or unfavorably with 46 percent having a positive perception and 43 percent seeing him negatively. Ten percent were undecided.

Forty-two percent of voters believe Limbaugh should have no influence in American politics, 28 percent say he should have some and another 23 percent say he should have a lot. Unsurprisingly, 80 percent of Republicans like Limbaugh compared to 17 percent of Democrats with independents.

Barack Obama is still highly popular at the end of his first month in office, but his numbers have slipped from his initial 68 percent approval to 63 percent, putting him about where past presidents have been at this point, according to a Gallup poll conducted Feb. 19-21. Twenty-four percent of Americans don't approve of his performance, up from 12 percent, and 13 percent express no opinion.

His 68 percent mark when he took office was one of the highest in Gallup polling history dating back to Dwight Eisenhower. His marks at the moment are put him in about the middle between Jimmy Carter's 71 percent and Ronald Reagan's 55 percent after one month.

Four out of five Americans think the economy is still on the skids, but 90 percent of those who own homes say they have not lost faith in home ownership.

These results fly in the face of external events, namely the continuing slide in the housing market and the president's signature this week on the $787 billion stimulus bill to stabilize the country's financial and industrial bases.

Of home owners responding to the Pew Research Center Social & Demographic Trends survey, 82 percent say this is a bad time to try to sell a home, while 90 percent say they find their houses to be comforts rather than burdens.

There's been a lot of punditry about whether Democrats are getting the best of the Republicans in the opening round of the Obama administration by pushing through the big economic stimulus package or the Republicans are benefitting from having hung tough against it. The verdict among registered voters in a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll conducted Feb. 17-18 comes down in Barack Obama's favor.

Voters say by 66 percent to 28 percent that Obama had tried to reach out to Republicans and be bipartisan about the package, and they say 60 percent to 33 percent that the Republicans have not sincerely tried to act in a bipartisan way. Overall, voters approve of the job congressional Democrats are doing by 46 percent to 45 percent and disapprove of the GOP's performance by 56 percent to 34 percent. Obama's approval to disapproval ratio is 60 percent to 26 percent, down from 65 percent to 16 percent in late January.

Support for the $787.2 billion stimulus package was 51 percent to 40 percent.

First-term Republican Sen. Richard Burr scores under 50 percent in match-ups against potential Democratic challengers in 2010, but he still leads both by double-digit margins, according to a Public Policy Polling survey conducted Feb. 13-15.

Burr leads Jim Neal, who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination against Kay Hagan in 2008, by 44 percent to 30 percent with 26 percent undecided and former State Senator Cal Cunningham by 46 percent to 27 percent with 27 percent undecided. Burr's favorable to unfavorable ratio is 41 percent to 34 percent with 24 percent unsure. But the extent to which Neal and Cunningham have name recognition problems is underlined by the fact that 59 percent of voters are unsure about Neal and 67 percent about Cunningham.

PPP's Dean Debnam says that "although neither Cal Cunningham nor Jim Neal is likely to be on of the stronger candidates the Democrats could put up against Richard Burr, this poll continues to not be particularly good news for him. The fact that he's polling under 50 percent against possible opponents who are basically unknown quantities does not bode well" if a better known figure like Attorney General Roy Cooper gets in the race. Cooper was the top statewide Democratic vote-getter in 2008.

President Obama yesterday proposed a multibillion dollar program to help homeowners avert foreclosures. A Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Feb. 17-18 says that the public, by 45 percent to 38 percent do not believe the federal government should subsidize mortgage payments for financially troubled households.

Fifty-one percent said the government should find a way to help homeowners reduce their payments (see a story in today's New York Times - Modifying Mortgages Can Be Tricky - about this), 31 percent said the government should not get directly involved in the housing market, and 15 percent said the government should help only homeowners who face foreclosures.

Republicans and Democrats are predictably split with 61 percent of Republicans opposing subsidies for mortgages while a plurality of Democrats (48 percent) favor such a move.

Forty-seven percent of Americans say they are at least somewhat worried about losing a job, and 71 percent know a friend or relative who has lost one in the last six months, according to an Associated Press/GfK poll conducted Feb. 12-17. In February 2008, only 28 percent voiced that fear.

The percentage of Americans who describe themselves as at least somewhat worried they won't be able to pay their bills climbed from 46 percent a year ago to 65 percent. Fifty-three percent aren't confident they will have enough money to live comfortably in retirement, up from 34 percent in February 2005.

Americans believe by 59 percent to 25 percent that Barack Obama's policies will make the chances of another major terrorist attack in the U.S. less likely, although that view is held by only 29 percent of Republicans. Pew Research Center poll conducted Feb. 4-8.

However, the public is more divided over his decision to close the military prison at Guantanamo with 46 percent approving of it and 39 percent disapproving. Fifteen percent were undecided. Republicans opposed the move by 69 percent to 19 percent while independents favored it 48 percent to 39 percent.

The result was similar to that of a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Jan. 25-26 which found Americans favoring Obama's decision by only 44 percent to 42 percent.

The fallout from the Caroline Kennedy-for-Senate saga in New York continues. Quinnipiac University poll conducted Feb. 10-15. New York Gov. David Paterson took a hit from his handling of the appointment to the seat vacated by Hillary Clinton with his job approval rating falling from a 50 percent to 30 percent positive approval ratio late last month to 45 percent to 41 percent. Voters disapproved of the way he handled the Senate matter by 52 percent to 35 percent.

Quinnipiac also found that the candidate Paterson spurned in choosing upstate Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand - Attorney General Andrew Cuomo - would be preferred by Democrats 55 percent to 23 percent in a 2010 Democratic primary for governor. Cuomo's favorable to unfavorable numbers are 63 percent to 15 percent while Paterson's are 41 percent to 35 percent.

The Caroline Kennedy mix-up still haunts Gov. David Paterson," said Quinnipiac's Maurice Carroll. "In numbers which could tempt Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to take another shot at Governor, Paterson trails Cuomo 2 - 1 among Democratic voters and scratches out a tie with (former New York City) Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in the general election."

More Illinois voters want to see Gov. Pat Quinn run for Senate in 2010 than newly-appointed Sen. Roland Burris, according to a poll conducted for the Chicago Tribune Feb. 4-5. This was conducted before Burris admitted on Feb. 14 that he spoke with the brother of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich about fundraising.

Forty-eight percent of registered voters would like to see Quinn run, 15 percent do not want him to run and 37 percent are undecided. Those numbers are in the same range among Democrats, Republicans and independents alike. Voters want to see Burris run by a narrower margin - 37 percent to 33 percent with 29 percent undecided. Burris' disadvantage is among independents and Republicans who want to see him run by 36 percent and 29 percent respectively.

Burris was seen favorably before his latest admissions by 34 percent of voters while 18 percent viewed him negatively and 43 percent expressed no opinion. Quinn's favorable to unfavorable ratio was 49 percent to 6 percent with 40 percent having no opinion.

The public opposes additional aid for General Motors and Chrysler 64 percent to 24 percent with 11 percent undecided, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Feb. 16-17.

Fifty-seven percent say they do not believe it is very likely or likely at all that the automakers will ever repay the loans and 57 percent predict one or both companies will go out of business in the next few years. By 44 percent to 33 percent, likely voters say it would be better for the economy to let the companies fail, while 23 percent are undecided.

There's a partisan split on these questions. Sixty percent of Democrats say the auto companies will eventually pay off the federal loans while only 27 percent of Republicans and 34 percent of unaffiliated voters agree.

Congress' approval rating has gone up!

Perennially at or near the bottom of the list in voter ratings, the job approval of Congress has jumped from 19 percent to 31 percent since last month in a Gallup poll conducted Feb. 9-12. Gallup said this was the best rating for the Hill in nearly two years. The last congressional high was when Democrats took over Congress in 2006 and scored at 37 percent.

Forty-three percent of Democrats approve of the job Congress is doing compared to 18 percent last month, while approval by Republicans fell from 23 percent to 19 percent. Approval by independents climbed from 17 percent to 29 percent.

A plurality of Americans - and not a very big one - believe that the just-passed $787.2 billion stimulus package will help the economy, according to a Rasmussen Report poll conducted Feb. 14-15.

Thirty-eight percent say it will help, 29 percent say it will hurt and 24 percent predict it will have little impact. Thirty-two percent said that they more be more likely to vote for their representative if he or she supported the stimulus plan, 35 percent said less likely and 30 percent said it would have no impact on their decision.

Fifty percent believed the package primarily included new spending, 8 percent said it was mostly new tax cuts and 31 percent believed it to be an equal mix of spending and tax cuts. The bill contains $575 billion in new spending and $212 billion in tax cuts.

Barack Obama is expected to depart from the Bush administration's hard line against talking to Iran and a majority of Americans appear ready to support such a policy change, according to a Gallup poll conducted Jan. 30 - Feb. 1 and Feb. 9-12. Fifty-six percent back engaging in direct diplomacy with Iran compared to 38 percent who are opposed and 6 percent expressing no opinion.

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter did himself no political favors when he joined fellow Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, both of Maine, in voting for $789 billion economic stimulus package, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Feb. 11.

Forty percent of likely Pennsylvania voters said his support for the package made it less likely that they would support him, 31 percent said more likely and 28 percent said it would have no impact. Overall, 47 percent of voters said they favored the measure and 41 percent opposed it. Sixty-nine percent of Republicans oppose the bill while 73 percent of Democrats favor it.

Among his fellow Republicans, 58 percent said his vote made it less likely that they would support him and that goes as well for 48 percent of independents.

In 2004, former Rep. Pat Toomey, currently president of the Club for Growth, ran against Specter, accusing him of being too liberal and came within 2 points of beating him in a primary even though the Republican establishment in the state lined up behind Specter. Toomey told The Hill in December that he hasn't ruled out a rematch.

Eighty-six percent of Americans say they have made reductions or changes in the way they spend, save or invest due to the worsening economy, according to a Pew Research Center poll conducted Feb. 4-8. And more than half of those have done so in the belief that their finances may get worse. The number of Americans who believe the nation is in a depression has gone up 10 points to 30 percent since December.

Fifty-nine percent have cut back on planned vacation spending, a number that rises to nearly tw0-thirds for households making under $30,000 a year. Fifty-five percent report eating out less at restaurants, a development particularly pronounced among those in the $30,000 - $75,000 earnings bracket where the number is 62 percent. Fifty-three percent said they had changed the way they saved or invested money, and 29 percent had adjusted their retirement plans. Forty-four percent have delayed or canceled a purchase of a major home item and 37 percent each have done the same when it came to home improvements or buying a new car.

President Obama over the past week has staged a campaign-style effort to build support for the big-dollar economic stimulus bill working its way through Congress - and a Rasmussen Reports survey released Thursday morning suggests that the blitz has boosted backing for the legislation and for Obama himself.

The poll showed 44 percent of respondents favored the stimulus plan while 40 percent were opposed. While still representing a near-even split in public opinion, the approval number was 7 percentage points higher than in a poll taken just a week earlier, when 36 percent of respondents approved of the stimulus proposal and 43 percent disapproved.

Obama also ticked back up in Rasmussen's daily tracking poll, which produces an "approval index" that measures the difference between those who say they strongly approve of the president's performance and those who say they strongly disapprove. The poll published Thursday showed 43 percent strongly approved and 24 percent strongly disapproved, for a Rasmussen index of plus-19.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called this week for an independent commission to examine alleged wrongdoing by the Bush administration, ranging from its detainee and interrogation policies to the firing of U.S. attorneys. But a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted Jan. 30 - Feb. 1 finds that a majority of American support some kind of action, but they differ on whether their should be criminal investigations or probes by specially-appointed panels.

Forty-one percent think there should be a criminal investigation of possible attempts to use the Justice Department for political purposes, 30 percent back an examination by an independent panel and 25 percent say neither should happen.

Republican Gov. Jodi Rell of Connecticut right now is well-positioned against potential Democratic challengers when her seat comes up in 2010, according to a Quinnipiac University poll conducted Feb. 5-8.

Rell leads Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy who lost the Democratic primary for governor in 2006 to New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr. by 58 percent to 26 percent with 14 percent undecided. Malloy announced an exploratory committee to run for the job earlier this month. (DeStefano lost to Rell in the 2006 general election by 63 percent to 35 percent).

Rell leads Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz by 53 percent to 32 percent. Bysiewicz said in January that she was in the race. If her opponent were Speaker of the House Jim Amann, who also has announced his intention to run, Rell would lead 61 percent to 21 percent with 16 percent undecided.

When it comes to the horse-race for the Democratic nomination, Bysiewicz leads with 44 percent, followed by Malloy at 12 percent and Amann at 4 percent with 36 percent undecided.

A an announcement by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of a deal on a $789.5 economic stimulus package comes as public support for passage has risen, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted Feb. 10.

Fifty-nine percent of Americans support it versus 33 percent opposed, and increase from the 52 percent to 38 percent margin of a week ago.

Support among Democrats increased from 70 percent to 82 percent which Gallup said suggests that Barack Obama's sales campaign for the package had shown results. Support among independents rose only 1 point to 56 percent and by 4 points among Republicans to 28 percent.

Although one prospective high-profile opponent - MSNBC "Hardball" host Chris Matthews - has decided not to run against him, Republican Sen. Arlen Specter's numbers in Pennsylvania suggest that the five-term incumbent is vulnerable, according to A Quinnipiac University poll conducted Feb. 4-9.

Forty-three percent of voters say he does not deserve re-election in 2010 compared to 40 percent who support him and 17 percent who are undecided. Republicans and Democrats are each split down the middle on the question. Independents oppose his re-election 45 percent to 36 percent.

Specter, one of three Republicans to support the Democratic stimulus package, has an overall approval-to-disapproval rating of 56 percent to 30 percent with 14 percent undecided. But support for him is higher among Democrats than his fellow Republicans. Democrats approve of his performance by 62 percent to 26 percent while fellow Republicans approve by 55 percent to 33 percent. Specter's highest approval number was 62 percent in Nov. 2008.

Here is the poll you've been waiting for: in a head-to-head match-up, McDonald's beat out Starbucks for the hearts and minds (and taste buds) of Americans by 43 percent to 35 percent in a Pew Research Center survey conducted Oct. 3-19. The question posed was: Would you prefer to live in a place with more McDonald's or more Starbucks?

This may be the measure of the future for zeroing in on the demographics candidates think they need to nail down to get elected. Last September, NPR did a poll that found voters who are Starbucks devotees favored Barack Obama by 52 percent to 39 percent, while Dunkin' Donuts and Wal-Mart customers backed John McCain by 47 percent to 43 percent and 58 percent to 33 percent respectively. (Apparently, the Dunkin' Donut voters were the most conflicted given the poll's 3.46 percent margin of error).

While a narrow majority of Americans supports Barack Obama's $819 billion stimulus plan, that number has slipped from 57 percent to 51 percent since early January, with opposition to it rising from 22 percent to 34 percent, according to a Pew Research Center poll conducted Feb. 4-8. Republicans oppose it 64 percent to 24 percent while Democrats favor it 70 percent to 15 percent and independents by 49 percent to 36 percent.

Most of those opposed to the package (61 percent) think it will be ineffective, while 27 percent believe the price tag is too high and 9 percent say it represents "too much government."

A CNN/Opinion Research poll conducted Feb. 7-8 had support for the bill at 54 percent to 45 percent.

Whatever support might be in this country for Barack Obama's determination to shift the U.S. focus from Iraq to Afghanistan, a poll by ABC News, the BBC and ARD German TV conducted Dec. 30 -Jan. 12 and based on in-person interviews with 1,534 Afghan adults says that the U.S. and its allies, and Hamid Karzai's government, are losing the "hearts and minds" of the people in that country.

Only 40 percent of those surveyed say their country is headed in the right direction compared to 77 percent in Oct. 2005. The number of Afghans who have a favorable view of the U.S. has fallen from 83 percent in 2005 to 47 percent, and they are outnumbered by the 52 percent who see the U.S. unfavorably. Only 32 percent believe the U.S. is currently performing well in Afghanistan. Karzai himself does better than the U.S. in the minds of Afghans, with 52 percent approving of his performance, although that is down from 83 percent in 2005.

And the election of Barack Obama may have increased optimism in this country, but in Afghanistan only 2 in 10 think he'll make things better for their country.

Fifty-eight percent of Afghans say the Taliban is the biggest danger, with 13 percent naming drug traffickers and 8 percent fingering the U.S.

President Obama's overall approval rating remained high and relatively steady over the past week, as he ratcheted up his efforts to push the $800 billion-plus economic stimulus legislation through Congress.

The rolling 3-day average in the Gallup organization's daily tracking poll reported Sunday showed 64 percent of respondents approved by Obama's performance since he took office nearly three weeks ago, while 22 percent disapproved. This amounted to a slight downtick in approval, from 66 percent last Monday, and a slight bump in disapproval, from 19 percent. Yet the plus-42 gap between approval and disapproval would be the envy of most politicians.

That might include Republicans in Congress -- the vast majority of whom have so far steadfastly opposed the stimulus legislation, based on their contention that it contains too much spending, and that much of that spending would be wasteful and would not stimulate the economy in the near-term.

Republican Attorney General Robert McDonnell leads all three Democratic contenders in this year's race to succeed Governor, Tim Kaine and put the statehouse back in GOP hands, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Feb. 4. McDonnell is resigning his job to campaign full-time on Feb. 20.

Of course, voters are not very focused on the race at this point and in each case, a fifth or more are undecided about their choice. But as of now, McDonnell leads state Sen. Creigh Deeds by 39 percent to 30 percent, Delegate Brian Moran by 39 percent to 36 percent, and former DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe 42 percent to 35 percent. The margin of error is 4.5 points, so none of these are exactly runaways.

More than half of Americans favor Congress passing a roughly $800 billion stimulus package, says a USA Today /Gallup poll . Fifty-two percent of Americans interviewed Wednesday night are in favor; 38 percent are opposed. These figures are nearly identical to those measured in Gallup polling last week, right before passage of the bill in the House, and are also in line with public support in early January. According to the new poll, 70 percent of Democrats nationwide favor the plan and 18 percent oppose it. Among Republicans, 24 percent are in favor and 72 percent are opposed -- nearly the reverse of the Democrats' position. Political independents fall somewhat closer to Democrats than to Republicans in their views, with 55 percent in favor. Perhaps in response to the heightened partisan debate in Congress over the merits of President Obama's approach to the stimulus plan, partisan differences in Americans' support have expanded slightly over the past month. This is particularly clear in terms of a slight decline in the percentage of Republicans favoring the plan, from 34 percent in early January to 24 percent today. Support among Democrats, however, has increased slightly.

Rush Limbaugh has long been the biggest star, and a highly controversial figure, within the community of outspoken conservative talk radio hosts - as underscored by his recent, highly publicized comments that he hopes Barack Obama fails as the nation's new, Democratic president. And a poll by the Gallup organization that solicited opinions about Limbaugh, released Thursday, lends itself to four conclusions, none especially surprising.

· Most Republicans approve of Limbaugh, though a sizable minority does not.

· An even bigger majority of Democrats disapproves of Limbaugh, while just small sliver of the party's adherents approve of him.

· The plurality of independents who disapprove of Limbaugh is almost twice as a big as the segment of independents who approve of him.

· And finally, politics is a marginal interest for many Americans, which explains why even a lightning-rod figure such as Limbaugh drew a "who's he" shrug from many of the Gallup poll respondents.

New Jersey has trended strongly Democratic in statewide races for many years - and Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, who is seeking re-election this year in the state's "off-year" election, may have to count on that if he is to win a second term. A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday showed Corzine slipping behind former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, the front-runner for the Republican nomination, though the challenger also was far from the 50 percent mark.

Christie led Corzine by 44 percent to 38 percent in a poll of 1,173 New Jersey registered voters, with 16 percent voicing no opinion, 2 percent volunteering that they would vote for someone else and 1 percent volunteering that they would not vote. The 6 percentage-point margin in the hypothetical matchup is an exact reversal from that in a Nov. 19 Quinnipiac poll, which showed Corzine up by 42 percent to 36 percent.

Democrats hold the early edge in the quest to fill the seat of retiring Republican Sen. George Voinovich, but this early on, voters still don't know much about the candidates so the blueing of Ohio should not be taken for granted, according to a Quinnipiac University poll conducted Jan. 29 - Feb .2.

As far as the question for the nomination in each party, former White House Budget Director and congressman Rob Portman leads Ohio state auditor Mary Taylor 33 percent to 11 percent but 56 percent are undecided.

Three-quarters of Americans say Congress should pass some version of President Obama's economic stimulus plan but they are split 38 percent on whether it should be approved as proposed to 37 percent who want to see major changes in it, according to a Gallup poll conducted Jan. 30 - Feb. 1. Seventeen percent say the plan should be rejected.

Forty-three percent of Republicans want to see the plan undergo major changes and 35 percent favor killing it. Independents line up 40 percent in favor of an amended plan to 37 percent who would pass it as-is, while 59 percent of Democrats would pass it in its current form.

Seventy-eight percent of Americans worry that the stimulus package would not work quickly enough. Forty-seven percent believe the plan will make the economy a "little better" and 17 percent say it will make it "a lot better." Forty-one percent don't believe the plan will affect their lives compared to 32 percent who say it will make their lives "a little better" and 12 percent who say it will make their lives "a lot better."

The Democratic primary for the party's nomination to run for Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine's seat comes up in June, and so far none of the candidates have made much of an impression on voters, according to a Public Policy Polling survey conducted Jan. 30 - Feb. 1.

More than half of Democratic voters are undecided. Former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe is tied at 18 percent with state Delegate Brian Moran with state Sen. Creigh Deeds at 11 percent. The extent to which Virginians don't know the three is reflected in the high number of voters who answered "not sure" when asked if they viewed each man favorably or not. Sixty-seven percent were unsure about Deeds, 57 percent about Moran and 47 percent about McAuliffe.

A new USA Today/Gallup poll details how much support Americans have for President Obama's action on seven specific actions. The public is most supportive of his decisions to name special envoys to oversee the administration's efforts in the Middle East, and Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to tighten rules on people working as lobbyists either before or after serving in his administration. Both of these moves are favored by 76 percent of Americans. Those surveyed were not nearly as supportive of Obama's actions to limit the interrogation methods that can be used on military prisoners -- actions designed to ensure the United States does not resort to torture to find out information from prisoners. Seventy-four percent of Americans favor that decision, the same percentage who favor his executive order to institute higher fuel efficiency standards.

President Obama maintained his very strong public approval ratings over the past week, according to the daily tracking poll that the Gallup organization is featuring at the top of its Web site home page.

But the other questions asked by Gallup indicate a high level of anxiety harbored by many Americans -- concerning the state of the economy and the nation as a whole -- that is challenging Obama as he settles in as president, and could make it harder for him to maintain his lopsided net approval advantage as he makes the difficult decisions he will have to make going forward.