Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart: 'What The Hell Happened To CNN?'

David Taintor | April 11, 2012, 9:27AM

Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart on Tuesday went through CNN's long list of news segments within the news: "political gut check, no talking points, rapid fire, CNN = politics update, end point" and on and on.

Which brought Stewart to his own show's next segment: Why?! "Why are you doing this? Do you believe your daily 11:23 a.m. political pop is appointment viewing?"

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Debbie Wasserman-Schultz

Key Dem: 'Wrong' To Say GOP Waging A War On Women

Sahil Kapur | April 8, 2012, 11:05AM

Congressional Black Caucus Chair Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO)

Democrats didn't have their message straight on Sunday.

In separate segments on CNN's State of the Union, two top Democrats differed on whether Republicans are waging a "war on women," a central line of attack that Democrats have reaped big political gains for amid the GOP's recent push to limit access to contraception.

DNC chair and Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, pressed on whether it's fair to accuse Republicans of waging a war on women, didn't concede an inch.

"The focus of the Republican Party on turning back the clock for women really is something that's unacceptable and shows how callous and insensitive they are towards women's priorities," she said.

Since 2011, Republicans have pushed various bills that would restrict access to abortion and women's health services. The DNC chairwoman cited those efforts as well as the GOP's opposition to legislation establishing equal pay for women as evidence that the party's policies are antithetical to women's interests.

Later on the same show, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and an influential African-American voice, strongly pushed back on his own party's line of attack.

When Clever, a United Methodist pastor, lit into the GOP's claim that President Obama is anti-religion, social conservative Ralph Reed retorted, "Congressman, is it similarly wrong, then, for Democrats to say that the Republican Party is engaged in a war on women? Is that wrong?"

"Yes, that is wrong. And I've never said it, not one time," Cleaver responded. "I condemn it. If it's a Democrat, if it's my cousin, it's wrong."

"We have got to quit exaggerating our political differences," he said.

Dems, including Obama, have enjoyed a significant boost among women voters in recent polls while hammering the message that Republicans are waging a "war on women." Democrats have so far been able to press that attack without dissent from within, but remarks like Cleaver's could give the GOP an opening to push back.

CNN

CNN: Takeaway From Obama Prayer Breakfast Speech Is He's Still A Christian

David Taintor | February 2, 2012, 11:32AM

Apparently we're back to casting doubt on President Obama's Christian faith.

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Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart Roasts Obnoxious Cable News Show

David Taintor | January 11, 2012, 10:22AM

Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart rarely has nice things to say about cable news hosts. But CNN sort of had this coming. Taking a break from the 2012 presidential race Tuesday, Stewart homed in on "Early Start," a 5 a.m. news show that specializes in cold calling people in the early morning hours.

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Economy

CNN Poll: 8 in 10 Believe We Are Still In Recession

Kyle Leighton | September 2, 2011, 12:30PM

New York Stock Exchange

A new CNN poll out on Friday shows that two and half years after the financial crisis and subsequent fallout, the public's worries about the economy have not settled. In fact, more people now feel the US is in a recession than they did in October of 2008.

CNN's survey showed that 69 percent of Americans think we are in a serious or moderate recession, with 13 percent who believe it's still a mild one. That means 8 in 10 Americans still feel the economy is still stuck in neutral, which isn't helpful for other economic indicators like consumer confidence, and could contribute to slowing the recovery.

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Tea Party Express

Tea Party Express Kicks Off Bus Tour To 'Reclaim America'

David Taintor | August 29, 2011, 1:33PM

Anti-tea party protesters attended the Tea Party Express' rally in Napa, California.

Fresh off conservative criticism of President Obama's Midwest bus tour, the Tea Party Express is kicking its own tires. Leading up to the CNN/Tea Party Express Republican presidential debate Sept. 10, the tea party group on Saturday launched a bus tour in Napa, California.

"We want Washington to live within its means, just like we do," Tea Party Express chairwoman Amy Kremer told Reuters. "We're in an economic downfall. Meanwhile, politicians are busy attending cocktail parties instead of focusing on the issues."

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Polls

CNN Poll: Grand Old Party Downgrade

Kyle Leighton | August 9, 2011, 12:58PM

TPM has been reporting for weeks about the effect of the debt debate on individual political leaders and the subsequently low ratings of Congress. But new data from a CNN poll shows that there's been a difference in the minds of many Americans: the Democratic Party is getting a split on approval/disapproval at 47 - 47, but the Republican Party disapproval rating is all the way up to 59%, against a 33% approval.

The GOP approval rating has been going down in the CNN poll since their 2010 victories: in the October 27-30 version, the Republican Party had a small plurality in approval, at 44 - 43. But since last fall's election they've seen a steady downward trend in the survey, to the current low, which is the highest disapproval rating in the CNN poll in the last twenty years.

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CNN

ALL Major Cable Nets Cut Away When Pelosi Talks Jobs Over Weiner (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | June 16, 2011, 12:29PM

The DC media's jaw-dropping obsession with the Anthony Weiner sexting scandal will peter out when the New York congressman officially resigns this afternoon. But there's no better illustration of how this story came to consume the press than the video below.

Democrats had been prepared to up the pressure on Weiner to resign Thursday, but not before House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi held her weekly press availability in a large studio in the basement of the Capitol Visitors Center.

Her conference began minutes after the news of Weiner's impending resignation leaked, and so reporters and cameras scrambled to what otherwise would have been a fairly routine press event. Indeed, because Dems are in the minority, it's not uncommon for Pelosi events to be under-attended by members the media. Not this time.

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Mitt Romney

Romney Cements Frontrunner Status Ahead Of NH Debate

Jon Terbush | June 13, 2011, 3:17PM

Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney bolstered his status as the clear early frontrunner in the GOP presidential field, as two polls conducted just ahead of Monday night's debate show Romney pulling away from the pack.

In each poll, Romney earned the support of one-fourth of respondents, giving him comfortable leads over the rest of the field. And in each poll, a candidate who will not be participating in the debate and who has not made a final decision about a potential candidacy claimed second place: Sarah Palin.

In a Gallup poll released Monday, Romney came out on top at 24%, a seven point increase from where he stood last month. That boost gave him a robust eight point lead over Palin, who came in at 16%, and who had trailed Romney by only two points last month. Former pizza chain CEO Herman Cain placed third at 9%, followed by Ron Paul with 7%, and then Tim Pawlenty and Rick Santorum with 6%. Newt Gingrich, who just a few months ago typically finished in the top tier, dropped down to 8th place at 5% after a bruising month of gaffes and bad press.

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Economy

Economic Pessimism Poses Threat To Obama's Reelection Bid

Jon Terbush | June 9, 2011, 6:45AM

As it stands now, the biggest threat to President Obama's reelection bid isn't a Republican challenger -- it's the economy, stupid.

Obama's overall approval rating -- and by extension his odds of winning reelection next year -- are inextricably tied to the health of the economy, as a number of recent polls have made very clear. While it's still a long way till election day, at the same time that economic pessimism has grown polls are showing Americans losing confidence in Obama's ability to turn things around.

The good news for Obama is that polls have not yet shown any of the Republican presidential candidates consistently topping him in hypothetical matchups, or even putting up much of a fight. So while these polls have reinforced the time-tested notion that the economy's health is crucial to a president's reelection bid, they've also illuminated how weak the current crop of Republican frontrunners are -- including presumed frontrunner Mitt Romney.

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Generic Ballot

Dems Retake Edge In Generic Ballot For First Time Since 2009

Jon Terbush | May 11, 2011, 4:54PM

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Just a few months removed from last year's midterm elections, the wave that swept Republicans to an epic victory has already receded, as they now trail Democrats in a generic election ballot, according to the latest TPM Poll Average.

Last year, Republicans held a huge edge in generic ballot surveys as voters turned against the party in power, Democrats. But since taking over control of the House of Representatives back in January, that big lead has quickly evaporated, giving Democrats an edge they haven't had in the TPM Poll Average in about a year and a half, since November 2009.

The poll that tipped the scales came this week from CNN. In that survey of adults nationwide, Democrats emerged with a 50% to 46% edge over Republicans. As a result, the TPM Poll Average shifted just enough to give Democrats a tiny lead, 42.4% to 42.2%.

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Gay Marriage

Poll: Majority Supports Legal Recognition For Same-Sex Marriage

Jon Terbush | April 19, 2011, 1:16PM

As Republicans and President Obama square off over the Defense of Marriage Act, a new CNN poll shows that a small majority of Americans now support legal recognition for same sex marriages.

In the poll, 51% of adult Americans said they thought same sex marriages should be recognized by law, while 47% said they should not. That's a significant reversal from the same poll two years ago when Americans opposed same sex marriage by a 10-point spread, with 44% in favor and 54% against.

It's the second time in as many months that a pollster has for the first time found majority support for legalizing same sex marriage. In March, a Washington Post/ABC News poll showed that 53% of adults supported legalizing same sex marriage, while 44% opposed it.

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Tim Pawlenty

T-Paw: 'I Am Running For President', But That Doesn't Mean I'm Running For President - Yet (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | April 13, 2011, 9:55AM

And now you know the rest of the story: Hours after CNN released an early look at former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty's not surprising announcement on Tuesday's Piers Morgan Tonight that he's running for president, team Pawlenty sent reporters a frustrated statement claiming CNN kept the truth of the interview from its preview.

What Pawlenty actually said, according to the transcript, is that he's running for president. But he's not formally announcing it yet.

It's a subtle difference, to be sure, and one that's pretty academic. But one that the Pawlenty campaign wanted to make sure reporters understood.

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2012

CNN Poll: Donald Trump Ties Huckabee For Lead In GOP Primary

Jon Terbush | April 12, 2011, 12:48PM

Donald Trump

Eccentric billionaire, real estate mogul and reality television star Donald Trump is now tied for the lead in the Republican presidential primary race, according to a CNN poll released today.

That finding caps off a stunning two weeks that have seen Trump rising in the GOP field nationally and polling near the front of the pack in crucial early primary states. And while the primaries are still a long way off, and only a few candidates are officially in the field, it raises the question of just how viable a Trump candidacy would be.

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Government Shutdown

Poll: Americans Strongly Support Budget Deal, And Credit Dems For Averting Shutdown

Jon Terbush | April 11, 2011, 1:14PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

Nearly six in ten Americans approve of the eleventh hour budget deal struck between Congress and the White House to avert a government shutdown, according to a CNN poll released on Monday. And what's more, a plurality give Democrats the most credit for making it happen.

In the poll of American adults, 58% said they approved of the budget deal, compared to 38% who disapproved.

Additionally, the poll found that a 48% plurality of respondents credited Obama and Congressional Democrats the most for preventing a government shutdown. Thirty-five percent of respondents gave more credit to Republicans, while 11% thought both sides were equally responsible.

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Jeb Hensarling

GOP Rep: Congress Deserves To Be 'Tarred And Feathered'

David Taintor | April 11, 2011, 11:52AM

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX)

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) doesn't think Congress' last-minute budget deal is enough.

Congress probably deserves "medals" for approving one of the "largest year-to-year cut in the federal budget," Hensarling said Sunday on CNN's State of the Union. "Relative to the size of the problem, it is not even a rounding error. In that case, we probably all deserve to be tarred and feathered."

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Donald Trump

Trump: Obama's Grandparents Put In The Birth Announcement To Get Benefits Like Welfare

Jillian Rayfield | April 11, 2011, 11:39AM

Donald Trump

Donald Trump has an explanation for why President Obama's birth would be announced in a Hawaii newspaper if he wasn't really born in the United States: His grandparents put it in as a ruse to make people think he was a U.S. citizen, "for hospitalization, for welfare, for this, for that, for all of the other assets you get from being a United States citizen."

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Sean Duffy

CNN's Joe Johns Corrects Sean Duffy Selective Editing Report (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro and Melissa Jeltsen | April 1, 2011, 6:23PM

A day after he reported the office of Rep. Sean Duffy's (R-WI) false accusation that TPM posted "selectively edited" video of Duffy talking about "struggling" on his $174,000/year salary, Johns corrected the record and reported that, in fact, TPM had posted the full clip until the the Polk County GOP forced its removal.

Speaking on CNN Newsroom Friday afternoon, Johns told anchor Brooke Baldwin that Duffy's suggestion that TPM selectively clipped the tape was, in fact, not true.

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Public Broadcasting

Poll: Americans Wrongly Estimate $178 Billion In Fed. Budget Goes To Public Broadcasting

Jon Terbush | April 1, 2011, 2:34PM

In a CNN poll of American adults released Friday, the median guess on what percentage of the federal budget goes to public broadcasting was 5%. With a $3.55 trillion budget last year, that would put funding for the CBP at approximately $178 billion.

In reality though, that's not even close.

The CPB received about $420 million last year from the federal government, making it roughly one one-hundredth of one percent, of the overall budget. That means that the median response was about 424 times higher than the actual amount of federal funding that went to public broadcasting last year.

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Sean Duffy

Sean Duffy To CNN: TPM Selectively Edited My Video!

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 31, 2011, 7:18PM

Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) and CNN's Joe Johns

On CNN Newsroom today, CNN reporter Joe Johns accused TPM of posting a "selectively edited" version of the town hall appearance where Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) discussed "struggling" to live on his $174,000/ year salary. The accusation came by way of Duffy's office, which Johns reported said the clip had been deliberately cut to leave off Duffy saying he would support cutting his salary.

That accusation from Duffy's office comes after the Polk County, Wisconsin Republican Party -- which originally posted the five-minute video of Duffy talking about his salary -- demanded the full version posted by TPM on Tuesday be pulled off the internet, claiming it was protected by copyright.

After receiving the complaint, out of abundance of caution and on the advice of counsel, TPM posted a one minute excerpt of the five-minute video. Now the Duffy camp is complaining that the edited version of the video, which TPM originally ran in its entirety, is misleading. You can judge for yourself by viewing the entire video below, which we have decided to repost.

The gist however is that after using their legal muscle to force us to take down the full video and replace it with an excerpt, Duffy's office is now claiming that the use of the excerpt is a ploy to mislead the public about what he said. And CNN is reporting their bogus claim as fact.

For the record, TPM specifically reported Duffy's comment that he would support an across the board public employee pay cut in both the original story we posted Tuesday with the full video and in the followup story Wednesday that contained the video excerpt.

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Tea Party

Poll: Unfavorable View Of Tea Party Hits Record High

Jon Terbush | March 30, 2011, 1:08PM

At a tea party rally.

The percentage of Americans who hold an unfavorable opinion of the Tea Party movement rose to an all-time in a new CNN poll released today. CNN found the Tea Party ranked nearly as unpopular as both the Republican and Democratic parties.

In the poll, 47% of adult Americans said they viewed the Tea Party unfavorably, compared to 32% who said they viewed it favorably.

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Mosques

Poll: Nearly 70% Say They'd Be 'Okay' With Mosque In Their Neighborhood

Jon Terbush | March 24, 2011, 3:29PM

A group of men gather in prayer during the first day of Ramadan at the Masjid An-Noor Mosque.

Almost seven in ten American adults say they'd be fine with a mosque in their community, according to a CNN poll.

That finding comes just weeks after another poll found that barely half of Americans believed Muslims in the U.S. supported America, and after Rep. Peter King (R-NY) held controversial hearings into the radicalization of American Muslims. Meanwhile, several states, including Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia have considered bills to ban Sharia Law.

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Fox News

Fox Correspondent: 'CNN Has Put A Landmine Out There' To Stop Me From Reporting

Brian Beutler | March 24, 2011, 9:53AM

Fox News Correspondent Jennifer Griffin

The contretemps between Fox News and CNN over their Libya coverage continues to unfold. This time, Fox's veteran national security reporter, who unwittingly touched off the dispute, weighs in to call CNN's conduct "unprofessional," "nonsense," and beneath them. She also joked, "CNN has put a landmine out there so I can stop reporting."

"My reporting was not meant to point fingers; it was to get the facts out there," Jennifer Griffin told Mediabistro. "It was not about attacking anyone personally. I feel, unfortunately, CNN decided to make this personal, by saying what I think are extremely unprofessional things about my colleague Steve Harrigan who is a fabulous reporter and who is a great war correspondent and I think what they said about him was indefensible. They made this personal. I did not."

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Health Care

Poll: Majority Still Opposes HCR, 13% Say Not Liberal Enough

Jon Terbush | March 23, 2011, 12:44PM

President Barack Obama

On the one year anniversary of President Obama signing the health care overhaul into law, a new CNN poll finds that a a majority of Americans still oppose the law. Thirteen percent, however, say they wish the law was actually more liberal than it currently is.

The poll found that public opinion toward the law has changed little over the past year. Last March, a CNN poll showed that 39% of Americans supported the law, compared to 59% who opposed it. In the latest poll, support slipped to 37%, while opposition checked in at 59% again.

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Fox News

Fox News Reporter Lambastes CNN Rival, Calls His Reporting 'Bullsh*t'

Brian Beutler | March 23, 2011, 8:10AM

Steve Harrigan

The hostilities between the Libya correspondents for Fox News and CNN continue to play out in the media. Responding to Monday's fusillade by CNN's foreign correspondent Nic Robertson, Fox News reporter Steve Harrigan questioned his rival's manhood in an interview with Huffington Post.

"He puts on his blue blazer and gets on the government bus, and then pats himself on the back and calls that news?" Harrigan says. "Bullshit."

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Fox News

Fox Reporter Retracts Claim That Fox Did Not Participate In Reported Libya/Human Shield Excursion (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | March 22, 2011, 10:59AM

Fox News now acknowledges they sent a representative on a trip to Muammar Qadaffi's Tripoli compound -- an excursion it claims was organized by the Libyan government to use journalists as human shields.

The full back story is here and here. On Monday, seasoned Fox national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reported that the Libyan government was using journalists from competitor organizations as human shields, while Fox declined to participate in a propaganda mission.

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Fox News

CNN Correspondent Goes Ballistic Over Fox News Libya/Human Shield Report (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | March 21, 2011, 7:00PM

CNN's Libya correspondent Nic Robertson

CNN correspondent Nic Robertson has a bone or two to pick with Fox News, which reported today that he and other journalists were used by the Libyan Ministry of Information as human shields, in a successful bid to block a coming, second attack on a compound in Tripoli, supposedly controlled by Qaddafi.

"[T]his allegation is outrageous and it's absolutely hypocritical. When you come to somewhere like Libya, you expect lies and deceit from a dictatorship here," Robertson told Wolf Blitzer. "You don't expect it from the other journalists."

Fox claims their own correspondent, Steve Harrigan, declined to accept the invitation from the Libyans for fear of being used as a propaganda tool, and perhaps a human shield. But Robertson claims Fox did indeed send an employee on the trip -- not a regular news guy -- and that Harrigan has been asleep on the job since hostilities began.

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Afghanistan

Rumsfeld: Obama Can Win The War On Terror By Emulating Bush (VIDEO)

Jon Terbush | February 21, 2011, 9:53AM

According to Donald Rumsfeld, the Bush administration handled the "War On Terror" just fine, as proven by the fact that President Obama is now such a big fan of their work.

Appearing on CNN with Candy Crowley, Rumsfeld noted that Obama -- despite criticizing Bush on the campaign trail -- has perpetuated several highly contentious Bush-era policies since taking office.

"They have now switched from campaign mode," Rumsfeld said. "They are keeping Guantanamo Bay, they are keeping indefinite detention, they are keeping military commissions. So obviously they have come to the conclusion that it's easier to campaign than it is to govern."

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Bob Wagner

Montana State Rep On Obama Citizenship: 'I'm Not Qualified To Say' (Video)

Andrew Jones | February 16, 2011, 2:00PM

The birther movement isn't going away anytime soon. And a Montana state representative on CNN last night demonstrated the continued skepticism on the right about the legality of Barack Obama's presidency.

State Rep. Bob Wagner (R) appeared on Anderson Cooper to talk about his introduction of a "birther bill" in the his state's capital. The bill requires "documentary proof of the kind established by rule by the secretary of state that shows that the candidate has complied with the durational citizenship and residency requirements for the office as prescribed by the United States constitution."

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2012 Presidential Primaries

Republicans Would Sacrifice Ideology For Electability In Pres Nominee

Jon Terbush | February 8, 2011, 12:07PM

Fmr. Governors Mitt Romney (R-MA), Mike Huckabee (R-AR), and Sarah Palin (R-AK), and Fmr. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

When it comes down to nominating a standard bearer to challenge President Obama in 2012, Republicans would much rather pick a candidate they think can beat Obama than one who shares all their values but whom they doubt could win in the general election, according to a CNN poll released this morning.

In the poll, 68% of Republicans said they'd prefer the GOP nominee to stand a fighting chance against Obama, even if that candidate disagrees with them on some key issues. Only 29% said they'd rather nominate a candidate who agrees with hem on every issue they consider important but who might not be able to oust the President in a general election.

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Economy

Poll: Optimism About State Of The Country Hits Highest Point Since 2007

Jon Terbush | January 25, 2011, 9:55AM

President Barack Obama

With President Obama set to deliver his second State of the Union address tonight, a new national poll finds that Americans are more optimistic about the state of the country than they have been in nearly four years.

In a CNN poll released today, 43% of Americans said things in the country were going either "very" or "fairly" well, the highest level of confidence CNN has measured since April 2007. That result also represents a 14-point increase from just one month ago, when only 29% of Americans said the country was in good shape.

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Michael Steele

Michael Steele Claims His RNC Was 'A Very Lean Machine' (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | January 20, 2011, 9:30AM

Michael Steele

Recently ousted Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele -- who oversaw the organization's expenditures at bondage-themed restaurants, its plunge into $22 million in debt and a bare bones fundraising effort -- claimed Wednesday his RNC was "a very lean machine."

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2012 elections

Spitzer Presses Pawlenty To Detail How He'd Cut Spending As President (VIDEO)

Jon Terbush | January 12, 2011, 1:04PM

Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty (R), who is mulling a 2012 presidential bid, appeared on CNN's Parker-Spitzer last night and said he had the "fortitude" to get things done in Washington. Yet that purported fortitude was not on display when he was pressed to name how he'd address contentious spending issues.

"The country is going to have to look for a leader who's going to have an uncommon amount of fortitude," Pawlenty said. "Not just to flap their jaw out, not just to offer failed amendments, not just to give a speech, but to get it done."

However, when host Eliot Spitzer asked him repeatedly to show that fortitude by outlining how he'd deal with ballooning defense spending, Pawlenty offered few specifics good for only slim savings. Pawlenty embraced a proposal by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to peg DOD spending increases to inflation and to eliminate ineffective weapons programs for an estimated savings of $93 billion over five years, and suggested trimming the size underused military bases.

Spitzer then asked Pawlenty if he'd go further and support calls from several conservatives, including Obama's deficit panel co-chair Alan Simpson, who've said defense should shed $1 trillion over 10 years. Pawlenty said he would not.

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Barack Obama

Poll: Support For Obama's Policies Down Since Last Year

Jon Terbush | December 30, 2010, 11:05AM

President Barack Obama

As the Democratic Party looks to recover from the midterm shellacking, a new CNN poll found that support for Obama's policies has dipped 10 percentage points over the past year. Yet despite the sharp drop, a majority of Americans still support the President's policies.

In the poll, 61% percent of respondents said they hoped Obama's policies would succeed, while 27% said they hoped his policies would fail. Last year, CNN pegged that split at 71% to 22%.

The poll asked:

In general, do you hope that Barack Obama's policies will succeed or do you hope that his policies will fail?

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CNN

Poll: Individual Coverage Mandate Least Popular Part of Health Care Law

Jon Terbush | December 28, 2010, 12:24PM

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R)

The health care bill that passed earlier this year continues to be a divisive and generally unpopular piece of legislation as a whole. But a CNN poll out today indicates that the broad unpopularity may in part be due to just one of the bill's provisions -- the individual mandate.

When asked specifically about three major provisions contained in the health care law, only the one requiring all Americans to have health insurance was opposed by a majority of respondents to the poll. Thirty-eight percent said they supported that provision, versus 60% who were opposed.

By contrast, 61% of respondents were in favor of preventing insurance providers from dropping coverage for patients who become seriously ill, versus 39% who opposed that piece of the bill. Respondents were also in favor of the provision preventing insurers from denying coverage for preexisting conditions by a 29 point margin, 64%-35%.

Yet despite the overwhelming support for two of the three provisions presented in the poll, 54% of respondents said they had a generally unfavorable opinion of the law as a whole, while 43% had a favorable opinion. That seems to suggest that while Americans largely favor pieces of the health care overhaul, their skepticism of the individual mandate trumps their support for those other reforms.

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2010 elections

Poll: Obama Far More Popular Than GOP In Lame Duck Session

Jon Terbush | December 23, 2010, 11:57AM

President Barack Obama

Maybe the midterm elections weren't such a referendum on the President after all.

According to a CNN poll released Wednesday, 56% of Americans approve of President Obama's job performance during the lame duck session -- 14 points higher than the 42% approval rating for Congressional Republicans over the same period. Even the Democratic Party, which just one month ago suffered enormous midterm losses, polled slightly higher than the GOP, with 44% of Americans approving of their job performance in the lame duck session.

Respondents also said they believe Obama's policies rather than those of the GOP would move the country in the right direction. Fifty-five percent of respondents said Obama's proposals would move the country in the right direction, while 42% said they would do the opposite. By contrast, 51% said the Republicans' policies would be good for the U.S., versus 44% who said they would be bad for the country.

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Tea Party Express

CNN, Tea Party Express To Host A GOP Presidential Debate

David Taintor | December 17, 2010, 1:24PM

Tea Party activists in Washington, D.C.

In what promises to be a bizarre pairing, CNN and the Tea Party Express are joining forces to co-host a Republican presidential primary debate in September 2011.

The Tea Party Express' hits have been no stranger to TPM's pages. Over the summer, for example, Tea Party Express' Mark Williams said the NAACP's use of the word "colored'" makes the organization racist. Williams, who was an occasional guest on CNN, was eventually forced to resign from the Tea Part Express.

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Rand Paul

Rand Paul: Obama Will Be 'Pragmatic' With New GOP Congress

David Taintor | December 8, 2010, 5:02PM

Kentucky Senate Candidate Rand Paul (R)

A day after President Barack Obama's White House's compromise with Republicans on extending the Bush-era tax cuts, Sen.-elect Rand Paul almost had a compliment for the president.

"I actually think that President Obama is going to turn out to be fairly pragmatic with the new Republican Congress," Paul told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in an interview to be broadcast later.

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Rand Paul

Rand Paul: I Am Not An Earmarker! (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 9, 2010, 6:09PM

Kentucky's incoming Senator is pushing back hard on critics who claim he has sold out when it comes to earmarks. Republican Rand Paul told CNN's Wolf Blitzer today that concerns that he backed away from his pledge to refuse federally-funded pet projects, a key tenet of his tea party-fueled campaign, just aren't warranted.

"I won't use earmarks as a senator," Paul told Blitzer. As he had on the campaign trail, Paul said earmarking "shows some of the abuse of Washington" and promised he won't be among the Senators who participate in the process. But that doesn't mean he won't try to get money for Kentucky through the open appropriations process.

Conservatives got upset at Paul after a Wall Street Journal article from the weekend reported Paul had offered a "shift" on "his campaign pledge to end earmarks." That led National Review to worry Paul was "selling out already."

On CNN, Paul dismissed the article. In a flashback to the campaign trail -- when Paul's early national media appearances haunted him for months -- the Sen.-elect said the Journal had misquoted him and demanded a correction.

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KY-SEN

Conway's New Groove: Dem Moving On From Aqua Buddha In KY-SEN? (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 21, 2010, 8:37AM

KY Senate candidate Jack Conway (D)

When it comes to Rand Paul's college career, it seems like Jack Conway's work here is done. Having turned a weird anecdote from one of Paul's schoolmates at Baylor into a national firestorm, Conway seems ready to pull the Kentucky Senate race back toward something more in keeping with standard electoral politics.

Conway's already suggested he doesn't see Aqua Buddha as his closing argument, having told reporters that the now-infamous ad will likely be off the air by the end of this week. That means it's time to get back to what Conway was doing before the ad dropped -- namely, hitting the Republican Paul over and over for his semi-Libertarianism.

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