Opinion Weekend
March 9-10, 2024
State of the Union Dial Group: Positive Responses to Biden’s Speech on the Economy, Health Care, Democracy, and Abortion Bryan Bennett, Navigator Research This Navigator Research report contains findings from a live-reaction dial group Navigator conducted in the Phoenix, Arizona, metro area, analyzing how soft partisans and independents responded to President Biden’s State of the Union address in real time.
State of the Union Clifford Young & Bernard Mendez, Ipsos Five charts on how Americans view the major topics Biden discussed during the State of the Union address and how Biden lines up to “his predecessor” on each
Has the Supreme Court become just another political branch? Public perceptions of court approval and legitimacy in a post-Dobbs world Matthew Levendusky, Shawn Patterson Jr., et al, Science Advances Using both eight waves of panel data and 18 nationally representative surveys spanning two decades, we show that while there was little evidence of partisan polarization in earlier years, in 2022 and 2023, such patterns are clear in favorability, trust, legitimacy, and support for reform. Factors that used to protect the Court—like knowledge about it and support for key democratic values—no longer do so. Former Presidents can be effective opinion makers long after leaving office Gregory H. Winger (U. of Cincinnati) & Alex Oliver (Evolving Strategies), LSE USAPP While a president’s official powers end when they exit the White House, their rhetorical standing endures and continues to underpin post-presidential activities. To explore this Rhetorical Post-Presidency, we conducted survey experiments to test the influence of former presidents as elite cue-givers.