by Emily Swanson Pew Research Center 3/26-29/10; 1,018 adults, 4% margin of error Mode: Live telephone interviews ( Pew release ) National Most Closely Followed Story 66% Debate over health care reform 5% Vandalism and threats directed at Democrats who voted for health care reform 4% Reports about the Vatican’s handling of sex-abuse scandals in the Catholic Church 4% Reports about tensions between Israel and the United States 3% Recent ups and downs in the stock market 1% Google’s decision to stop using servers in China to avoid government censorship How well do you feel you understand how the new health care reform law will affect you and your family? 18% Very well 37% Somewhat well 21% Not too well 23% Not at all well We’re interested in how people are learning about what’s in the health care reform law and how it will affect people. Have you gotten information about the health reform law from each of the following, or not? The news media: 81% Yes, 19% No Family and Friends: 46% Yes, 54% No Your Employer: 7% Yes, 92% No Your Church or Religious Community: 7% Yes, 93% No

by Emily Swanson Rasmussen 3/23/10; 500 likely voters, 4.5% margin of error Mode: Automated phone (Rasmussen: Senate , Governor ) Idaho 2010 Governor 60% Otter(R), 28% Allred (D) 2010 Senate 60% Crapo (R), 28% Generic Democrat Favorable / Unfavorable Butch Otter: 62 / 35 Keith Allred: 34 / 34 Mike Crapo: 63 / 28 Job Approval / Disapproval Pres. Obama: 30 / 70 Gov. Otter: 60 / 37

by Emily Swanson Tom Edsall considers the political implications of the shifts in American “have” and “have not”coalitions. Stan Greenberg says 2010 looks like 1994…for now (more here and here , poll here ). Chris Bowers notes that the national House ballot question remains stable, despite a shift to registered voter samples. David Krane ask s what would happen if the 2012 election were held today. John Sides argues the “important” events in 2008 weren’t actually that important. Jon Cohen revisits recent polling on offshore drilling. David Hill favors a less-is-more mindset in Congress. Mark Mellman finds robust support for financial reform. Kevin Drum says issue polling means little when Americans haven’t formed opinions on the issue yet (via Sullivan ). National Media finds sports viewers skew Republican. Bob Groves wins over critics. Nate Silver finds no evidence that red states are falling behind on census participation. And the Census shows up in unexpected places.

In Iraqi Politics , Considering the Commute New York Times (blog) “My eldest daughter unfortunately is too political ,” he said. “She came in for the elections and she wants to come back again. Last night I was talking to … and more

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Who is this man? To remind our readers, this fine gentleman thrust his finger in a journalists face and shouted “ Get him out of here, or I’m going to jail today! ” We’re pretty sure he didn’t mean he was going to jaywalk. Let’s find out who he is and bring his intimidation tactics to light. And, while we’re at it, please help identify this man: Proudly wearing his Harry Reid t-shirt, this man lied to the police in Searchlight when he falsely accused Andrew Breitbart of throwing an egg at the Tea Party Activists’ bus. Does he work for the Reid campaign? Does he work for IBEW Local 357? Does he work for another union in the Las Vegas area? Finally, we need your help with a missing persons case… Has anyone seen or heard from the media? Are other journalists in the least bit concerned that an angry and intimidating group activated by a powerful politician can openly harass and intimidate a fellow journalist without any repercussions? Please, help us find the members of the press who seem to have disappeared over the past few days. When last seen, they were falsely accusing Tea Party activists of using “the N-word.”

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MiamiHerald.com Democrats should stop trying to change politics with policy concessions Grist Magazine During this strange lull in the (endless) development of the federal climate bill, I've been mulling over a few political notions. … COLUMN: Remember, all is fair in love and politics USD Volante Online On the Republican Politics of Reaction OUPblog (blog) Politics of hate changes USA Helsingin Sanomat Eagle Tribune

Tinseltown Conservatives Bruce Jenner and Jason Sehorn Talk Politics FOXNews Ronald Reagan experienced Hollywood's nasty political culture firsthand, as a TV and movie star in the '40s and '50s and during his five year stint as the … and more

by Emily Swanson Public Policy Polling (D) 3/27-29/10; 1,270 likely voters, 2.8% margin of error Mode: Automated phone ( PPP release ) Alabama 2010 Governor 48% Byrne (R), 32% Davis (D) 44% Ivey (R), 33% Davis (D) 42% James (R), 33% Davis (D) 43% Moore (R), 37% Davis (D) 43% Byrne (R), 30% Sparks (D) 39% Ivey (R), 33% Sparks (D) 38% James (R), 33% Sparks (D) 42% Moore (R), 37% Sparks (D) Job Approval / Disapproval Gov. Riley: 36 / 50 Favorable / Unfavorable Bradley Byrne: 18 / 18 Artur Davis: 20 / 35 Kay Ivey: 19 / 26 Tim James: 14 / 24 Roy Moore: 33 / 34 Ron Sparks: 20 / 20

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Reuters Iran denies meddling in Iraqi politics AFP TEHRAN — Iran on Wednesday denied charges of meddling in Iraqi politics as alleged by Iyad Allawi whose bloc won the most seats in Iraq's election, … Political Battle in Iraq as PM Fights to Hold Onto Power theTrumpet.com Channeling Identity Politics in Iraq The Moderate Voice Winners and Losers The Iraqi Elections CounterPunch Washington Post all 551 news articles

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Washington Post The politics of Obama's offshore drilling announcement AlterNet A compromise with Conservadems While Republicans have been particularly loud in their support for vastly expanded offshore drilling, this move is likely … Obama's Oil-Drilling Decision: A Rorschach Test TIME (blog) Obama's Compromise on Offshore Drilling Pleases Exactly No One TIME We “Tree Huggers” Need to See the Forest for the Trees Huffington Post (blog) The Guardian