Rick Perry, the pro-life Texas governor, has opened up big leads over his Republican presidential opponents both nationally and in South Carolina, the site of the third primary election battleground next year.

A new CNN poll featuring interviews with 1,017 adult Americans conducted by telephone by ORC International on August 24-25 shows Perry at 27 percent compared with Mitt Romney at 14 percent, Sarah Palin at 10 percent, and Michele Bachmann and Rudy Giuliani at 9 percent each. Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul both pick up 6 percent in the survey.

Those numbers are an improvement for Perry, who entered the race on the same day Bachmann won the Iowa Straw Poll in Ames. A mid-August CNN poll showed Romney leading with 17 percent compared with 15% for Perry and 12 percent each for Palin, Giuliani, and Paul...

(CNSNews.com) - The percentage of Americans telling the Gallup poll they have a negative view of the federal government has hit a new high, Gallup reported today.

In a survey conducted Aug. 11-14, Gallup asked American adults whether their overall view of the federal government was very positive, somewhat positive, neutral, somewhat negative or very negative.

A total of 63 percent said they had a negative view of the federal government, including 34 percent who said they had a somewhat negative view and 29 percent who said they had a very negative view.

That is the highest negative rating the federal government has received since Gallup starting asking people to rate their view of the government in an August 2003 survey. Gallup has asked the same question about the federal government every August since then...

The government-run Obamacare law that includes abortion-funding and rationing concerns for pro-life advocates is not the central topic of political discussion these days as most Americans focus on the Republican presidential primary and the state of the economy.

However, a new poll out today from Rasmussen Reports shows 57% of Americans still want to see the Obamacare law overturned in Congress via legislation to repeal it. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of likely voters has 46 percent strongly favoring repeal.

(CNSNews.com) - In the same week that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that her department was going to review the cases of 300,000 illegal aliens in deportation proceedings and allow “low priority” cases to stay in the country and receive work permits — a move House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith called a “back door amnesty” — President Barack Obama’s approval dropped to an all-time low of 44 percent among Hispanics, according to Gallup polling data released today.

That is a drop of 41 points from the spring of 2009, when Obama’s approval among Hispanic Americans peaked at 85 percent (in the weeks that ended April 26, 2009 and May 17, 2009)...

In the past two election cycles, American labor unions have spent some $600 million helping elect and protect Democrats, most of it devoted to President Obama’s 2008 election.

But it may take an even larger commitment from labor groups to keep Obama in office. The latest Gallup poll shows Obama would be hard pressed to beat either of the GOP frontrunners, Mitt Romney or Rick Perry, or even those farther back in the pack, like Ron Paul. The cry from independents has become: Anybody but Obama.

The president is in the midst of a political crisis. While he has 15 months to stage a comeback, the weakening economy and Obama’s inability to connect with American voters on the issues that matter most have banished ideas about an easy re-election...

(CNSNews.com) - If the presidential election were held today and either Rep. Ron Paul, Rep. Michele Bachmann, Gov. Rick Perry or former Gov. Mitt Romney was the Republican nominee, the Gallup poll would have the race to close to call because support for each of these candidates would be within the polling margin of error of the support for President Obama, according to a new Gallup poll.

From Aug-17-18, Gallup asked 879 registered voters: “Suppose the presidential election were held today. If Barack Obama were the Democratic Party’s candidate and __________ were the Republican Party’s candidate who would you vote for?” In the blank space shown here, Gallup rotated through the names of Paul, Bachmann, Perry and Romney.

The poll had a margin of error of +/-4 points...

(CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama’s politically charged but taxpayer funded bus tour through the Midwest turned into a bust yesterday with his approval rating dropping back to its all-time low of 39 percent in the Gallup poll.

Obama’s approval in the Gallup poll had first dropped into the 30s three days ago, hitting 39 percent just as he began his bus tour. Then it rose to 41 percent two days ago, before dropping back to its all-time low of 39 yesterday.

Tuesday’s bus tour was highlighted by Obama’s verbal encounter with Tea Party activist Ryan Rhodes at a townhall meeting in Decorah, Iowa. Rhodes wanted the president to tell him why Vice President Joe Biden had likened Tea Party activists to terrorists while the president was touting civility...

President Obama’s approval rating dropped to below 40 percent, an all-time low, according to Gallup’s daily tracking poll.

The poll released Sunday says 39 percent of Americans approve of Obama’s performance, while 54 percent disapprove.

The slide comes as Obama launches a political counteroffensive this week, while he’s weighed down by wilting support among some of his most ardent backers, a stunted economy and a daily bashing from the slew of Republicans campaigning for his job...

DES MOINES, Iowa – Seven Republican presidential contenders will try to use Thursday's debate, sponsored by Fox News and the Washington Examiner, in the leadoff caucus state of Iowa to cast themselves as the strongest alternative to one rival: front-runner Mitt Romney.

A Fox News Poll released Wednesday showed that the former Massachusetts Gov. remains Republican primary voters’ preferred candidate.

But all risk being overshadowed by one Republican who won't be on the stage -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who has signaled he's likely to join the field in the coming days and will visit the early nominating states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina this weekend...

(CNSNews.com) - The percentage of Americans saying they approve of the job President Barack Obama is doing tied its all-time low of 42 percent in the week of Aug. 1-7, while the percentage of Americans saying they disapprove of the job Obama is doing tied its all-time high of 50 percent, according to the Gallup poll.

The record-high 50-percent level in Obama’s disapproval came in the same week he signed legislation to increase the federal government’s debt limit by $2.4 trillion and Standard & Poor’s downgraded U.S. government debt from AAA to AA+ for the first time ever.

Obama weekly disapproval in the Gallup poll had previously hit its record high of 50 percent in the week of Aug. 16-22, 2010. It has never exceeded that percentage...