The 1,179-mile Canada-to-Texas pipeline is backed by 57% of the 1,011 Americans surveyed on Dec. 18-21. Just 28% oppose it, while 15% say they are unsure.
Keystone debate moves ahead
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- IMMIGRATION: Slightly more people would like to see the main focus of U.S. immigration policy be on establishing legal status for immigrants, at 50%, than on border security, at 46%. Those results are largely divided along party lines, which isn’t surprising, since President Barack Obama has taken executive action to forestall some deportations and the Republican-led Congress has accused him of taking a lax approach to border security.
- FREE TRADE: At 59%, more Americans say they see foreign trade as an opportunity for the United States than the 34% who see it as a threat to the United States. That debate could gain steam in the coming years as Obama’s administration negotiates massive deals with Pacific Rim countries and the European Union.
- SAME-SEX MARRIAGE: Fifty-seven percent of Americans now say gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to get married, while just 41% disagree. At 60%, even more people say marriages between same-sex couples should be recognized as valid. That number has ticked upward in CNN/ORC polls from 44% in 2008.
- GLOBAL WARMING: A majority of those polled, at 57%, say global warming will not pose a serious threat to their way of life, while just 43% expect global warming to threaten them. Meanwhile, only 50% of Americans believe global warming is caused by man-made emissions, while 23% say it’s caused by natural changes and 26% say it isn’t a proven fact.
- OBAMACARE: Forty-six percent of Americans would still like to see Obama’s signature health care law repealed and replaced — though even more favor keeping it in place or expanding government’s role in health care. Twenty-one percent say they’d like to leave the bill as it is, while 30% say they prefer increasing government involvement.
- ISIS: At 67%, more than two-thirds of Americans say Obama should ask Congress for authority to attack ISIS, while just 31% disagree. An even higher number, 82%, believe Congress should give Obama that authority.
- WATERBOARDING: Sixty-six percent of those polled say the United States should use waterboarding as it interrogates suspected terrorists, while 34% say it should not. At 71%, more men favor the tactic than women, who were at 60%. And while 70% of those under 50 years of age favor the tactic, just 60% of those over 50 support its use.
