Thoughts on China

The world weighs in...and the numbers are intriguing.

31% of U.S. respondents believe China will replace the U.S. as the world's leading superpower.

Over 50% of French respondents believe it will.

22% of Mexican respondents - the highest of any nation surveyed - think it already has.

Perception and reality diverge in the survey, but I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Most respondents are rightly more concerned about China's military rise than its economic rise. Here's a good point to keep in mind in that regard:

Writing in The New York Times, Joffe calculated that even assuming indefinite Chinese growth of 7 percent and U.S. growth "at its historical rate of 3.5 percent," China's gross domestic product would total $12 trillion by 2028, far below the projected U.S. gross domestic product of $28 trillion.

|

Where We're At - America and Gay Marriage

Take a look at this in-depth snapshot of Americans' views on same-sex marriage in the immediate wake of California's legalization case.

Gallup does a nice job converting the raw poll data into something meaningful.

|

SC & Beyond

There you have it.

The question is whether the Obama appearance of strength is enough to shift trendlines in the big, moderate states of Super Duper Tuesday:

Dem February 5 Polls
TN: Clinton 34, Obama 20
AZ: Clinton 37, Obama 27
IL: Obama 51, Clinton 22
MO: Clinton 44, Obama 31
CA: Clinton 43, Obama 28

And here's a scattering of GOP numbers, which show a bit of a problem for Romney in states with big delegate prizes even if he takes Florida:

GOP February 5 Polls
IL: McCain 31, Romney 20
MO: Huckabee 27, McCain 26
MO: McCain 31, Huckabee 25
CA: McCain 29, Romney 17
AZ: McCain 40, Romney 23

|