In the latest AEI Political Report, the AEI Politics team looks at at the new phase of 2012 campaign from a variety of angles. 

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Ronald Reagan signed the legislation making Martin Luther King’s birthday a national holiday in November 1983. In January that year, public opinion was divided, with 47 percent in favor of the holiday and 48 percent opposed in an ABC News/Washington Post poll. In an October 1983 Harris poll, however, 59 percent supported it.

Greater polarization of the electorate, concerns about the economy, and skepticism of the media have led to a sharp decline in public opinion that climate change is a real and serious issue.

America's confidence in Wall Street and banks is plummeting.

Americans say many high profile people are overpaid, but they consider this, in some cases, unseemly or excessive rather than inherently unjust.

Polling data on confidence in business, confidence in Wall Street, executive pay and bonuses, attitudes toward regulation, and prestige, honesty, and trust.

Polls show Americans have a high opinion of Michelle Obama and the way she handles both her personal and public responsibilities.

A health care supplement to the May 2010 Political Report shows the public's attitudes on health care.