Poll

Americans routinely express frustration that politicians in Washington can't rise above partisanship to find a compromise. That talk has been especially thick as Congress and President Obama posture and dig in on the tax-and-spending plan they must reach to avoid the onerous New Year's rebudgeting known as the fiscal cliff. It appears, though, that the citizens disturbed about Capitol gridlock exhibit some of the same ambivalence about compromise as the people they put in office.

Nearly two years after President Obama signed his landmark healthcare package into law, three-quarters of registered voters believe the law's requirement that every American carry health insurance is unconstitutional, according to a new survey. A USA Today/Gallup poll taken earlier this month and released Monday found that a majority of voters -- those surveyed in battleground states and nationwide generally -- agreed in their dislike of the Affordable Care Act. Voters in battleground states are more likely to want it repealed, the poll showed.

Foxsports.com writer Jason Whitlock started it by poking fun at Shaquille O'Neal in a tweet Tuesday night during TNT's "Inside the NBA," comparing the NBA star turned analyst's physique to that of his cohost,  Charles Barkley. "Right now, Chuck would win Shirt-Off II... Shaq is opening the season out of shape, as usual," Whitlock wrote. It was a pretty clever observation. But is it really a good idea to take on someone who has a forum on national TV? Especially when there are pictures of you like the one in the video above.

The first Gallup poll of the general election campaign shows Mitt Romney edging out President Obama, a close result that both parties expect will be the case through much of the next seven months. The former Massachusetts governor, emerging from a difficult and longer-than-expected Republican nomination battle, has the support of 47% of registered voters nationwide, while the president has the support of 45%. Two percent of voters said they supported another candidate, while 7% were undecided.

WASHINGTON -- President Obama may be widening his lead with Latino voters as a new poll shows that 70% say they plan to vote for him over Republican Mitt Romney. Obama leads Romney, 70% to 20%, according to a new Telemundo/NBC News/Wall Street Journal national poll. That represents an increase of 7 percentage points for Obama and a decrease of 8 points for Romney in the poll, the widest lead Obama has held in the poll since it was first conducted in June, according to the release accompanying the poll results Wednesday.

Well, yet another poll of the people. This one by The Times on Catholic views on the Pope and what is sin. So is truth now decided by majority rule? Is what is right or wrong decided by 2,040 Catholics? Opinion does not necessarily mean it's truth and correct. MIKE CENICERO Downey

Writers from around the Tribune Co. debate whether the USA Today coaches' poll still has relevance in today's college football landscape. Feel free to join the conversation with a comment of your own. Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times The coaches' poll is only relevant because, for two more years, it remains one-third of the formula in the Bowl Championship Series standings that determines which two teams play for the national title....

The two L.A. teams are done, but the NBA playoffs march merrily on, with a solid Western Conference finals matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs on deck. Both teams easily dispatched their L.A. opponent, with the Spurs sweeping the Clippers and the Thunder eliminating the Lakers in five games. Now, they face each other as Tim Duncan tries to win one more title for the Spurs while Kevin Durant of the Thunder tries to stake a claim as the best player in the NBA. So who will win?

Mitt Romney is poised for a three-fer that could give him close to a hammerlock on the GOP presidential nomination, according to a new Time-CNN poll that shows the front-runner with a sizable lead in South Carolina. But as he did in Iowa, Rick Santorum appears to be lurking behind, perhaps ready to make a move. Both Romney and Santorum have capitalized on waning support for Newt Gingrich. According to the poll, 37% of likely Republican primary voters are backing Romney, with 19% behind Santorum.

Beyond the number of delegates and size of their fundraising efforts, there's another large gap between Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum : their views of whether there's too much religion in politics. A poll by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life has found that nearly 60% of Romney supporters believe that churches should step back from political and social issues, while 60% of Santorum supporters believe churches should play a more active role. These sentiments were echoed by another sharp divide found between the candidates' supporters regarding their views on whether there's too little expression of religious faith by political leaders.