The United States has taken a turn toward isolationism likely unseen in the post War World II era, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center and historic Gallup polling.

For the first time in more than four decades a plurality, 49 percent, believe the United States should “mind its own business internationally and let other countries get along the best they can on their own,” Pew reported Thursday; only 44 percent of Americans' disagree.

Therefore, half the nation has turned inward at the very moment President Obama has ordered 30,000 more troops into the Afghan war zone.

A separate look at Gallup polling reveals how unique the Pew result is in the post-war era. Isolationism was the prevailing strain of U.S. thought following World War I. But Americans' views were reshaped with the United States rise as the world's dominate superpower following the second world war. In 1954, Gallup found that a majority, 53 percent, considered themselves an “internationalist” while only 13 percent said they were an “isolationist.”

A new Public Policy Polling (D) survey in Delaware gives Rep. Mike Castle (R) a 6-point lead over Attorney General Beau Biden (D) in the 2010 special election to fill Vice President Biden's unexpired term. That is only slightly changed from a March survey also showing Castle ahead.

General Election Matchup
Castle 45 (+1 vs. last poll, 3/5-8)
Biden 39 (+3)
Und 16 (-4)

Castle leads by 1.7 in the RCP Average for the race.

Castle has a stronger favorable rating -- 55/28 -- than Biden -- 43/35.

The Congressman, an established moderate Republican who has won a dozen statewide races in Delaware, also has a stronger hold on his own base with 79 percent of the Republican vote, compared to Biden's 65 percent draw among Democrats. Castle also leads among independent voters 52-23 percent. Asked about his ideology, 19 percent of Delawareans say Castle is too liberal, 26 percent say he's too conservative, and 55 percent say he's "just right."

“Mike Castle has more appeal to Democrats and independents than any other Republican Senate candidate in the country and that's allowing him to hold the early lead in this race,” said PPP's Dean Debnam.

President Obama's approval rating in the state is down to 53 percent, while 41 percent approve. The survey was conducted November 30-December 2 among 571 registered voters, and has a margin of error of +/- 4.1%.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) continues to trail in her bid for re-election, a new Rasmussen poll (500 LVs, 12/1, MoE +/- 4.5%) finds today.

General Election Matchups
Hendren 46 (+2 vs. last poll, 9/28)
Lincoln 39 (-2)
Und 9 (-1)

Baker 47 (unch)
Lincoln 41 (+2)
Und 7 (+1)

Coleman 44 (+1)
Lincoln 40 (-1)
Und 9 (-2)

Cox 43 (unch)
Lincoln 40 (unch)
Und 10 (-1)

Lincoln's numbers have not changed dramatically since she cast a key vote to bring health care legislation to the floor of the Senate. But Rasmussen finds that 56 percent of Arkansans are strongly opposed to the Democrats' plan; 9 percent somewhat oppose, while only 32 percent strongly or somewhat favor it. Lincoln leads her potential challengers among voters who support the plan, but trails by more than 50 points among voters who strongly oppose it.

Favorable Ratings
Lincoln 43 / 52
Hendren 41 / 19
Baker 40 / 19
Coleman 37 / 22
Cox 41 / 19

President Obama also fares poorly in the state, with just a 34 percent approval rating. A potential boost to Lincoln could be the strong performance of Gov. Mike Beebe (D) who'll be at the top of the ticket -- he has a 70 percent approval rating.

Hot off the video presses.

Could things get any worse for CNN? Apparently, the answer is 'yes.'

The pioneering and once dominant leader in cable news has been hemorrhaging viewers for some time and earlier this year suffered the indignity of slipping to last place among cable news networks, behind even its sister network Headline News.

Now come the November Nielsen ratings showing that the surprise departure of Lou Dobbs has cost the network even more viewers.

After Dobbs announced his resignation on air on Wednesday November 11, CNN suffered a 25% decline among all viewers in Dobbs' 7pm time slot, and a 26% decline among adults 25-54.

Meanwhile - surprise, surprise - CNN's competition in the 7pm slot at FOX News, The FOX Report with Shephard Smith, scored its highest rated month of the year in November with more than 2.1 million total viewers and just over 500,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo.

CNN's fall after Dobbs' departure also allowed MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews to eke its way into second place 7 pm slot in November with 672,000 total viewers and 184,000 viewers among Adults 25-54.

UPDATE: More on CNN's woes:

Anderson Cooper is fading in the ratings.

The respected CNN anchor has seen his numbers slip significantly through the past year. His 10 p.m. show, "Anderson Cooper 360," has declined 62% in total viewers and 70% in adults 25-54 from November 2008, according to Nielsen figures.

Last month, in Cooper's time slot, Fox News' "On the Record" attracted an average viewership of 1.9 million while "360" averaged 672,000; repeats of MSNBC's "Countdown" and HLN's Nancy Grace show averaged 655,000 and 458,000, respectively.

But in the ad-friendly 25-54 demo, those same repeats won out over Cooper with 224,000 (MSNBC) and 214,000 (HLN).

Reports are that the Washington Times will lay off 40% of its current staff of 370 and make other moves as part of a massive shake up to try stop the bleeding. The paper's circulation fell another 17% between April and November of this year.

Weighing in for the first time on the much-publicized resolution for a GOP "Purity Test" being proposed by RNC committeeman Jim Bopp, party chairman Michael Steele said today that, "as a rule," litmus tests are not a good idea.

"I don't think that that is an appropriate approach for us to take down the road," he said in an interview with the Baltimore Sun. He even said that the proposed resolution may not even get voted on.

More:

He described the resolution, which surfaced last week, as "just a discussion among the members" of the Republican National Committee "that has now trickled out into the public."

Steele said it was "premature" to predict how he would deal with the measure, which is designed to be voted upon by the RNC at its winter meeting in Hawaii next month.

"Once I see what they're finally proposing, then I will weigh in on it," said Steele. He said that his staff at party headquarters in Washington is working with the resolution's sponsors, who include Jim Bopp, a Republican committeeman from Indiana.

Steele suggested that, ultimately, the measure might not even come to a vote.

When word first came of this resolution, the merits of such a test were immediately debated. Several of the party's top candidates in 2010 races, like Delaware Senate candidate Mike Castle, might not meet the sufficient number of requirements in the 10-point resolution to receive party funding. Steele certainly sounds eager to put this issue to rest.

For most of the public policy decisions in the first 10 months of his presidency, President Obama has enjoyed the backing of the liberal wing of his party. However, Obama's latest move -- sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan -- places him at odds with many of his most ardent supporters in Congress.

The two co-chairs of the 82-member Congressional Progressive Caucus -- the largest subgroup in Congress -- oppose the troop surge and are just two of a sizeable number of Democrats who are likely to vote against its funding.

"I believe that the majority of Democrats are going to vote against funding for an escalation in Afghanistan," Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) told RealClearPolitics in an interview last night following Obama's speech at West Point.

Woolsey's fellow co-chair, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), has said he may support a war surtax that has been introduced by Rep. David Obey (D-Wisc.) to fund the combat operation, but such a funding mechanism is not expected to have much traction in Congress or at the White House. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said yesterday he does not currently support a new tax on Americans during a down economy.

Woolsey said she does not support taxing Americans for a war they do not support. Polls in the last two months have shown support for increasing troop levels in Afghanistan below 50 percent, and a Gallup survey released yesterday found Obama's approval rating on his handling of Afghanistan at 35 percent -- down 21 points since July.

"I was pleased that he took time to think it over, but his advisers are primarily military on this one and that's what a military person would recommend," said Woolsey. "It was a good speech, but I remain opposed to sending more combat troops. I don't see any military solution to the situation in Afghanistan."

In an MSNBC interview last night, another leading progressive in Congress, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who chairs the anti-war Out of Iraq Caucus, said she "cannot" support the president and will vote against funding the effort.

"I'm terribly saddened," said Waters. "He's backed against a wall with a strategy that I think has no end. It doesn't really resonate with me."

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) withheld support in a statement released last night, saying only that Obama had "articulated a way out of this war" and that the "American people and the Congress will now have an opportunity to fully examine this strategy."

Hours before the speech, four members of Congress held a press conference at the Capitol to denounce the troop surge. They agreed that Congress should be allowed to fully debate the move before any troops are deployed.

The three Democrats there -- Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.), Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass.) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus -- said there is a distinct unease within the Democratic caucus about the decision to send more troops and that its funding is far from a sure thing.

"We haven't done any whip counts," said McGovern. "We don't know where the votes are. We know there's uneasiness."

Feingold spoke out about the move Tuesday during the weekly Senate Democratic Caucus luncheon, and said that he was not alone in voicing his displeasure.

"A group of us will be taking action," said Feingold. "Action can include not permitting funding, a resolution for pulling out troops... As far as I'm concerned everything would be on the table."

Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) is facing daunting poll numbers as he seeks a fourth term in office. A new Deseret News survey (Nov. 19-23, 408 A, MoE +/- 5%) finds 58% of voters want someone new to be elected senator next year, while just 27% want Bennett re-elected.

Bennett has received plenty of criticism from the right, which many see as an indication that he could face his greatest challenge at the May party convention. "However," Deseret News reports, "the poll shows that similar percentages of conservatives, moderates and liberals all would like to see Bennett dumped next year, so opposition is not just from the far-right GOP wing."

Despite such dismal numbers for a three-term incumbent, more voters said they would pick Bennett than any of the other candidates tested. Grouped together among six Republicans and one Democrat -- which at this point in the race is largely an exercise in name ID -- 31% chose Bennett, 14% picked Democrat Sam Granato, and the remaining five Republicans received 5% or less. Thirty-five percent said they were undecided.

George Will doesn't pull any punches in his latest column:

Having vowed to 'finish the job,' Obama revealed Tuesday that he thinks the job in Afghanistan is to get out of Afghanistan. This is an unserious policy.

And:

George Orwell said the quickest way to end a war is to lose it. But Obama's half-hearted embrace of a half-baked nonstrategy -- briefly feinting toward the Taliban (or al-Qaeda, or a "syndicate of terror") while lunging for the exit ramp -- makes a protracted loss probable.