The Week in Polls: Is Santa a Democrat or Republican?

Americans weigh in on the fiscal cliff, marijuana and more.

Americans Weigh In - Congress loses a popularity contest, the number of interracial marriages in the United States reaches all-time high, President Obama gets kudos for fiscal cliff dealings, plus more national polls. – Joyce Jones and Britt Middleton

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Deck the (Congressional) Halls - Tis the season to be jolly, but Americans are worried that President Obama and congressional leaders won't make a deal to prevent their taxes from hiking in January. And speaking of feeling jolly, when it comes to intervening in state laws that permit the legal use of marijuana, a majority say the federal government should butt out. – Joyce Jones and Britt Middleton

Blue or Red? - If Santa Claus actually existed, which political party would he belong to? According to a Public Policy Polling survey published Dec. 10, 44 percent of American voters say Santa is a Democrat, while 28 percent say he's a member of the GOP. (Photo: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

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Blue or Red? - If Santa Claus actually existed, which political party would he belong to? According to a Public Policy Polling survey published Dec. 10, 44 percent of American voters say Santa is a Democrat, while 28 percent say he's a member of the GOP. (Photo: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

Doomed - Americans are eager for President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner to make a fiscal cliff deal, but will they? According to a poll from The Hill political newspaper published Dec. 10, there's not a lot of hope: 58 percent said they have "little or no confidence" that political leaders will reach an accord before Jan. 1.(Photo: Olivier Douliery / Pool via CNP/DPA /LANDOV)

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Doomed - Americans are eager for President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner to make a fiscal cliff deal, but will they? According to a poll from The Hill political newspaper published Dec. 10, there's not a lot of hope: 58 percent said they have "little or no confidence" that political leaders will reach an accord before Jan. 1.(Photo: Olivier Douliery / Pool via CNP/DPA /LANDOV)

Slow Your Roll - Americans, for and against the legalization of marijuana, for the large part agree on one thing: The federal government should not enforce anti-marijuana laws in states that have legalized weed. In a new Gallup poll published Dec. 10, 64 percent of Americans who support legalization and 40 percent who don't oppose federal intervention at the state level. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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Slow Your Roll - Americans, for and against the legalization of marijuana, for the large part agree on one thing: The federal government should not enforce anti-marijuana laws in states that have legalized weed. In a new Gallup poll published Dec. 10, 64 percent of Americans who support legalization and 40 percent who don't oppose federal intervention at the state level. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Scott vs. Colbert - Rep. Tim Scott may be conservatives' top choice to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), but for voters, the Black Republican is a close second. In a Public Policy Polling survey released Dec. 10, 20 percent said Gov. Nikki Haley should appoint comedian Stephen Colbert, compared to 15 percent who chose Scott. (Photos From left: Richard Ellis/Getty Images, Harry E. Walker/ MCT /LANDOV)

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Scott vs. Colbert - Rep. Tim Scott may be conservatives' top choice to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), but for voters, the Black Republican is a close second. In a Public Policy Polling survey released Dec. 10, 20 percent said Gov. Nikki Haley should appoint comedian Stephen Colbert, compared to 15 percent who chose Scott. (Photos From left: Richard Ellis/Getty Images, Harry E. Walker/ MCT /LANDOV)

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In Good Hands - Nurses take care of you when you're sick in the hospital, and they're the medical professionals many Americans agree as the most trusted among the top 10 professional fields. According to a Gallup poll released Dec. 11, 80 percent of people ranked nurses as the highest in ethics in honesty, beating out pharmacists, physicians, engineers and dentists. (Photo: John Kuntz / The Plain Dealer)

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In Good Hands - Nurses take care of you when you're sick in the hospital, and they're the medical professionals many Americans agree as the most trusted among the top 10 professional fields. According to a Gallup poll released Dec. 11, 80 percent of people ranked nurses as the highest in ethics in honesty, beating out pharmacists, physicians, engineers and dentists. (Photo: John Kuntz / The Plain Dealer)

Naughty or Nice - Are Democrats more litigious than Republicans? When it comes to Santa, perhaps so. If Grandma got run over by a reindeer, 61 percent of respondents in Public Policy Polling's new holiday survey said they'd press charges against Santa, including 33 percent of Democrats and just 19 percent of Republicans. (Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

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Naughty or Nice - Are Democrats more litigious than Republicans? When it comes to Santa, perhaps so. If Grandma got run over by a reindeer, 61 percent of respondents in Public Policy Polling's new holiday survey said they'd press charges against Santa, including 33 percent of Democrats and just 19 percent of Republicans. (Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Protect, But Not Get Paid - "All military personnel will continue to serve and accrue pay but will not actually be paid until appropriations are available," Rep. C.W. Young (R-Florida) told the Air Force Times. (Photo: John Moore/Getty Images)

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A Troubling Issue - Many of our U.S. military personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are doing so in silence, according to a poll from the Emerson College Polling Society released on Dec. 12. About 20 percent of service members returning from deployment said they are affected by the disorder, but 46 percent said they were not seeking counseling to cope with the symptoms. (Photo: John Moore/Getty Images)

GOP, We Have a Problem - The Republican Party has some branding work to do. "Bad," "weak" and "negative" were among the most frequently mentioned descriptions of the party in a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll published Dec. 13. Sixty-five percent described the party negatively, compared to 37 percent of negative responses used to describe Democrats. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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GOP, We Have a Problem - The Republican Party has some branding work to do. "Bad," "weak" and "negative" were among the most frequently mentioned descriptions of the party in a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll published Dec. 13. Sixty-five percent described the party negatively, compared to 37 percent of negative responses used to describe Democrats. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Getting Techy With It - Men are leading the way in using emerging technology to keep up with current events. According to a Pew/The Economist Group poll released Dec. 11, 40 percent of men read about daily news events on their smartphones or tablet computers, compared to 30 percent of women. (Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Flying High - As any political observer knows, opinions on one topic can vary from poll to poll. But in a new CNN poll of polls published by CNN on Dec. 13, there's no question that Obama is tops in Americans' eyes. His approval rating is at 52 percent, with 43 percent saying they disapprove of how he's handling his job.(Photo: Kristoffer Tripplaar-Pool/Getty Images)

The Real Cost of the "Fiscal Cliff" - Many Americans understand how a failure to avoid the "fiscal cliff" could hurt their pocketbook. According to a Gallup poll released Dec. 11, 75 percent of people agreed that the most negative impact on the country would be a hike in federal income and social security payroll taxes for most Americans. (Photo: GettyImages)

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The Real Cost of the "Fiscal Cliff" - Many Americans understand how a failure to avoid the "fiscal cliff" could hurt their pocketbook. According to a Gallup poll released Dec. 11, 75 percent of people agreed that the most negative impact on the country would be a hike in federal income and social security payroll taxes for most Americans. (Photo: GettyImages)

Can You Repeat That? - In a University of Michigan poll on children's health released Dec. 10, the majority of parents agreed that there should be requirements for children to have regular hearing screenings up until age 17 to combat damage to their ears from listening to iPods and other devices with headphones at high volumes. (Photo: GettyImages)

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Can You Repeat That? - In a University of Michigan poll on children's health released Dec. 10, the majority of parents agreed that there should be requirements for children to have regular hearing screenings up until age 17 to combat damage to their ears from listening to iPods and other devices with headphones at high volumes. (Photo: GettyImages)