It's a much different electoral landscape in 2012 for the Republican Party.  It's a landscape in which California plays a central role in the presidential nominating process, not because its primary comes early like New Hampshire or South Carolina, but because its primary comes so late in the process... and has the most delegates up for grabs.

As primary season rolls on, a recent CBS poll of Republican voters finds that they are not satisfied with the current crop of GOP presidential candidates.  According to the survey, 58% of Republican voters want more candidate choices even with the presidential selection process already in motion.  That’s up 12% since October 2011. Only 37% of the voters polled are satisfied with the current field vying for the nomination.

When it comes to gauging the direction of the economy, most of us think “inside the box,” expecting things to continue the way they have been going. But signs have begun to indicate that our economic condition may be on the mend, with the possibility of better times ahead.

It is a virtual axiom of contemporary political strategy, that Independent voters cast the decisive ballots in closely contested elections. Unlike their Democratic and Republican counterparts, Independent voters can be fairly unpredictable and may remain undecided as to how they will cast their ballots up to election day itself. It is therefore all the more remarkable that there are so few polls and surveys which focus solely on Independent voters, especially given the fact that Independents outnumber Democrats and Republicans alike nationwide.