That’s the percentage of the public who could name the current vice president, Dick Cheney, in a recent Pew survey; In 1989, 74% of the public were able to identify Dan Quayle as the vice president.

That’s the number of states that have passed or are considering proposals condemning the 2005 federal law requiring states to adopt uniform security features for driver’s licenses and to verify the identity of all driver’s license applicants. Last week, two states, Montana and Washington, passed laws rejecting the standards and ratcheting up pressure on Congress to repeal them.

That’s the large percentage of Americans who think that environmental laws and regulations should be stricter. But when asked if “people should be willing to pay higher prices to protect the environment,” the number agreeing falls to 60%, down from 65% in 2003.

That’s the share of Americans who said they had a favorable view of the National Rifle Association in a survey taken before the Virginia Tech shootings, the first time since 1994 that the favorability rating of the anti-gun-control advocacy group has crossed the 50% mark.

That’s the percentage of Americans who say they never attend religious services who voted for a Democratic House candidate in the 2006 midterm election.

That’s the huge proportion of Muslims in Nigeria who say their religion is more important to them than their identity as Africans, Nigerians or members of an ethnic group; nearly as many Christians, 76%, also name their religion as the most important factor in their lives.

That’s the percent of the American public who say that generally speaking most people can be trusted. But a slightly larger number, 50%, say that “you can’t be too careful in dealing with people.”

That’s the small share of the public that calls the government’s performance in providing medical care for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan excellent (4%) or good (22%); 65% say it is either only fair (33%) or poor (32%).

That’s the number of Americans who now say they want their congressional representative to support a bill calling for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq by August 2008. Just 33% want their representative to oppose it.

That’s the number of states that have expanded protections for property owners and curbed government’s powers to condemn private land for economic development.