When Presidential Debates Matter
Pew Research Center Commentary
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Pew Research Center Commentary
During every presidential election, questions arise over the results of political polls and how those surveys are conducted. This year’s hot topic is the partisan composition of the leading national polls. Politicians and pundits alike now scrutinize a survey sample’s partisan split as closely as the horse-race results. Surveys that are deemed to have “too […]
Summary of Findings Most Americans think that the United States is winning the war on terrorism, and a solid majority believes that Al Qaeda and related terrorist groups are weaker now than they were before the Sept. 11 attacks. In addition, somewhat more Americans believe the war in Iraq has helped the war on terrorism […]
Introduction and Summary Voter opinion in the presidential race has seesawed dramatically in the first two weeks of September. Following a successful nominating convention, George W. Bush broke open a deadlocked contest and jumped out to a big lead over John Kerry. However, polling this past week finds that Bush’s edge over his Democratic rival […]
Plurality Sees Islam as More Likely to Encourage Violence
Plurality Sees Islam as More Likely to Encourage Violence Despite the U.S. war in Iraq and the continuing threat of terrorism at home, public attitudes toward Islam have remained stable over the past year. Roughly four-in-ten Americans (39%) say they have a favorable impression of Islam, while about as many (37%) say they have an […]
Roughly four-in-ten Americans (39%) say they have a favorable impression of Islam, while about as many (37%) say they have an unfavorable view. The balance of opinion has not changed substantially in the past year (39% favorable in July 2003). But there are significant differences of opinion among religious groups, with white Evangelical Protestants having […]
Correction: Two of the tables (27 and 28) from the original survey have been updated. Please download the revised version of the survey summary, as well as the full report, below. Survey summary (.pdf) Full survey report (.pdf) Much has been said in recent years about the growing identification of religious conservatives — especially Evangelical […]