Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Publications

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    Conflicted Views of Affirmative Action

    Summary of Findings As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares for what could be a landmark ruling on the issue of racial preferences in college admissions, a new Pew Research Center nationwide survey finds a growing majority of the public supporting the general idea of affirmative action. But the poll results also reflect the public’s complicated […]

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    Americans More Optimistic About Economy, But Not Bush Tax Cut

    Summary of Findings With the war in Iraq over, Americans are feeling more optimistic about a turnaround in the national economy, and a greater number than at the beginning of the year think that President Bush is doing as much as he can to improve economic conditions. But the president’s tax cut proposal continues to […]

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    To the Victor Go the Polls

    Remember the “smoking gun” that Americans demanded before they lent their support to a possible war with Iraq? The smoking gun ­ proof of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction ­ is not nearly as important now that the war is over. A recent Gallup poll found that 58% of Americans believe the war can be […]

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    Modest Bush Approval Rating Boost at War’s End

    Summary of Findings President Bush’s overall job approval rating has risen only slightly in recent days, even as increasing numbers believe that the war in Iraq has been won. The president’s current rating is 72%, statistically unchanged from 74% immediately after the fall of Baghdad, but notably higher than his prewar approval rating of 55%. […]

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    The Shifting Internet Population Recasts the Digital Divide Debate

    20% of non-Internet users live in a house with an Internet connection WASHINGTON – There is far more fluidity in the Internet population than most analysts imagine. About a quarter of Americans live lives that are quite distant from the Internet – they have never been online, and don’t know many others who use the […]

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    60% War’s Going Very Well – 69% We Haven’t Won Yet

    Summary of Findings Pictures of cheering Baghdad crowds greeting U.S. forces notwithstanding, Americans are not popping champagne bottles quite yet. A Pew Research Center tracking survey over the past two nights finds a modest increase in the percentage believing that the military effort is going very well, compared to earlier this week. And most Americans […]