Summary of Findings As the Democratic-led Congress approaches the 100-day mark, pluralities of Americans approve of the way that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are handling their leadership roles. However, the public gives Democrats mixed reviews for delivering on their campaign promises and for their policies and proposals. Slightly more […]
Summary of Findings Public interest in the Iraq war remained high last week as the country marked the fourth anniversary of the conflict, and the House of Representatives passed a controversial war funding bill. At the same time the fallout from the firing of eight U.S. attorneys by the Justice Department failed to gain much […]
Two major news stories, the fired U.S. attorneys story and the argument over Iraq policy, dominated the airwaves on cable and radio talk shows last week. But a look at how the talkhosts operate suggests that it can be passion and personality, rather than the issue itself that often drives the discussion.
by David Masci, Senior Research Fellow, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life March 27, 2007 A recent Supreme Court case involving the free speech rights of students is producing some very unusual alliances. Christian conservative groups, such as the American Center for Law and Justice, the Christian Legal Society and the Alliance Defense Fund, […]
Summary of Findings A solid majority of Americans say they want their congressional representative to support a bill calling for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq by August 2008. Nearly six-in-ten (59%) say they would like to see their representative vote for such legislation, compared with just 33% who want their representative to oppose […]
It took some time to develop, but the growing controversy over the firing of a group of U.S. Attorneys is dominating the media’s attention these days and turning the episode into one of the biggest stories of the year. The big question that remains is how much the general public cares.
Summary of Findings Increased public support for the social safety net, signs of growing public concern about income inequality, and a diminished appetite for assertive national security policies have improved the political landscape for the Democrats as the 2008 presidential campaign gets underway. At the same time, many of the key trends that nurtured the […]
Two Washington-centric topics that left plenty of room for disagreement and debate dominated the cable and radio talk shows last week. But a PEJ examination of the talk landscape reveals that in some cases, the hosts’ own values and preferences determine what news is fit to argue about.
