Since his appearance on the national scene, a consistent one-in-ten Americans say Barack Obama is a Muslim; another 35% say they do not know Obama’s religion.

Six-in-ten Americans support allowing gays to serve openly in the armed forces.

As many Republicans say their party’s leaders have failed to clearly articulate their position (42%) as say they have explained themselves clearly (41%).

Seven-in-ten say they have a great deal or fair amount of confidence in Obama to fix the economy; 55% say that about Democratic leaders and 38% about Republican leaders.

Most Americans (59%) say they would place a higher priority on spending more money to make health care more accessible and affordable than on reducing the budget deficit.

Six-in-ten Americans think it is a good idea for the government to regulate more strictly the way major financial companies do business.

Half of all smokers say they “frequently” experience stress, compared with 35% of former smokers and 31% of those who never smoked.

A quarter of current smokers say that they are very happy, compared with more than a third of quitters and almost four-in-ten non-smokers.