Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Politics

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    Hearings Hurt Public Regard for both Health Care Law and Supreme Court

    While most Americans say last week’s Supreme Court hearings on the 2010 health care law did not change their views of the law or of the Court, they did more harm than good to the image of both. In the latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and […]

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    Views of Law Enforcement, Racial Progress and News Coverage of Race

    The controversy over the death of Trayvon Martin has highlighted issues relating to the treatment of blacks by local police departments, the state of race relations in the U.S. and press coverage of African Americans. Pew Research Center surveys in recent years have covered the opinions of blacks and whites on these and other issues. […]

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    The Gender Gap: Three Decades Old, as Wide as Ever

    The gender gap in presidential politics is not new. Democratic candidates have gotten more support from women than men for more than 30 years. Even so, Barack Obama’s advantages among women voters over his GOP rivals are striking. In the Pew Research Center’s most recent national survey, conducted March 7-11, Obama led Mitt Romney by […]

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    Trayvon Martin Killing Is Public’s Top News Story

    Overview The growing controversy over the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida was the public’s top story last week, though African Americans express far greater interest in news about the killing than do whites. Overall, a quarter of Americans (25%) say they followed news about the African American teenager killed by a community […]

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    Public Remains Split on Health Care Bill, Opposed to Mandate

    As the 2010 Affordable Care Act comes before the U.S. Supreme Court this week, surveys show that the public remains divided over the basic law. However, majorities continue to oppose the key element of the bill before the Court this week – the requirement that all Americans buy health insurance or face a penalty. A […]

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    Top One-Word Reactions to GOP Candidates

    When Americans are asked what one word comes to mind when thinking about Mitt Romney, no single term stands out. The most frequent responses are “no” or “no way,” and “rich.” That represents a shift from October and December 2011. In both of those surveys, far more mentioned the Republican presidential candidate’s Mormon faith than […]

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    Rising Fuel Prices Top Story for Public

    Overview Rising fuel prices topped the public’s news interest last week as the average cost of gasoline neared $4.00 a gallon. About a quarter (26%) say they followed news about rising gas and oil prices more closely than any other story, according to the latest weekly News Interest Index survey, conducted March 15-18 among 1,009 […]

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    As Gas Prices Pinch, Support for Oil and Gas Production Grows

    Overview At a time of rising gas prices, the public’s energy priorities have changed. More Americans continue to view the development of alternative energy sources as a higher priority than the increased production of oil, coal and natural gas, but the gap has narrowed considerably over the past year. Moreover, support for allowing more offshore […]

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    Campaign Interest Comparable to Most Previous Elections, Well Below 2008

    Overview The presidential campaign again proved to be the top story for the public and the media last week. Overall public interest is comparable to most previous primary election cycles, but well below the high mark set four years ago. Last week, which included Super Tuesday contests in 10 states, 28% say they followed election […]