Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

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Politics

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    Who Expects To Gain — And Lose — Under Obama

    More Americans say that people like themselves will gain influence under the Obama administration than was the case for the last two incoming presidents. Many who did not vote for Obama say this as well — including pluralities of all whites and white evangelical Christians.

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    Obama Cabinet Appointees Highly Visible

    Summary of Findings Public awareness of Barack Obama’s choices for cabinet and other high level posts is substantially higher than awareness of the top picks by George W. Bush and Bill Clinton just before they were first inaugurated. About two-thirds of Americans (65%) can name at least one person that Obama has chosen for a […]

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    Strong Confidence in Obama – Country Seen As Less Politically Divided

    Overview Public confidence in Barack Obama to deal with the nation’s most pressing problems is quite high, with about seven-in-ten saying they have at least a fair amount of confidence that he will do the right thing when it comes to mending the economy, preventing terrorism, and in dealing with Iraq. Notably, many Americans not […]

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    Modest Backing For Israel in Gaza Crisis

    Overview Americans have a mixed view of the war in the Gaza Strip, and see it in much the same way as they viewed Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah in 2006. While continuing to express strong general support for Israel, the public offers limited approval of Israel’s decision to take military action in Gaza. However, Hamas […]

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    Mideast Competes with Economy and Obama For Public Interest

    Summary of Findings News reports last week about the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas competed for public attention with stories about the U.S. financial crisis and the Obama presidential transition. Roughly three-in-ten (28%) paid very close attention to news about renewed fighting in the Gaza Strip, while 18% say this was the single news […]

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    Mideast Competes With Economy and Obama for Public Interest

    Public interest in the Middle East conflict is on par with other recent foreign news stories, but is lower than in the Israel-Hezbollah war in August 2006. A slightly greater percentage say the media have not been critical enough of Hamas than say the same about coverage of Israel (30% vs. 25%, respectively).

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    Gains Seen On Minority Discrimination – But Little Else

    Overview As Barack Obama prepares to take office, majorities say the country is losing ground on any number of key issues, particularly economic ones. Nearly eight-in-ten (79%) say the country is falling further behind on the federal budget deficit, far more than said that during the mid-1990s when the deficit was a top-tier policy issue. […]

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    Internet Overtakes Newspapers As News Outlet

    Summary of Findings The internet, which emerged this year as a leading source for campaign news, has now surpassed all other media except television as an outlet for national and international news. Currently, 40% say they get most of their news about national and international issues from the internet, up from just 24% in September […]