Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Politics
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Most Americans See a Black Nominee as Important for Country
Summary of Findings A solid majority of Americans say it as at least somewhat important to the country that an African American has won the presidential nomination of a major political party. But there are wide political and racial divisions over the significance of Barack Obama’s history-making achievement. Overall, 36% of the public says it […]
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Many Say Coverage is Biased in Favor of Obama
Summary of Findings Over the course of the primary campaign season greater numbers heard about controversies associated with Barack Obama than heard about other campaign events. Nonetheless, far more Americans believe that the press coverage has favored Barack Obama than think it has favored Hillary Clinton. Nearly four-in-ten (37%) say that in covering the Democratic […]
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Obama Backers Cool to Clinton as Running Mate
On the morning after Barack Obama’s historic nomination victory, attention has quickly turned to the question of possible running mates — specifically whether Obama and Hillary Clinton will join forces in a so-called “Dream Ticket.” In a survey conducted in late May (May 21-25), a majority of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters (53%) said they would […]
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Democratic Party’s Favorables Rise, Congress Still Unpopular
Summary of Findings The overall image of the Democratic Party has improved over the past year, although the Democratic-led Congress remains widely unpopular. A majority of Americans (57%) say they have a favorable view of the Democratic Party, up six points since July 2007 and 10 points since July 2006. In contrast, views of the […]
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The Iraq Challenge
It turns out that Iraq is not the pivotal campaign issue that it seemed to be less than a year ago. Indeed, the war is no longer the top concern among voters. At the same time, the war’s impact is complicated by ambivalent and contradictory public opinions. In many respects, as far as Iraq is […]
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McCain’s Negatives Mostly Political, Obama’s More Personal
Overview As the end of the primary season draws near, Barack Obama is the clear favorite of Democratic voters for their party’s presidential nomination. He currently holds a wide 54% to 41% lead over Hillary Clinton. But when the Illinois Democrat is tested against John McCain in a general election matchup, he now runs about […]
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Greater Coverage of McCain, But Public Still Focused on Obama
Summary of Findings Despite a significant increase in news coverage of John McCain last week, Barack Obama remained by far the most visible candidate in the eyes of the public. Fully half of the public said Obama was the candidate they had heard the most about in the news recently, while only 8% said they […]