Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Politics

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    Can You Trust What Polls Say about Obama’s Electoral Prospects?

    The strong showing of Democrat Barack Obama in early trial heat polls for the 2008 presidential election raises anew the question of whether the American public is ready to support an African American candidate for president. Recent polling points to two significant shifts on this question. Read the full analysis at PewResearch.org

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    Global Warming: A Divide on Causes and Solutions

    Summary of Findings President Bush’s mention in his State of the Union Message of the “serious challenge of global climate change” was directed at an American public many of whom remain lukewarm about the importance of the issue. The unusual weather affecting the nation this winter may have reinforced the widely held view that the […]

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    Broad Support for Political Compromise in Washington

    Summary of Findings A survey conducted in association with National Public Radio A large majority of the American public thinks the country is more politically polarized than in the past, and an even greater number expresses a strong desire for political compromise. Fully three-quarters say they like political leaders who are willing to compromise, compared […]

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    Broad Opposition to Bush’s Iraq Plan

    Summary of Findings President Bush’s plan to send roughly 21,000 additional troops to Iraq has drawn broad opposition from the American public. If anything, the plan has triggered increased partisan polarization on the debate over what to do in Iraq. While most Republicans support Bush’s initiative, Democrats overwhelmingly oppose it, and a solid majority of […]

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    A Portrait of “Generation Next”

    Summary of Findings This is part of a Pew Research Center series of reports exploring the behaviors, values and opinions of the teens and twenty-somethings that make up the Millennial Generation. A new generation has come of age, shaped by an unprecedented revolution in technology and dramatic events both at home and abroad. They are […]

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    The Complicated Politics of Free Trade

    Crafting effective U.S. trade policies in an era of rapid economic globalization is tough. But the politics of free trade are even tougher — particularly for Democrats, according to a recent national survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Read the full analysis at pewresearch.org

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    What Was — and Wasn’t on the Public’s Mind

    Once again, public opinion played a major role in the most important news stories of the year. Some of the strongest 2006 trends in public opinion carried over from previous years — notably growing concern about the Iraq war and mounting dissatisfaction with the performance of the Republican-controlled Congress. In the case of another continuing […]

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    Free Trade Agreements Get a Mixed Review

    Summary of Findings The American public continues to have a mixed opinion about free trade agreements such as NAFTA and the WTO. On balance they are seen as a good thing for the country, but Americans are divided over the impact of free trade agreements on their own personal financial situations. About as many people […]