Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Given their numbers, their highly visible role in the 2004 campaign, and their generally strong commitment to political activity, the attitudes of Dean activists toward the Democratic Party will help shape the party’s future direction. The Dean activists are highly critical of the Democratic Party in a number of areas. But they are not ready […]
Why Dean? The war in Iraq was by far the most important issue that attracted Dean activists to the campaign. Two-thirds (66%) picked the war as one of the two most important issues in their decision to support Dean, far outpacing health care (at 34%). About a quarter (24%) cited fiscal responsibility as the most […]
Heavy News Consumers Among the most distinguishing characteristics of Dean activists is their intense interest in the news. Not only are they far more avid consumers of news than the general public but the sources they consult follow a substantially different pattern. Like many Americans, Dean activists pick the daily newspaper as their single most […]
Different Kind of Democrat Dean activists are a distinctive group within their own party. As a group, they are much more racially homogenous than the general public or Democrats. More than nine-in-ten Dean activists (92%) are white and just 1% are African American. By comparison, the public is 79% white, as are about two-thirds of […]
The activists participating in the study were randomly selected from the Democracy for America (formerly Dean for America) volunteer database. Only active members of the campaign[3. “Active members of the campaign” were defined as those having made a financial contribution or engaged in at least one substantive activity such as attending a MeetUp for Dean.] […]
Summary of Findings The American public is not happy with the nation’s political leadership. President Bush’s approval rating remains below 50%, and just 39% approve of the job performance of Republican congressional leaders. Despite the paltry ratings for GOP leaders, however, Democrats have failed to benefit. The public has about the same low regard for […]
by Andrew Kohut in the New York Times
Summary of Findings The public is more optimistic over the situation in Iraq as a result of that nation’s recent elections, but remains skeptical of the Bush administration’s decision to go to war. Moreover, the elections have not improved opinions of President Bush’s handling of Iraq. The survey, largely completed before the president’s European trip, […]
A Pew Global Attitudes Project commentary