Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Introduction and Summary As religion plays a more prominent role in public life, sharp divisions of opinion about the mixing of church and state are apparent. Most notably, while the public expresses strong support for the idea of faith-based groups receiving government funding to provide social services, in practice, it has many reservations. Most Americans […]
Ask Americans why they don’t trust government and many will cite their distrust of government’s bosses — the politicians. Ask why they don’t trust the pols and the role of big money in politics is prominently mentioned. Yet campaign finance reform consistently gets a low rating as a national priority when tested against other issues. […]
Introduction and Summary The nation’s drug war is viewed as a failure by most Americans, and there is scant hope it will ever succeed. Nearly three-quarters of Americans say we are losing the drug war, and just as many say that insatiable demand will perpetuate the nation’s drug habit. Yet this deep sense of futility […]
The conventional wisdom that President Bush is benefiting from bad news about Bill Clinton is on increasingly shaky ground as the controversies over Mr. Clinton’s pardons grow rather than abate. If anything, as Mr. Bush finds himself vying with his predecessor for public attention, he is losing precious time to establish public support for his […]
Introduction and Summary The public’s view of George W. Bush’s first month in office is remarkably unremarkable. Despite the extraordinary path he took to the White House, Americans are reacting to Bush in much the same way they responded to his predecessors. Bush’s modest February job approval rating (53%) is comparable to ratings accorded Bill […]
Introduction and Summary As the country awaits the formal transfer of presidential power, Bill Clinton has never looked better to the American public, while his successor George W. Bush is receiving initial reviews that are more mixed, though still positive. The president leaves office with 61% of the public approving of the way he is […]
Rising Price of Gas Draws Most Public Interest in 2000 While the long and contentious election aftermath drew massive media coverage, the rising price of gasoline attracted the most public interest of any news story of 2000. In June, more than six-in-ten Americans (61%) said they paid very close attention to this story, which far […]
Introduction and Summary Overlooked amid controversies over hanging chads and divided courts were some important lessons from the presidential campaign. Here are previously unreleased findings from the Pew Research Center’s post-election survey, conducted Nov. 10-12: There was more positive voting and less voting against candidates this time than in the three previous presidential elections. George […]
Introduction and Summary Campaign 2000 firmly established the Internet as a major source of election news and information. But as the audience for online campaign news has expanded — increasing fourfold over the past four years — it has gone more mainstream in its preferences and pursuits. A majority now cites convenience, not a desire […]
Introduction and Summary No matter who wins the presidency, George W. Bush or Al Gore, many Americans think that the victor will come to office because of the way the voting was conducted or counted rather than because he legitimately won the election in Florida. Ironically, this view has become more prevalent regarding a potential […]