Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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One week after Barack Obama’s swearing in, the battle over a stimulus plan restored the financial meltdown to a dominant role in the news agenda and triggered early questions about the President’s political skills. In the media narrative, the honeymoon chapter seemed over before it began.
The White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, established by President Barack Obama, plans to expand partnerships between the government and faith-based and community organizations for the delivery of social services. What lessons can be learned from the preceding eight years of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives under President George […]
High Expectations for Obama’s First Term Two-thirds of voters (67%) expect Obama to have a successful first term, while only 22% think the new president will be unsuccessful. Nearly all Democrats (90%) are optimistic about Obama’s first term, as are 67% of independent voters. Republicans are nearly evenly divided; 41% believe Obama’s first term will […]
Bloggers and the mainstream media alike focused intently on one storyline last week. In its maiden edition, PEJ’s “New Media Index” examines the most discussed news on blogs, user news sites, and other social media and compares it to the mainstream media.
Public’s Forecast: Reduced Partisanship As Barack Obama prepares to take office, half of the public (50%) thinks that Republicans and Democrats in Washington will work together more to solve problems in the coming year, while 39% say they will bicker and oppose each other more than usual. The public is more optimistic on this measure […]
While the public continues to rate national economic conditions more negatively than personal finances, the proportion of people rating their own finances as only fair or poor is the highest it has been in nearly 16 years. Currently, 61% say they are in only fair or poor shape financially. That is up only slightly since […]
Members of Congress are often accused of being out of touch with average citizens, but an examination of the religious affiliations of U.S. senators and representatives shows that, on one very basic level, Congress looks much like the rest of the country. Although a majority of the members of the new, 111th Congress, which will […]
Reports about the accuracy of the voting process have received a good deal of public attention this year; 43% say they have heard a lot about voter registration records and concerns about voter fraud and suppression. The issue has received particular attention among Republicans; half of GOP voters have heard a lot about this, compared […]