Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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
Section I: An Early Look at the Public’s Preferences Overall, 52% of Democrats say there is a good chance they will support Clinton, compared with 41% who say there is a good chance they will vote for Obama. Notably, Clinton runs much better than Obama among older Democrats; fully 58% of Democrats ages 65 and […]
Section III: Candidate Traits and the ’08 Campaign Military service, being a Christian, and political experience lead the list of traits that Americans find most appealing in a presidential candidate. But even more Americans say they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who is an atheist or a political newcomer, and nearly […]
Over the last five years, America’s image has plummeted throughout much of the world, including sharp drops in favorability among traditional allies in Western Europe, as well as substantial declines in Latin America, the Middle East, and elsewhere. In the past year alone, positive views of the U.S. have declined in Pakistan, China, Egypt, and […]
The deteriorating conflict in Iraq was still the leading story line in the news last week. But the media were also tested by a terror false alarm, a major campaign trail gaffe, lethal weather, and the tragic death of a great athlete, according to the PEJ News Coverage Index.
Conference Call with Reporters In a telephone conference call for journalists, the directors of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and the Pew Hispanic Center discussed the findings of an unprecedented survey on how Latinos are transforming the religious landscape in the U.S. The study explores the distinctive characteristics of Hispanics’ religious beliefs […]
Washington, D.C. The Pew Forum invited former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee to discuss the fate of social conservatives and how he sees religion playing out in 2008 and beyond. He also addressed how he has witnessed religion impacting public affairs in his roles as a pastor and governor, and how his own faith guides his […]
Throughout the world, new patterns have emerged in the way that people perceive the threats posed by pollution, AIDS and infectious diseases, nuclear proliferation, religious and ethnic hatred, and income inequality. In particular, worries about pollution and the environment have increased dramatically since 2002. Of the five global threats tested in the survey, pollution and […]
Summary of Findings The 2008 presidential campaign has kicked off earlier than usual with more candidates than usual, but many people appear not to have noticed. Americans are no more likely to say they have given the presidential campaign much thought than they did in December, and just small minorities can name a candidate they […]