Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Bush Bounces Back In the presidential race, key voting groups continue to shift back and forth between Bush and Gore, as the public is clearly having difficulty making up its mind about this contest. Some of the gains Gore made in the immediate aftermath of the primary season have since been reversed. Senior citizens rallied […]
Usually, the differences between Republican and Democratic voters in the primaries are socioeconomic. Republicans, it can safely be said, are generally richer and better educated. But that was not the big difference in the New Hampshire primary. The parties split principally along gender lines: men flocked to the Republican primary, while women chose to vote […]
The campaign for the 2000 elections presents both parties with substantial political challenges. In the presidential race, the two Democratic candidates continue to lag behind GOP frontrunner George W. Bush. Vice President Al Gore, in particular, is struggling with an image problem — while most Americans see him as trustworthy, likable and caring, only one-third […]
Cynicism Waning Americans are less cynical about politics than they were five years ago. More people now say that they can influence the political process, and fewer people see their elected officials as inattentive to their needs. Almost three-quarters (73%) agree that voting gives them some say in how the government runs things a […]
An overwhelming 81% say they are optimistic about their lives and the lives of their families over the next half century; 40% consider themselves very optimistic. These optimists tend to be young, college educated and have higher than average incomes. Among Americans under age 30, 85% report feeling positive about their futures, compared to 72% […]
A Small Boost for McCain Little has changed over the past month in the races for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations. Recent news coverage of problems with Gore’s campaign has done little to hurt him among Democrats, who continue to support him by a nearly two-to-one margin over Bradley (60% vs. 31%). In the […]
The memories that are shared by large majorities of Americans are largely of American events and often very recent ones. Memories of significant events that did not include the U.S. are less clear. For example, while three-quarters of Americans remember the moment they heard the news of the outbreak of war in the Persian Gulf, […]
The technological progress of the 20th century is a source of great pride for Americans, who place advancements in science and technology — especially the space program — at the top of the list of American achievements. A nearly unanimous public attributes U.S. accomplishments to the Constitution, free elections and the free enterprise system. Although […]
Spike in National Mood The public’s sense of how well the country is doing has finally caught up with Americans’ positive ratings of their own lives. In fact, the national mood is better today than at any time since the 1960s, and the public is even more optimistic about the future. Nearly one-in-three Americans give […]
Despite the dramatic growth of the Internet in recent years and the proliferation of all-news cable television outlets, network news magazine shows and other information sources, the public is not feeling overloaded with information these days. Fully 62% of Americans say they like having so much information to choose from, compared to only 28% who […]