Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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, […]
A stream of candidate announcements and polls showing Texas Governor George W. Bush leading Vice President Al Gore have spurred interest in the 2000 presidential contest. But with the nominating conventions still more than 16 months away, what do these early polls mean for would-be nominees? A look back at nearly 40 years of early […]
China’s Image Though few Americans paid very close attention to President Clinton’s trip to China, significantly more Americans see China moving in the direction of democracy and capitalism today than did so before Clinton’s June visit. Fully 35% of the public thinks that China’s government is “becoming more democratic” and “allowing more freedoms”; only 26% […]
Today, what Americans know may differ greatly depending on their source of news. In the second part of the study, looking at a broader universe of the news media in the fall of 1997, we also found different kinds of news media offering markedly different definitions of news depending on what they perceived their market […]
Introduction and Summary Americans continue to distrust the government, although there are signs that hostility toward government has begun to diminish. There is also considerable evidence that distrust of government is strongly connected to how people feel about the overall state of the nation. Today, personal satisfaction is soaring, the economy is thriving and confidence […]
But Still, Show Me Despite positive feelings about the legislation, Americans continue to doubt that the budget will actually be balanced by the year 2002. Only 16% think the budget will be balanced, 77% think it will not be — down slightly from 85% in May. Assuming the budget is balanced, the public is divided […]
Also: Poll Apart On Powell; John Paul Who?
Report Summary Public Favorability Toward the Press The public continues to regard news organizations less favorably than it did before news of the Iran-Contra affair changed public opinion. A Gallup/Times Mirror survey conducted last January found that the President’s declining popularity had a fallout effect on other institutions, including the press. Since January, there has […]
Report Summary Reagan’s Fall The extent to which President Reagan’s image has been tarnished by the Iran-Contra arms scandal has been evident in the major public opinion surveys released over the last month. The current Gallup/Times Mirror survey results further document Reagan’s fall. The number themselves — the proportion of Reagan supporters versus critics — […]