Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Introduction and Summary American reaction to the end of the air war in Kosovo is mixed. While public support for intervention rebounded in the closing days of the conflict, there is little indication of public exaltation at its end. Two-thirds of the public (68%) now says the United States and NATO did the right thing […]
Introduction and Summary Bill Bradley is the man in the middle when it comes to voter perceptions. Americans describe the former New Jersey senator as a political moderate far more frequently than they do any other presidential candidate. On average, voters who know Bradley rate his ideology as virtually identical to their own. But, despite […]
Introduction and Summary The Internet audience is not only growing, it is getting decidedly mainstream. Two years ago, when just 23% of Americans were going online, stories about technology were the top news draw. Today, with 41% of adults using the Internet, the weather is the most popular online news attraction. Increasingly people without college […]
Background The debate over journalistic bias is badly divided. Critics, particularly conservatives, see strong evidence of liberal bias in the personal characteristics of journalists. Studies noting a preponderance of journalists voting for Democratic presidential candidates, or widespread secularism, are cited as proof that journalists are disproportionately liberal. Many journalists and some other academic work counter […]
Survey Findings Pre-election polling is tricky work. A number of unknown factors can stand in the way of accurate predictions — problems with identifying registered and likely voters, uncertainties about voter turnout, and last-minute shifts in candidate preference. But estimating voter preferences in biracial elections has been especially difficult. Pre-election surveys, even those taken just […]
Demographics On the whole, both samples (even unweighted) fairly closely reflected the American public. In most demographic categories, both samples differed from U.S. Census figures by 4 percentage points — the statistical margin of error — or less.[1. All demographic comparisons presented in this section are based on unweighted data. Most surveys use mathematical weighting […]
Introduction and Summary The post-Cold War era may be less than a decade old, but Americans whose views help shape U.S. foreign policy have grown remarkably comfortable with it. Compared to four years ago when they were deeply troubled, American Opinion Leaders today see the world as a better place, where U.S. influence is enhanced […]
Introduction and Summary After two presidential debates and six weeks of the general campaign Bill Clinton’s lead over Bob Dole is as large as it was in early September. The course of the race has changed little with the passing of each important campaign milestone. The only observable consequence of the debates is that the […]
The Times Mirror Center in 1987 developed a unique voter classification system based on three major elements — party affiliation, political participation, and personal values and attitudes — and using the statistical technique called “cluster analysis.” The new typology developed in 1995 is built on the same foundation, with minor modifications. Nine values and attitudes […]
Little Commercial Appeal The public has seen more of Dole’s campaign ads than Clinton’s but grades them lower. Fully 70% said they had watched Dole’s television commercials, compared to 63% who had watched Clinton’s ads. But when asked to rate the commercials “as being a convincing reason to vote for” each candidate, 24% gave Dole’s […]