Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Overview Major events in the Middle East –including tensions between the U.S. and Israel, growing political unrest in many Arab countries, and the death of Osama bin Laden – have had little effect on public attitudes toward the region. Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, far more Americans continue to say they sympathize with Israel rather than […]
Bad economic news became a political story last week as analysts evaluated the impact on President Obama’s fortunes. Sarah Palin’s bus tour drew as much attention as Mitt Romney’s presidential announcement with the campaign generating its highest level of coverage yet. And two political scandals provoked much speculation and one indictment.
Barack Obama continues to fare well against a generic Republican opponent in the 2012 general election. Nearly half (48%) of registered voters say they would like to see Barack Obama reelected, while 37% say they would prefer to see a Republican candidate win in 2012. This is virtually unchanged from March. This 11-point edge is […]
The typology groups divide sharply along partisan lines in their views of Barack Obama. The core Republican groups and GOP-oriented independent groups are highly critical of Barack Obama and would prefer to see a Republican defeat him next year. Democratic and Democratic-leaning groups largely support the president and favor his reelection. Opinions about some other […]
The media were riveted last week by a made-for-headlines scandal involving one of the more combative members of Congress. The U.S. economy, the chaos in the Mideast and the emerging presidential race also generated significant attention, but they could not rival a story about the intersection of sex and politics.
It was a diverse news week that started off with the arrest of the IMF chief, but ended with the media focused on strained U.S.-Israel relations and the problems with the GOP presidential field. Meanwhile, attention to the aftermath of the bin Laden raid continued to diminish dramatically.
Most Muslim Americans continue to reject violence and extremism. As in 2007, very few see suicide bombing and other forms of violence against civilians as ever justified in the defense of Islam, and al Qaeda is even less popular than it was then. At the same time, there is extensive concern among Muslim Americans about […]