Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Overview As the nation prepares for another round of deficit reduction debates, the public’s confidence in congressional leaders, particularly Republican leaders in Congress, has plummeted. Jus t 35% say they have a great deal or fair amount of confidence in Republican leaders in Congress to do the right thing when it comes to dealing with […]
President Obama’s deficit reduction plan set off a partisan skirmish that generated major headlines last week. The second biggest story, the presidential campaign, was marked by a shaky debate performance by GOP frontrunner Rick Perry. And the latest chapter in the intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict registered as the No. 3 topic.
When President Obama goes before a joint session of Congress on Thursday to lay out a plan for spurring jobs creation, one of the political and policy dynamics at work will be the tension that animated the debate in Washington all this year: the push to reduce federal spending and the government’s deficit competing against […]
Overview Two weeks after U.S. and NATO forces began military operations in Libya, the public’s reaction to the situation remains mixed. Half (50%) say the United States and its allies made the right decision in conducting airstrikes in Libya, while 37% say it was the wrong decision – a balance of opinion virtually unchanged from […]
Overview Though voters’ views of the ideologies of the political parties have shifted little since the summer of 2010, an increasing number see the Republican Party as very conservative, while slightly fewer see the Democratic Party as very liberal. In 2010, somewhat more, on balance, viewed the Democratic Party as very liberal than said the […]
Support for the increased use of nuclear power has declined amid the ongoing nuclear emergency in Japan. But with the surge in gas prices, support for increased offshore oil and gas drilling is growing.
Barack Obama’s public image has eroded in recent months. His overall job approval rating is now, on balance, significantly negative for the first time in his presidency, and his rating on the economy has continued to decline. Nevertheless, even as public impressions of Obama on traits related to leadership have declined significantly, Americans continue to […]
Just a quarter of Americans (25%) say they have a favorable opinion of Congress, while 70% have an unfavorable view. This is among the lowest favorable ratings for Congress in more than two decades of Pew Research Center surveys. The number expressing a favorable opinion of Congress has fallen by nine points since March (from […]