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 […]
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 […]
Political Interest Down from ’94 A sharp decline in the number of Americans tuned in to government and public affairs offers new evidence that the November election may not spark much interest. Indeed, just 9% of Americans are following news about candidates and elections in their states very closely. Interest in the elections is lackluster […]
Introduction and Summary Majorities of the American public as well as the nation’s Opinion Leaders approve the expansion of NATO into Central Europe, according to surveys by the Pew Research Center for The People & The Press released today (Tuesday 4 p.m.) as the Senate begins hearings on Alliance enlargement. These results come from a […]
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 […]
Design of the Influential Americans Survey Sample The purpose of the Pew Center survey was primarily to learn what America’s leadership elites believe America’s role in the post Cold War world should be. These leadership respondents, whom we call America’s Influentials or Opinion Leaders, consisted of 591 men and women chosen from recognized lists of […]
Budget Agreement Clearly, Bill Clinton’s continued high ratings, despite Whitewater and the DNC fund raising scandal, seem more tied to a reduction in economic anxiety than to success with the budget. News interest in the budget debate once again edged down at the very time the President and Republican leaders had come to their historic […]