Barack Obama is a leading driver of voter preferences in possible 2012 matchups, among both his supporters and opponents. A third of Obama supporters considered their choice a vote for him, while 33% of Mitt Romney backers saw it as a vote against Obama.

Of all the candidates vying for the White House next year, President Obama has received the most negative coverage in the news media and on blogs. Only 9% of the coverage about Obama during the first phase of the 2012 campaign was positive.

Nearly half of Americans (47%) say that Wall Street hurts the U.S. economy more than it helps, while 38% say it helps more than hurts; 15% offer no opinion.

A sharp decline in fertility rates in the United States that started in 2008 is closely linked to the souring of the economy that began about the same time. Births fell from a record high of 4,316,233 in 2007 to an estimated 4,007,000 in 2010.

Nearly six in ten Americans (58%) say we should pay less attention to problems overseas and instead concentrate on problems here at home, while 33% say it is best for the future of our country to be active in world affairs.

The American public is closely divided on the question of whether gays and lesbians should be allowed to marry legally, with 46% opposing same-sex marriage and 45% supporting it. Those divisions extend to groups within the Republican and Democratic coalitions.