Just 28% of Americans say they approve of the job Republicans are doing in Congress, the lowest level in Pew Research surveys going back 15 years.

Only 30% of the public supports extending government loans to GM and Chrysler.

Just under half (48%) of the public says spending billions of dollars to help keep financial institutions secure is the right thing to do; 40% say it is wrong.

The public is evenly divided over spending billions to help homeowners who are facing foreclosure on mortgages they cannot afford but most supporters say they are bothered by it.

A majority of Americans (56%) reject the criticism that Obama is trying to tackle too many issues.

The public overwhelmingly supports (76%) President Obama’s plan to remove most combat troops from Iraq by the end of August.

The Obama administration’s plan to step up U.S. involvement in Afghanistan is unlikely to be welcomed in many of the world’s nations; even in the U.S., only a small majority supports a troop buildup.

In 2007, Latinos accounted for 40% of all sentenced federal offenders — triple their share of the U.S. population.