Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

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Short-form data and analysis from Pew Research Center writers and social scientists. To view all our reports and publications, visit our main Publications page.

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  • short reads

    Leadership and Gender

    Only 6% of Americans say women make better political leaders than men.

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    Defense is a Man’s Job

    Overwhelming margins see men as better able to hand national security issues.

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    Economy Tops Terrorism as a Voting Issue

    87% of registered voters now say the economy will be “very important” to their vote compared with a still high 72% of who say terrorism is a top issue for them.

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    Jobs: Partisan Problem

    Democrats are more likely (by 20 points) to say jobs are difficult to find.

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    The Right Stuff

    Americans see McCain as “personally qualified to be president.”

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    Political Heat

    Energy policy is a very important issue for 77% of voters.

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    Better Off Now Than 5 Years Ago

    Only about four-in-ten U.S. adults now say they are better off today than they were five years ago — the most downbeat assessment of personal progress in more than four decades of polling on this question.