Political Issues

reportOct 21, 2008

Growing Doubts About McCain’s Judgment, Age and Campaign Conduct

Overview Barack Obama’s lead over John McCain has steadily increased since mid-September, when the race was essentially even. Shortly after the first presidential debate on Sept. 26, Obama moved to a 49% to 42% lead; that margin inched up to 50% to 40% in a poll taken just after the second debate. Currently, Obama enjoys […]
transcriptOct 16, 2008

Ten Years of Promoting Religious Freedom Through U.S. Foreign Policy

Oct. 27 marks the 10th anniversary of the signing of the International Religious Freedom Act, a law that made the promotion of religious freedom a basic aim of U.S. foreign policy. The passage of the legislation marked the culmination of a campaign of unlikely religious allies, who went on to champion other international human rights […]
transcriptOct 2, 2008

Will the Culture War Matter on Election Day?

For much of the presidential campaign, it has appeared that moral values issues would play only a small role in the November election. Indeed, at various points both Barack Obama and John McCain shied away from talking about abortion, same-sex marriage and other “culture war” issues. But the selection of Sarah Palin as the Republican […]
reportOct 1, 2008

Crowdsourcing a Survey: Health Topics

The New York Times quoted our data in an article entitled Logging On for a Second (or Third) Opinion. We happen to be preparing our next health…
transcriptSep 30, 2008

Candidate Preferences of Religious Voters Similar to 2004, But Economy a Higher Priority

A recently published national survey finds remarkable stability in the candidate preferences of major religious groups when compared with those at a similar stage in the 2004 campaign. The survey was conducted in the summer of 2008 by the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron and headed by John […]
reportSep 30, 2008

Abortion Laws Around the World

Abortion is as controversial abroad as it is in the United States. Many governments struggle to strike a balance between the rights of pregnant women and the rights of unborn fetuses. As the following summary of abortion laws and practices in 30 countries shows, this often leads to complex policies governing when and under what […]
transcriptSep 30, 2008

Pro-Choice Does Not Mean Pro-Abortion: An Argument for Abortion Rights Featuring the Rev. Carlton Veazey

Since the Supreme Court’s historic 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, the issue of a woman’s right to an abortion has fostered one of the most contentious moral and political debates in America. Opponents of abortion rights argue that life begins at conception – making abortion tantamount to homicide. Abortion rights advocates, in contrast, maintain […]
transcriptSep 30, 2008

Fundamental Dignity at Every Stage of Life: An Argument Against Abortion Rights Featuring the Rev. J. Daniel Mindling

Since the Supreme Court’s historic 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, the issue of a woman’s right to an abortion has fostered one of the most contentious moral and political debates in America. Opponents of abortion rights argue that life begins at conception – making abortion tantamount to homicide. Abortion rights advocates, in contrast, maintain […]
reportSep 29, 2008

Americans and Abortion: An Overview

More than 35 years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic Roe v. Wade (1973) decision granted a woman the constitutional right to terminate her pregnancy, abortion remains a controversial issue. Indeed, although the frequency of abortions in the U.S. has dropped to its lowest point since 1974, the debate over abortion continues to play a […]
reportSep 26, 2008

The financial crisis online

Online activists and concerned citizens are using the internet to learn about the financial crisis, share their views on the proposed bailout, and organize their friends.