The public is no more engaged by the presidential campaign than in the spring, but the perceived strengths of some leading candidates are coming into focus.
The Pew Forum database covers presidential contenders' positions on issues of special religious significance as well as their stands on other domestic and foreign policies.
Religion is not currently proving to be a clear-cut positive in the 2008 presidential race. Candidates viewed by voters as the least religious are the current frontrunners for the Democratic and Republican nominations – Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, respectively. And the candidate seen as far and away the most religious – Mitt Romney – appears handicapped by this perception because of voter concerns about Mormonism.
On Wednesday evening, eight Republican presidential candidates met in a debate at the University of New Hampshire. How did candidate views compare with public opinion on the topics discussed?
When he formally enters the 2008 race this week, former Sen. Fred Thompson can behave in all ways like a presidential candidate. But on his "testing the waters" website, I'mwithFred.com, he's already been busy reaching out to supporters.
The popularity of the two top contenders among key segments of the Democratic electorate may help explain why Edwards's populist platform has not drawn wider support so far.
The Atlanta Falcons quarterback's legal troubles were last week's most followed news. Opinions of media coverage of the story showed a sharp racial divide with blacks far more critical than whites.
Sen. Hillary Clinton is by far the most popular presidential candidate among her own party's voters, but among the general public, she has one of the lowest favorable ratings of the leading candidates. In sharp contrast, the front-running Republican candidate, Rudy Giuliani, evokes relatively modest enthusiasm from the GOP base, but is as broadly popular with all voters as any candidate in either party.
An analysis of national exit polls from 2004 shows there is not one but two religion gaps -- one based on religious affiliation and the other based on frequency of attendance at worship services. How did the gaps manifest themselves in the 2004 election and what are the possible implications for 2008?
The 2008 Presidential campaign -- with its crowded field and accelerated timetable -- emerged as the leading story in the American news media in the second quarter of 2007, supplanting the policy debate over Iraq.
