As the presidential campaign enters its final week, Barack Obama has failed to regain much of the support he lost in the days following the first presidential debate and the race is now even among likely voters: 47% favor Obama while an identical percentage supports Mitt Romney.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Oct. 24-28 among 1,678 registered voters, including 1,495 likely voters, finds Obama holding a statistically insignificant two-point edge among registered voters: 47% to 45%. This is little different from the 46% to 46% standoff among registered voters observed in early October, in the days following the first debate.

When the sample is narrowed to likely voters, the balance of opinion shifts slightly in Romney’s direction, as it did in early October. This reflects Romney’s turnout advantage over Obama, which could loom larger as Election Day approaches. In both October surveys, more Republicans and Republican leaners than Democrats and Democratic leaners are predicted to be likely voters. In September, the gap was more modest.

Indeed, surveys over the past month have found Republicans becoming much more upbeat about the race and about Mitt Romney himself. More Republicans now see the campaign as interesting and informative. And compared with September, a greater proportion of Romney voters now say they are voting for him rather than against Obama.

The deadlock in candidate support continues to reflect the offsetting strengths and weaknesses of the two candidates. Romney’s personal image has improved substantially since the summer, and his favorability rating among registered voters (50%) is now about the same as Obama’s (52%).

But Obama continues to lead his rival on many personal characteristics and issues. Obama is seen as the candidate with more moderate positions on issues and as more willing to work with members of the other party. He also holds wide advantages on empathy and consistency. Obama leads Romney by about two-to-one (59% to 31%) as the candidate who connects well with ordinary Americans, and by 51% to 36% as the candidate who takes consistent positions on issues.

Obama also leads Romney by nine points on better representing voters’ views on abortion and by about the same margin (50% to 42%) on making wise decisions about foreign policy.

Moreover, majorities of voters continue to agree with criticisms frequently lodged against Romney. About six-in-ten (61%) agree that Romney is “promising more than he can deliver” while 53% say “it’s hard to know what Romney really stands for.” Both percentages are virtually unchanged since early October.

Romney’s strengths – and Obama’s weaknesses – continue to be the economy and the budget deficit. More see the former Massachusetts governor as better able to improve the job situation, by a 50% to 42% margin. Half of voters agree that “Obama doesn’t know how to turn the economy around.” And more voters say Romney has new ideas than say that about Obama (46% vs. 41%).

The poll finds that this year’s debates collectively have had a much more positive impact on opinions of Romney than on views of Obama. Twice as many voters say they have a better opinion of Romney as a result of the debates than say that about Obama (36% vs. 18%).

And Romney continues to run about even with Obama on a number of issues on which he trailed earlier in the campaign, including health care and energy. Similarly, voters are divided over whether Obama (46%) or Romney (44%) would do better in dealing with taxes.

The poll finds familiar divides in support patterns among likely voters. Among age cohorts, Millennials continue to support Obama, while Gen Xers and Boomers split their support between the two candidates. Voters in the Silent Generation support Romney by a wide margin. Whites, especially working class whites, strongly favor Romney, while African Americans overwhelmingly favor Obama.

Overall, the poll shows a modest gender gap. Men lean to Romney by a seven-point margin, women lean to Obama by about the same margin (six points). The marital gap is much wider. Both married men and women favor Romney, while 59% of unmarried women – and 56% of unmarried men – support Obama.

The swing vote has not decreased significantly since early October. Among likely voters, 13% are either undecided, lean toward a candidate or support Romney or Obama but say they could still change their mind. In early October, 14% were swing voters.

Third-party candidates attract scant support from likely voters. Libertarian Gary Johnson polls at 2% and Green Party candidate Jill Stein at less than 1%. This is comparable to levels of support for third-party candidates Ralph Nader and Bob Barr at this stage in the 2008 campaign.

The 2012 Matchup

With voter preferences split evenly between Obama and Romney among likely voters, support for Barack Obama is substantially lower than it was in the election four years ago, according to national exit polls.

But Obama has held his ground among some voting blocs over this time period. Notably, he runs about as well among middle-aged voters (30-64) and those with high incomes as he did four years ago, and he continues to garner near universal support from blacks. His support among Democrats is slightly higher than in 2008.

Obama has lost ground since 2008 among young voters as well as those 65 and older. His support has also slipped among voters in the middle and lower-income brackets. Most notably, while Obama won independent voters by an eight-point margin in 2008, he now trails Romney by an identical margin among independents.

Among white voters, Obama’s support has slipped more among those without a college degree than among college graduates. Currently, Obama trails Romney by nearly two-to-one among white voters who do not have a college degree.

Romney Support More Positive

For the first time this year, a majority of registered voters who support Romney (57%) now think of their vote as a vote for Mitt Romney, not as a vote against Barack Obama. As recently as September, just over half of Romney voters (52%) said their main motivation was their opposition to Obama.

By contrast, registered voters who favor Obama have consistently described their vote as a vote for the president. Currently, 73% of Obama’s supporters say they are voting for the president, while just 24% are voting against Romney.

Consistent with this, as many Romney as Obama voters express strong support for their candidate. This continues the pattern seen in the Pew Research poll in early October, after the first presidential debate, which represented a shift from polling earlier in the year when Romney’s support was much more tepid.

Assessing Voter Turnout

As in many previous elections, turnout measures appear to favor the Republican candidate. In the poll, more of Mitt Romney’s than Barack Obama’s supporters say they are highly engaged and certain to vote. By a four-point margin, Romney supporters say they have given a lot of thought to the election (82% vs. 78%). Similarly, 66% of those voting for Romney say they have been following the campaign very closely. Fewer of Obama’s supporters (60%) say this. And 88% of Romney supporters say they will definitely vote, compared with 83% for the president.

Obama’s supporters report greater engagement now than they did earlier this month, just after the first presidential debate. The percentage who report giving a lot of thought to the election rose from 67% to 78%, and 60% now say they are following the campaign very closely, compared with 44% earlier in the month.

While turnout forecasts are very difficult, the level of engagement at this point in the campaign suggests that a relatively high percentage of voters will go to the polls. Compared with final pre-election polls in four previous elections, the percentage giving a lot of thought to the election is higher than in 2000 and 1996, and only slightly lower than in 2008 and 2004 – both high turnout elections. Similarly, the percentage saying they definitely plan to vote is 84%, not significantly different from the figures in 2008 and 2004.

Who Will Win Nov. 6?

Overall, more voters continue to expect Barack Obama to win the election (49%) than think Romney will win (31%). This reflects the continued confidence of Obama’s supporters – throughout the year at least eight-in-ten Obama backers have said they expect him to win. Romney supporters, by comparison, are less uniformly confident. Currently 64% of Romney voters say they believe Romney will win, while 17% think Obama will win and 19% are not sure.

But Romney backers are more confident now than they were in September, when their candidate trailed in most national polling.

Views of Candidate Traits, Issue Strengths

Since the aftermath of the first presidential debate, there has been little change in perceptions about the personal qualities of the two presidential candidates. Obama continues to hold a lead over Romney on empathy (by a 59%-31% margin, voters say he is the candidate who is better able to connect with ordinary Americans), and on taking consistent positions on issues (51%-36%). He also has a modest advantage on the question of which candidate takes more moderate positions (50%-38%).

But on questions of honesty, working with leaders of the other party, strength of leadership and coming up with new ideas, the candidates are evenly matched. Despite the fact that Obama was perceived as the candidate of change in 2008, 46% now say Romney is the candidate with new ideas; 41% say this better describes Obama. However, Obama has a comparably small edge on honesty, on being a strong leader and on working across the aisle.

The public is closely divided in its evaluations of which candidate can better handle the key issues facing the country. Romney holds an advantage on reducing the deficit (51%-37%) and a smaller edge on improving the job situation (50%-42%).

The candidates battle to a draw on several other important issues: dealing with the nation’s energy problems (46% Romney-45% Obama), dealing with taxes (46% Obama, 44% Romney), dealing with health care (47% Obama, 45% Romney) and dealing with Medicare (48% Obama, 43% Romney).

Obama has a modest advantage on two other issues. On foreign policy 50% say Obama is the candidate better able to make wise decisions about foreign policy (compared with 42% for Romney), while 48% say he’s better at representing the voter’s views on abortion (compared with 39% for Romney).

Since much of the electorate has already made up its mind – not to mention having possibly voted – attention turns to the swing voters, including those who are undecided or have a weak commitment to their candidate.

Swing voters in the current poll favor Mitt Romney on the critical issue of improving the job situation (41% Romney, 32% Obama) and also on the deficit (41% Romney, 28% Obama). More swing voters also view Romney as the candidate of new ideas (44% Romney, 28% Obama). But Obama matches or surpasses Romney on every other issue and candidate trait, including empathy, honesty, consistency, strength of leadership, moderation and willingness to work across party lines.

Candidate Images

Mitt Romney trailed Barack Obama most of the year in personal favorability but closed the gap after the first presidential debate and maintains that parity in the current poll. Half of registered voters (50%) say they have a favorable opinion of him, compared with 52% favorable for Barack Obama. Comparable numbers of voters say they have a very favorable opinion of each of the candidates (23% for Obama, 19% for Romney), as well as a very unfavorable opinion (26% each).

Voters are evenly divided in their views of the vice presidential candidates; 44% have a favorable view of Joe Biden, and 45% have a favorable view of Paul Ryan.

Looking at frequent criticisms of the presidential candidates, 61% of voters agree that Romney “is promising more than he can deliver,” while 35% disagree. Just more than half (53%) agree that “it’s hard to know what Romney really stands for”; 44% disagree.

Half of voters (50%) agree that Obama “doesn’t know how to turn the economy around”; about as many (47%) disagree. About four-in-ten (42%) agree that Obama “thinks government is the solution to every problem.” Just more than half (53%) disagree with this statement.

Ahead of Thursday’s vice presidential debate, more voters view Joe Biden unfavorably than favorably, while opinions about Paul Ryan are more evenly divided. Biden’s image is far less positive than it was shortly before his 2008 debate with Sarah Palin; Ryan is viewed less favorably than Palin was just prior to the last vice-presidential debate.

The national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Oct. 4-7 among 1,511 adults, including 1,201 registered voters, finds that 39% of voters view Biden favorably, while 51% offer an unfavorable impression of the vice president. Just more than four-in-ten (44%) view Ryan favorably, while about as many (40%) have an unfavorable view.

A separate survey, also conducted Oct. 4-7, among 1,006 adults and 812 registered voters, finds that voters are divided over who will do better in Thursday’s vice presidential debate. Four-in-ten (40%) say Ryan will do a better job while 34% expect Biden to do better.

Biden’s image is little changed since September, but he is viewed less favorably than before his faceoff against Palin four years ago. In late September 2008, 53% of voters viewed Biden favorably and just 31% expressed an unfavorable opinion. At the time, Palin’s favorable rating was higher than Ryan’s is today (51% vs. 44%).

Surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center and the Washington Post before the party conventions this summer found that people have very different one-word impressions of the vice presidential candidates. More people used negative words than positive ones to describe Biden, while one-word impressions of Ryan were mixed.

The current survey finds that just 35% of independent voters have a favorable opinion of Biden, while 52% view him unfavorably. As many independent voters view Ryan favorably (42%) as unfavorably (42%).

The separate survey on expectations for Thursday’s debate finds that 54% of voters say they are very likely to watch the debate. Interest in the upcoming debate is far lower than it was for the Biden-Palin debate four years ago (69% very likely to watch), though higher
than for the debate between Dick Cheney and John Edwards in 2oo4 (41% very likely).

By a 42% to 25% margin, more independents expect Ryan to do better than Biden in the debate. Most members of both parties predict victory for their party’s candidate, but Republicans are more confident than Democrats. Nearly eight-in-ten (78%) Republican voters say Ryan will do the better job in the debate. Fewer Democrats (62%) expect Biden to do better.

At this stage in the campaign, Barack Obama is in a strong position compared with past victorious presidential candidates. With an eight-point lead over Mitt Romney among likely voters, Obama holds a bigger September lead than the last three candidates who went on to win in November, including Obama four years ago. In elections since 1988, only Bill Clinton, in 1992 and 1996, entered the fall with a larger advantage.

Not only does Obama enjoy a substantial lead in the horserace, he tops Romney on a number of key dimensions. His support is stronger than his rival’s, and is positive rather than negative. Mitt Romney’s backers are more ardent than they were pre-convention, but are still not as enthusiastic as Obama’s. Roughly half of Romney’s supporters say they are voting against Obama rather than for the Republican nominee. With the exception of Bill Clinton in 1992, candidates lacking mostly positive backing have lost in November.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted September 12-16, 2012 among 3,019 adults including 2,424 registered voters, finds that Obama continues to be the more likable candidate by a substantial margin; his favorability rating has risen to 55% from 50% in late July, with 42% now expressing an unfavorable view of him.

Romney’s favorability also has risen, from 37% in July to 45% currently. But more (50%) continue to view Romney unfavorably. No previous presidential candidate has been viewed more unfavorably than favorably at this point in a presidential campaign in Pew Research or Gallup September surveys going back to 1988.

Romney has gained no ground on Obama in being seen as more credible or more empathetic, and Obama now leads Romney by nearly three-to-one (66% to 23%) as the candidate who connects well with ordinary Americans – an even wider margin than in June.

With the exception of jobs and the deficit, on which voter opinion is about evenly divided, Obama leads Romney on most key issues, notably healthcare, Medicare, and abortion.

And the survey, conducted amid an outbreak of violence in the Middle East and shortly after the killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya, shows that Obama has a wide edge when it comes to foreign affairs and national security. Far more voters see Obama as a strong leader and as the candidate voters believe would use good judgment in a crisis. Voters also express more confidence in Obama than Romney to deal with foreign policy generally, as well as problems in the Middle East.

Obama also has a number of other advantages over his challenger. As has been the case for much of the past year, the Democratic Party is better regarded than the GOP by a significant margin; currently, 53% of voters view the Democratic Party favorably while 46% have a favorable opinion of the GOP. Michelle Obama remains extremely popular – 66% have a favorable opinion of the first lady. About as many voters (70%) view Bill Clinton favorably. Joe Biden’s favorable ratings remain mixed, but that also is the case for Paul Ryan, Romney’s running mate. Both Biden and Ryan are among the least popular vice presidential candidates in recent history.

The new survey, which began a week after the Democratic convention ended, finds that Democratic engagement in the 2012 election has spiked, and the engagement gap evident earlier in the campaign has largely disappeared. Democratic voters are now as likely as Republicans to say they have given quite a lot of thought to the election and are following campaign news as closely. Democratic voters also are as committed to voting, and as certain of their vote, as are their GOP counterparts.

Consequently, Obama’s overall advantage – he leads 51% to 42% among registered voters – does not narrow significantly when looking only at those most likely to vote. Among 2,192 likely voters, Obama leads Romney, 51% to 43%.

Overall interest in the 2012 election is not as high as it was at this point in the 2008 campaign, with a similar decline among both Democrats and Republicans. But the dropoff in engagement is most noticeable among younger Americans. Just 48% of voters younger than 30 have given a lot of thought to the 2012 election, down from 65% at this point four years ago. The share of young people who say they are closely following election news is down by about half (from 35% to 18%).

By contrast, there has been no falloff in engagement among African American voters. Engagement among black voters, which was higher in September 2008 than in previous elections dating to 1992, remains just as high going into the final weeks of the 2012 campaign.

The nation’s economic situation continues to be Romney’s best friend in this campaign. While trailing on most issues, he runs about even with Obama as the candidate best able to improve the job situation, and there is little indication that voters are feeling better about economy. Just 12% rate national economic conditions as excellent or good. Just 25% say the economy is recovering, while a 46% plurality still thinks it will be a long time before it recovers.

Despite these gloomy opinions, the economy has not turned into a clear advantage for Romney. Almost the same number express confidence in Obama to do the right thing when it comes to fixing the economy (52%); as say the same about Romney (49%).

But the focus on economic issues may benefit Romney among swing voters. Roughly one-in-five voters (22%) are not fully committed to a candidate at this point in the race, and Romney leads Obama by significant margins among these voters as better able to improve the job situation and balance the budget deficit.

Confidence in Obama’s economic stewardship is down significantly since shortly before he took office, but has stabilized in recent years. In January 2009, just prior to his inauguration, fully 75% of voters said they had confidence in Obama to do the right things to fix the economy. After a controversial stimulus plan, heated debate over health care reform and persistently high unemployment, that percentage fell to 51% in December 2009. The current measure shows little change.

Other personal evaluations of Obama show a similar trajectory. The percentage of voters saying Obama makes them feel “hopeful” fell precipitously during the first year of his presidency (from 69% just after his election to 52% in March 2010), but has slipped no further in the three years since (50% in the current survey). Nearly two-thirds (64%) continue to describe Obama as “inspiring,” down from a high of 81% in the days after he was elected, but about the same as in early 2010 (59%).

The survey finds that overall patterns of voter support for Obama and Romney have changed little over the course of the campaign. Obama holds a 56% to 37% lead among women registered voters, but only runs about even among men (47% Romney, 46% Obama). Voters younger than 30 continue to support Obama by a wide margin (59% to 33%). Voters 30 to 49 favor Obama by a 52% to 41% margin; older voters are more evenly divided.

Romney draws broad support from white evangelical Protestants. Race and ethnicity remain key correlates of candidate support: 92% of black voters support Obama, as do 69% of Latinos, compared with 43% of white non-Hispanics. Among whites, Romney runs better among white men and white working class voters than among women and white college graduates.

These patterns broadly parallel racial divides in the 2008 vote. And in that regard, a special analysis of the survey finds that racially conservative attitudes play no greater role in opposition to Obama than they did in 2008.

About four-in-ten Americans (43%) have followed news about the attacks on U.S. embassies in the Middle East and the killing of an American ambassador very closely, making it by far the most closely followed foreign news story of the year.

Those who have followed this story have much more positive opinions about Barack Obama’s handling of the situation than Mitt Romney’s comments on the crisis. Nearly half (45%) approve of Obama’s handling of the recent attacks on U.S. embassies and the killing of the U.S. ambassador in Libya; 36% disapprove of Obama’s handling of this situation.

In contrast, only about a quarter (26%) of those who have tracked news on turmoil in the Middle East approve of Romney’s comments on the situation; nearly half (48%) disapprove.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Sept. 13-16 among 1,001 adults, finds that public interest in the presidential campaign has increased sharply in the past week. Currently, 42% say they are following news about the presidential candidates very closely, up from 31% a week earlier, immediately after the party conventions.

As many followed the recent spate of attacks on U.S. embassies in the Middle East and the killing of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens very closely (43%) as tracked campaign news very closely (42%). News interest in events in the Middle East is as high today as it was in the early days of the “Arab spring” last year, or when the U.S. and its allies launched air strikes on Libya in April 2011. (For more, see “Interest in Foreign News Declines,” June 6, 2012.)

Across most demographic groups, far more of those who followed news about the embassy attacks approve of Obama’s handling of the situation than approve of Romney’s statements on the crisis. And while 75% of Democrats approve of Obama’s handling of Middle East turmoil, fewer Republicans (58%) approve of Romney’s comments on the situation.

Nearly identical percentages of those who have followed the situation very closely and those have followed it less closely approve of Obama’s handling of the situation (46% and 44%, respectively). However, disapproval of Obama’s performance is much higher among those who have followed Mideast turmoil very closely (43%) than those who have followed it less closely (29%).

Romney gets higher marks among those who have followed Middle East events very closely than among those who followed them less closely. Even among this group, however, more disapprove (49%) than approve (34%) of his comments on the situation.

There are only modest partisan differences in attentiveness to the recent attacks on the embassies and the killing of the U.S. ambassador: 48% of Republicans, 41% of Democrats and 45% of independents have followed this story very closely.

Today, the public’s one-word descriptions for Obama reflect the mixed views of his presidency. The top positive words are good and trying, while the most frequently used negative descriptions are failure and incompetent.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Washington Post, conducted Aug. 31-Sept. 3 among 1,008 adults, finds that some perceptions of Obama have endured over the years. Four years ago, intelligent was among the most frequent descriptions. It has remained a constant in one-word surveys on Obama since then. Currently, 17 of respondents describe Obama as intelligent; two months before the 2008 election, 20 people said Obama was intelligent.

The word socialist also has been consistently used to describe Obama. Among Republicans, socialist is the third most frequently used word (9 mentions), behind failure and incompetent (15 each).

More generally, the one-word reactions to Obama reflect polarized views of his presidency. About four-in-ten (43%) of those who offered a one-word description used a positive term to describe their impression of Obama, while an identical percentage used a negative word. Just 14% gave a neutral word, with president the most common.

A Pew Research Center/Washington Post survey last week found that more people use negative than positive words to describe Mitt Romney: 42% of the words were clearly negative while 28% were positive. There were far more neutral descriptions of Romney than Obama (30% vs. 14%).

While impressions of Obama are centered on his performance as president, Romney’s focused on his background and experience. Business and businessman, and rich, were among the top words used to describe the GOP nominee.

The word honest is used to characterize both Romney and Obama, though it is a more frequent descriptor of Romney. Conversely, the word liar is used with about the same frequency in describing both men.

Of those offering a word to describe Biden, 38% use negative terms, while 23% give positive words. About four-in-ten (39%) use neutral terms, with vice president among the most common, according to the latest national survey of 1,008 adults by the Pew Research Center and the Washington Post, conducted Aug. 31-Sept. 3, 2012.

The top positive words used to describe Biden are good and honest. Many of the negative words focus on Biden’s intelligence: Aside from clown, a number of people describe Biden as stupid, a joke, goofy and a buffoon.

GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan is described in more positive terms than Biden; as many use complimentary as critical words to characterize their impression of Ryan. The top words used to describe Ryan are conservative and intelligent. (For more, see “Paul Ryan in a Word: Conservative, Intelligent,” Aug. 29, 2012.)

Ryan’s relative youth and inexperience are a theme in his descriptions, with young among the top words used. In contrast, Biden is often described as old.

There are wide partisan differences in one-word impressions of Biden, but even Democrats are not highly positive about the vice president. As many Democrats use neutral words as positive words to describe Biden (47% vs. 45%). Republicans generally use negative words to characterize their impressions of Biden (63%). Among independents, more than twice as many use critical as positive terms to describe Biden (42% vs. 18%).

The new national survey by the Pew Research Center and the Washington Post, conducted August 23-26, 2012 among 1,010 adults nationwide, finds that while many people are now using different words to describe Romney, the words remain on balance more negative than positive. Romney elicits far more positive reactions from Republicans now than in the spring, but both Democrats and independents continue to say more negative than positive things about him.

Overall, 42% of the words volunteered by respondents are clearly negative, most commonly liar, arrogant, crook, out of touch, distrust and fake. Fewer (28%) offer words that are clearly positive in tone, such as honest, good, leadership, and capable. The remaining 30% of words are more descriptive and neutral in their tone, including businessman, rich, conservative, and Republican. As the campaign progresses, fewer Americans are offering neutral descriptions of Romney, but people continue to have more negative than positive things to say about him.

The tone of these responses is in line with the favorability ratings in both Pew Research Center and Washington Post polling. The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press’s most recent measure of Romney’s favorability in late July found more voters expressing an unfavorable than favorable view of Mitt Romney by a 52% to 37% margin. The most recent update of candidate favorability by the Washington Post/ABC News, conducted just this past weekend, also remains in negative territory with no improvement in recent months.

While the tone remains negative, the substance of what people say about Romney is substantially different. The words honest and businessman are now among the most common words people associate with Romney, with 32 and 31 mentions, respectively. Previous surveys conducted between October 2011 and March 2012 consistently found fewer offering these terms to describe Romney.

The survey also finds the word conservative rising as a description of Romney. Today, it is among a handful of words volunteered by 20 or more people. It was used by fewer than 10 people in each previous survey. About as many Republicans, Democrats and independents use this term to describe Romney. Romney’s running mate, Paul Ryan, is also frequently described as conservative in the same survey.

Equally telling are the words that do not come up as often when people think of Romney. Most notable is his religion. Last October, the word Mormon was far and away the most common word associated with Romney, mentioned by 60 people. By March, just 18 people mentioned Romney’s religion, and in the current survey, only 8 people say Mormon is the first word they associate with him.

On a smaller scale is a drop in references to Romney’s Massachusetts health care record. Last October, that was the second most common idea associated with Romney after his faith. Not a single respondent in the current survey made mention of this part of his record. Another term that has become less common is flip-flopper, mentioned by more than 10 people in every previous survey, but by just four people in the current survey.

On the eve of his nominating convention, Mitt Romney elicits a much more positive response from within his party than in the past. Currently, 63% of Republicans who offer a response describe Romney in clearly positive terms, up from just 29% as recently as March. The words honest and leadership are among the most common positive Republican descriptors. Just 28% of Republicans offer a negative description of Romney.

At the same time as positive one word descriptions of Romney have risen among Republicans, Democrats have been using more negative words. Today, 62% of Democrats use a clearly negative term to describe Romney, with liar, arrogant, and distrust among the most common. The single most frequent word Democrats offer is rich, coded here as neutral in tone.

In the latest national survey by the Pew Research Center and the Washington Post, conducted August 23-26 among 1,010 adults, people offer a roughly equal number of positive and negative descriptions. Of those offering a word, 37% describe Ryan in clearly positive terms, using such words as intelligent, good, energetic , honest and smart. Another 35% of the words used are clearly negative in tone, such as idiot, extreme, phony and scary. The remaining 28% of the descriptions were not clearly positive or negative, such as conservative, unknown and young.

Not surprisingly, most Republicans offer positive words in describing Ryan, while most Democrats volunteer negative words. Among Republicans who volunteered a description, 69% offer positive words, most commonly intelligent, good and honest. Another 27% of Republicans offer neutral words, including young and conservative, while just 4% offer a negative description.

A 59% majority of Democrats offer a negative word in describing Ryan, with 32% volunteering a neutral assessment and 9% a positive word. Independents offer an equal mix of positively toned (36%) and negatively toned (38%) descriptions.

While Americans offer a wide range of descriptions of Ryan, a few themes stand out. References to his intelligence are common, with more positive assessments (25 people used the word intelligent, another 13 smart, 4 knowledgeable, 4 sharp and 3 educated) than negative (10 people called Ryan an idiot, 5 described him as stupid and 4 as clueless).

Ryan’s ideology is another often noted characteristic. The single most often used description is conservative, offered by 26 people. Another 4 people specifically identify Ryan as too conservative, while 8 call him extreme.

There are also extremes in views of Ryan’s honesty. On the positive side, 15 use the word honest to describe him, 5 offer the word integrity, and 4 dedicated. But on the negative side, 7 call Ryan phony, 4 disingenuous, 4 fake, 4 liar, and 3 sneaky.

The public’s impressions of Ryan are quite different from how people described Sarah Palin four years ago. A few weeks after her nomination, the most common word used to describe Palin was inexperienced, though many offered positive views such as strong and refreshing as well.