Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Summary of Findings Increased public support for the social safety net, signs of growing public concern about income inequality, and a diminished appetite for assertive national security policies have improved the political landscape for the Democrats as the 2008 presidential campaign gets underway. At the same time, many of the key trends that nurtured the [...]
Summary of Findings As the congressional midterm campaign begins in earnest, the mood of the electorate is sharply drawn. Voters are disappointed with Congress and disapproving of President Bush. Anti-incumbent sentiment, while a bit lower than a few months ago, is far more extensive than in the previous two midterms and remains close to 1994 [...]
Summary of Findings The public is of two minds about news reports that the government has been secretly examining the bank records of American citizens who may have ties to terrorist groups. By a margin of 50%-34%, Americans think that news organizations have hurt rather than helped the interests of the American people with these [...]
Summary of Findings With less than five months to go before Election Day, Democrats hold two distinct advantages in the midterm campaign that they have not enjoyed for some time. First, Americans continue to say they favor the Democratic candidate in their district, by a 51% to 39% margin. Second, the level of enthusiasm about [...]
Summary of Findings Public concern over Iran’s nuclear program has risen dramatically in the past few months. Today, 27% of Americans cite Iran as the country that represents the greatest danger to the United States. In October, just 9% pointed to Iran as the biggest danger to the U.S., while there was far more concern [...]
Introduction and Summary Americans have ambivalent views about the appropriate role for government in curbing sex, violence and indecency in the entertainment media. They have doubts about the effectiveness of government action, and believe that public pressure in the form of complaints and boycotts is a better way of dealing with the problem. [...]
Over the past four years, the American electorate has been dealt a series of body blows, each capable of altering the political landscape. The voting system broke down in a presidential election. A booming economy faltered, punctuated by revelations of one of the worst business scandals in U.S. history. And the country endured a [...]
Summary of Findings As presidential campaign activities start to pick up steam, President Bush is facing increasing public criticism of his efforts to deal with domestic issues and greater wariness of the military situation in Iraq. At the same time, his potential Democratic rivals show little early appeal and the Democratic party has lost significant [...]
Summary of Findings A two-thirds majority of the public continues to express qualified support for the idea of using military force to end the rule of Saddam Hussein. But the Bush administration may face a major challenge in winning public support for the use of force if U.N. weapons inspections yield anything less than evidence [...]
Introduction The public expects and supports continued military action to combat terrorism. No less than 92% think the United States will have to use military force to reduce the threat of terrorism, even if Osama bin Laden is captured or killed. The perception that the fight against terrorism remains unfinished also is reflected in the [...]
Introduction and Summary In the face of a struggling economy and the continuing war on terrorism, Americans begin 2002 upbeat about President George W. Bush’s job performance, his coming State of the Union address and the prospects for bipartisanship in Washington. Preventing future terrorist attacks and mending the economy are the biggest priorities this year. [...]
Foreword and Overview Foreword In 1987, we embarked on an ambitious project to better understand the nature of American politics. We identified a broad range of beliefs and values that underlie common political labels and that ultimately drive political action. A voter typology emerged from this effort which classifies the electorate into distinct groupings, defined [...]
Introduction and Summary Americans anticipate many perils in the next century, but none of them, no matter how grave, can dim the public’s positive view of the future. Despite consensus forecasts of natural disasters, environmental calamities and international terrorism, Americans are near unanimous in their confidence that life will get better for themselves, their families [...]
Introduction and Summary Washington’s leaders and the American public are out of step with one another. Public distrust of government is paralleled by a belief among members of Congress, presidential appointees and senior civil servants that the American public is too ill-informed to make wise decisions about important issues. Washington leaders also significantly underestimate the [...]
Introduction and Summary Psychologically, Americans have turned an important corner recently. They have become much less concerned about meeting major financial commitments, even though they say their material conditions have not dramatically improved. Heightened worries about affording health care, saving for retirement, or saving for a child’s college education have fallen off significantly in recent [...]
Report Summary Reflecting a dramatically changed environment in America and the world, the voter typology which Times Mirror created in 1987 has been modified to make it more responsive to the new values and attitudes that affect voter behavior in 1994. We present it as “The People, The Press and Politics: The New Political Landscape.” [...]
Report Summary We undertook this latest survey of the Times Mirror Center for The People & The Press, America’s Place in the New World, in an effort to discover where the nation’s top non-governmental leaders believe America is today, domestically and in foreign affairs, and where it should go in the post Cold War world. [...]
Report Summary Dissatisfaction with the way things are going in the country has now reached pre-Reagan economic recovery levels with over six in ten expressing fundamental discontent with the country’s course. Yet the President’s rating at 55% approve, 33% disapprove is at least as good if not better than that of recent GOP predecessors who [...]
Seen through the Times Mirror Center for the People & the Press’ political typology of 1990, the American electorate presents a disquieting picture of political gridlock. Despite the personal popularity of President Bush, cynicism toward the political system in general is growing as the public in unprecedented numbers associates Republicans with wealth and greed, [...]
Report Summary Public perceptions and priorities are changing as the new administration begins its effort to deal with the nation’s economic problems. This new Times Mirror survey identifies five important elements of public opinion that have significant implications for economic policy alternatives. These trends and dispositions emerge from an analysis of the findings of 2000 [...]
Report Summary There are 11 distinct groups in the American electorate — 10 that vote in varying degrees, and one that does not vote at all. How Americans vote is a much more complex process than previously defined. There have been many attempts to analyze political attitudes in this country. Some analysts have focused on [...]
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About Pew Research Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
