National Conditions 
02.11.13
A plurality of the public (43%) views Barack Obama’s upcoming State of the Union as about as important as past years’ addresses. About a third (32%) say Obama’s speech will be more important than those in past years, while 15% say it will be less important. State of the Union Primer Public Views of [...]
02.06.13
As Barack Obama begins his second term in office, the public is hearing a mix of good and bad news about the economy, as it has for much of the past four years. Views of news about real estate values and financial markets have improved and are as positive as they have been in [...]
11.03.11
In the last four national elections, generational differences have mattered more than they have in decades. According to the exit polls, younger people have voted substantially more Democratic than other age groups in each election since 2004, while older voters have cast more ballots for Republican candidates in each election since 2006. The latest [...]
12.15.10
Six-in-ten say the country is losing ground on the federal budget deficit, the cost of living, Social Security and the availability of good-paying jobs.
06.22.10
Imagine a future in which cancer becomes a memory, ordinary people travel in space, and computers carry on conversations like humans. Now imagine a darker future – a world beset by war, rising temperatures and energy shortages, one where the United States faces a terrorist attack with nuclear weapons. Most Americans think that these [...]
03.18.10
As the day of reckoning for health care reform approaches, Americans have little to cheer about. Nearly everyone (92%) gives the national economy a negative rating. Closer to home, 85% say that jobs are hard to find in their community. A majority (54%) now says that someone in their household has been without a [...]
01.12.10
Summary of Findings A comprehensive new survey of racial attitudes finds that a year after Barack Obama’s election, blacks’ assessments about the state of black progress in America have improved more dramatically than at any time in the last quarter century. The poll finds an upbeat set of black views on a wide range of [...]
12.21.09
As the current decade draws to a close, relatively few Americans have positive things to say about it. By roughly two-to-one, more say they have a generally negative (50%) rather than a generally positive (27%) impression of the past 10 years. This stands in stark contrast to the public’s recollection of other decades in [...]
07.26.06
Summary of Findings Israel’s offensive into Lebanon has not resulted in a public opinion backlash in the U.S. so far. A new Pew poll conducted July 6-19 finds little change in public sympathy for Israel in its dispute with the Palestinians. A 44%-plurality of U.S. adults say they sympathize more with Israel, while 9% sympathize [...]
05.13.04
By Nicole Speulda and Mary McIntosh
11.25.03
Even in U.S., 15% Go without Food, 26% without Health Care
06.03.03
Introduction and Summary The speed of the war in Iraq and the prevailing belief that the Iraqi people are better off as a result have modestly improved the image of America. But in most countries, opinions of the U.S. are markedly lower than they were a year ago. The war has widened the rift between [...]
12.04.02
Introduction and Summary Global Gloom and Growing Anti-Americanism Despite an initial outpouring of public sympathy for America following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, discontent with the United States has grown around the world over the past two years. Images of the U.S. have been tarnished in all types of nations: among longtime NATO allies, [...]
01.17.97
Introduction and Summary As 1996 drew to a close Americans were evaluating their lives much the way they have over the past four decades during good economic times. Most feel they have made personal progress over the past five years, and most are optimistic about the future. Financial stability, good health and a strong family [...]
04.06.94
Report Summary Despite signs of an economic turn around, Americans remain highly dissatisfied with the state of the nation, financially burdened and fearful about their futures. From an economic point of view, continued discontent with earning power of American jobs is inhibiting celebration of the economic recovery. From a political one, preoccupation with Whitewater is [...]
12.04.91
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 [...]