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May 23, 2013 - Nearly three-quarters of Americans say that if the Senate background checks bill is reintroduced, Congress should pass it. But even gun control advocates are pessimistic about the bill’s chances.
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May 20, 2013 - So far, public interest in a trio of controversies connected to the Obama administration remains limited. Republicans are following the stories much more closely.
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Apr 25, 2013 - Social networking sites have grown more important in recent years as a venue for political involvement, learning, and debate. Overall, 39% of all American adults took part in some sort of political activity on a social networking site during the 2012 campaign.
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Mar 11, 2013 - In a Pew Research Center survey conducted Feb. 7-10, 56% of Americans said they approved of the U.S. conducting missile strikes from drones “to target extremists in countries such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.” About a quarter (26%) of the public disapproved.
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Feb 26, 2013 - Opinions about the Democratic Party are mixed, but the party is viewed more positively than the GOP in every dimension tested except one. Somewhat more say the Republican Party than the Democratic Party has strong principles (63% vs. 57%).
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Feb 11, 2013 - President Barack Obama will deliver his State of the Union address to the nation on Tuesday, Feb. 12. The Pew Research Center has compiled 10 tipsheets about issues Obama is likely to discuss.
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Jan 25, 2013 - Four states are considering major renewable energy proposals.
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Jan 24, 2013 - When Barack Obama took office four years ago, reducing the budget deficit was a middle-tier item on the public’s agenda. Only about half of Americans (53%) viewed it as a top policy priority in January 2009, placing it ninth on a list of 20 policy goals.
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Jan 22, 2013 - During his inaugural address, President Obama laid out his second term priorities, ranging from the social safety net to climate change. Find out what Pew Research Center surveys have found about public opinion on these issues.
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Jan 22, 2013 - The public is closely tracking the debate: 43% followed news about the proposals very closely and 29% followed fairly closely.
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Jan 17, 2013 - More Americans say Obama is trustworthy, a strong leader and someone who stands up for his beliefs; 52% approve of the job he is doing and 59% have a favorable opinion of him.
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Jan 09, 2013 - About as many Americans disapprove as approve of the new tax legislation. More say it’s impact will be negative rather than positive.
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Dec 13, 2012 - The Democrats are in a strong position with the public as they engage in negotiations to find a solution to the fiscal cliff crisis.
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Dec 04, 2012 - With Washington making little apparent progress in efforts to avoid going over the “fiscal cliff,” most Americans are skeptical that the White House and Republicans will reach a deal. A majority would blame Republicans if talks fail.
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Nov 26, 2012 - Barack Obama won 60% of the vote among those younger than 30, down from 66% in 2008, but his youth support may have been an even more important factor in his victory this year.
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Oct 12, 2012 - Among a dozen specific options for reducing the debt and deficit, only two win majority approval from the public – raising taxes on annual incomes over $250,000 and limiting corporate tax deductions, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
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Oct 11, 2012 - More than half of America watched the first presidential debate live, including 11% who were "dual screeners," following coverage on a computer or mobile device while also following television coverage.
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Oct 10, 2012 - Americans are hearing less negative news about the nation's economy than they were just a month ago. Perceptions of news about the job situation have improved across partisan lines.
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Oct 10, 2012 - Ahead of Thursday's vice presidential debate, more voters have an unfavorable view of Joe Biden, while opinions about Paul Ryan are evenly divided, according to a Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey.
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Oct 08, 2012 - Mitt Romney no longer trails Barack Obama in Pew Research Center polling. Voters say Romney did a better job than Obama in the Oct. 3 debate. Romney is now better regarded on most personal dimensions and most issues than he was in September.
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Oct 02, 2012 - Heading into Wednesday night's first presidential debate, voters expect that Barack Obama will do a better job than Mitt Romney, according to a Pew Research Center for the People & the Press study. A large majority of voters say they plan to watch the debate.
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Sep 28, 2012 - Young voters are significantly less engaged in this year’s election than at a comparable point in 2008 and now lag far behind older voters in interest in the campaign and intention to vote, according to a new People Press analysis of existing data.
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Sep 27, 2012 - There are signs that television news -- like the print news sources before it -- may be losing its hold on the next generation of news consumers. Online and digital news consumption continues to increase, driven by expanding use of mobile devices and the rise of social networking.
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Sep 25, 2012 - Nearly half (46%) say the coverage of Romney and Obama has been fair, according to a Pew Research Center for the People & the Press study. Among those who see a bias, as many say the press has been too easy on Romney (20%) as too tough on him (21%), while nearly twice as many say press coverage of the president has been too easy (28%) than too tough (15%).
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Sep 24, 2012 - The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press reports that voters offer tepid ratings of the 2012 field. Just over half (54%) say they are either very or fairly satisfied with the presidential choices this year, while 40% say they are not too or not at all satisfied.
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Sep 24, 2012 - As Barack Obama and Mitt Romney prepare for their first debate, the issues at the top of the voters' agenda have changed little since 2008. Just as they did four years ago, large majorities say the economy and jobs are issues "very important" to their vote, according to a Pew Research Center study.
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Sep 20, 2012 - The Pew Research Center reports that with an eight-point lead over Mitt Romney among likely voters, Barack 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.
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Sep 17, 2012 - Four-in-ten Americans say they are closely following the news about the attacks on U.S. embassies in the Middle East. Those following have much more positive opinions about Barack Obama's handling of the situation than Mitt Romney's comments on the crisis.
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Sep 12, 2012 - Following the political party conventions, Democrats express increasingly positive views of the presidential campaign. Fewer Republcians see the campaign as interesting or informative.
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Sep 11, 2012 - Like Mitt Romney, Barack Obama was not the highlight of his party's convention. Among those who watched at least a little of the Democratic convention, 29% say Bill Clinton's speech was the highlight, while 16% name Obama's speech as the highlight, according to the Pew Research Center.
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Sep 05, 2012 - Asked for their one-word impression of Joe Biden, more people use negative than positive words to describe the vice president. Many of the negative words disparage Biden's competence and performance, according to a new Pew Research/Washington Post poll.
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Sep 05, 2012 - Four years ago, voters' descriptions of Barack Obama focused on his newness on the political scene and "change" was the most frequently-used positive term. According to a new Pew Research/Washington Post poll released today, the public's descriptions now reflect the mixed views of his presidency.
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Aug 30, 2012 - Mitt Romney's image has changed substantially as the American public has learned more about him, according to a new Pew Research/Washington Post poll.
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Aug 29, 2012 - As Paul Ryan prepares to accept his nomination as the GOP’s vice presidential candidate, the American public has a mixed impression of him.
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Aug 24, 2012 - Do your views align more with Republicans, Democrats or Independents? Answer 12 questions in a new Pew Research Center quiz to learn where you fit on the political spectrum, just in time for the party conventions. Explore how you compare to other Americans by age, gender, race and religion.
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Aug 24, 2012 - The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press reports the Democratic Party continues to maintain an advantage in party identification among voters going into this year's campaign, but its lead is smaller than it was four years ago. Since 2008, the GOP has made sizable gains among white voters, particularly working class white voters.
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Aug 23, 2012 - The Democratic Party continues to maintain an advantage in party identification among voters going into this year's campaign, but its lead is smaller than it was four years ago, cites the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Since 2008, the GOP has made sizable gains among white voters, particularly working class white voters.
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Aug 22, 2012 - The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press finds the Republican and Democratic conventions still give the parties a chance to define their presidential candidates and spark public interest in the campaign. In 2008, notably, both conventions attracted sizable audiences, especially among their own partisans.
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Aug 21, 2012 - Paul Ryan's selection to the GOP ticket has put the issue of Medicare squarely on the campaign agenda, a new Pew Research Center report finds. The public is aware of a proposal to gradually shift Medicare to a system of vouchers and is, on balance, more opposed than supportive of the idea. The public offers a relatively negative assessment of Mitt Romney's choice of Ryan, while views of Joe Biden's performance are even more negative.
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Aug 15, 2012 - The Obama campaign is posting almost four times as much content and is active on nearly twice as many platforms, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. For both, economy was issue No. 1, but neither candidate engages in much dialogue with voters.
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Aug 14, 2012 - A Pew Research survey in May of 2011 found that those 65 and older had a negative reaction to Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan to change Medicare. The issue of entitlements divides the Republican base.
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Aug 13, 2012 - At least half of voters can correctly answer questions about president Barack Obama and Mitt Romney's positions on issues. But the poll found voters are less knowledgeable about political facts, such as correctly identifying a "super PAC" and the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Aug 03, 2012 - By a 52% to 37% margin, more voters say they have an unfavorable than favorable view of Mitt Romney. Barack Obama's image is, by comparison, more positive, though both face lower favorability ratings than most presidential candidates in recent elections. Obama continues to hold a sizable lead over Romney among registered voters, though his edge is narrower in battleground states
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Aug 02, 2012 - The public is hearing little about increased spending by outside groups in the 2012 election. Just 25% have heard a lot about outside spending by groups not associated with the candidates or campaigns. Three-quarters are hearing a little or nothing at all about this. Just 40% can correctly identify the term “super PAC.”
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Jul 12, 2012 - According to the Pew Research Center, despite the stagnant economy and broad dissatisfaction with national conditions, Barack Obama holds a significant lead over Mitt Romney. Obama is favored by a 50% to 43% margin among registered voters. Meanwhile, negative views of the Supreme Court are up -- especially among Republicans -- following last month's health care ruling.
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Jul 05, 2012 - Republicans and Democrats find little to agree on these days, but they have some similar reactions to the 2012 presidential campaign. Nearly identical percentages of Republicans and Democrats say the election will be exhausting.
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Jul 03, 2012 - The public has long been divided in its opinions about the 2010 health care law. There is now a similar division of opinion over last week’s Supreme Court decision to uphold the law – 40% say they disapprove of the decision, while 36% approve and nearly a quarter (24%) offer no opinion.
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Jun 21, 2012 - Republicans are more engaged than Democrats in contrast to 2008 when it comes to focusing on this year's presidential campaign and saying it really matters who wins. But Democrats are more enthusiastic about Barack Obama than Republicans are about Mitt Romney.
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Jun 18, 2012 - As the Supreme Court session nears its end, new polling shows the public is unlikely to be happy with any ruling on the health care law and a majority still supports Arizona's immigration law.
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Jun 14, 2012 - Pew Research Center President Andrew Kohut says there has never been an issue such as the deficit on which there has been such a consensus among the public about its importance --and such a lack of agreement about acceptable solutions.
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Jun 13, 2012 - A 21-nation survey conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project finds that Europeans and Japanese remain largely confident in President Obama, while Muslim publics remain largely critical. The overall ratings of the United States have stayed mostly positive, though there has been widespread global opposition to the U.S. use of drone strikes.
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Jun 05, 2012 - The public’s perceptions of economic news have taken a turn for the worse. That could be bad news for Barack Obama, who held a lead over Mitt Romney in polling conducted mostly before last week’s disappointing jobs report and stock market slide.
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Jun 04, 2012 - As Americans head to the polls this November, their values and basic beliefs are more polarized along partisan lines than at any point in the past 25 years, according to the 2012 Pew Research Center Values Survey. The values gap between Republicans and Democrats is now greater than gender, age, race or class divides.
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May 23, 2012 - On the eve of the first presidential election of the post-Mubarak era, Egyptians remain hopeful about the future of their country, and they strongly desire both an improved economy and the democratic freedoms they were denied under the previous regime.
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May 23, 2012 - A majority of Russians support public protests that followed the December 2011 parliamentary vote, yet 47% believe the election was fair. Notably, 72% of Russians say they have a favorable view of Vladimir Putin and 62% hold a positive opinion of Dmitri Medvedev.
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May 14, 2012 - Roughly half of Americans (52%) say President Obama's public support for gay marriage did not affect their opinion of him. The president said he came to his decision after a long consideration. The public's view of gay marriage has evolved, with growing support.
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May 10, 2012 - President Obama announced his support for gay marriage this week after a long consideration saying his views were "evolving." The public's view of gay marriage has changed over the past several decades, with growing support. In 1996, Americans opposed gay marriage by 65% to 27%, but the public is more evenly divided today.
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May 08, 2012 - A year after protesting their dissatisfaction with then-President Hosni Mubarak, Egyptians remain upbeat about the course of the nation and prospects for progress. A new nationwide survey by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project finds that two-in-three Egyptians want democracy in their country, saying it is the best form of government. Egyptians also want Islam to play a major role in society, and most believe the Quran should shape the country’s laws.
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May 01, 2012 - Public assessments of the Supreme Court have reached a quarter-century low. Unlike past years in which opinion was divided along partisan lines, The court now receives relatively low favorable ratings from Republicans, Democrats and independents alike.
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Apr 26, 2012 - According to the latest survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, the favorable rating for the federal government has fallen to just 33%. By contrast, 52% of Americans offered a favorable opinion of their state government. Local governments are viewed positively by roughly a two-to-one margin.
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Apr 18, 2012 - Public support for maintaining U.S. forces in Afghanistan has reached a new low. And as the general election campaign begins, swing voters, by nearly two-to-one, favor removing U.S. troops from Afghanistan as soon as possible.
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Apr 17, 2012 - As voters continue to focus on the economy and jobs as top issues, Barack Obama's lead over Mitt Romney has narrowed from a 12 points last month to a slim 49% to 45% advantage. Neither candidate has a clear advantage on the economy or jobs issues, which more than eight-in-ten voters cited as "very important" to their choice. Some of the hot-button social issues, like gay marriage and birth control, are at the bottom of the electorate's agenda.
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Apr 11, 2012 - Most Americans can correctly identify the relative positions of the Republican and Democratic parties on the major issues of the day. But a review of what Americans know about the political parties shows that the public is better informed about the partisan affiliations of two popular recent presidents - Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton - than it is about the positions of the parties on key issues that dominate the current national debate. Take the NewsIQ quiz and see how your score compares to others.
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Apr 09, 2012 - After Mitt Romney's victories last week in the Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia primaries, about three-quarters of Republicans now see him as the inevitable GOP presidential nominee. A plurality of Republicans say continuing the primary fight would be bad for the party.
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Mar 29, 2012 - While the advantage enjoyed by Democratic presidential candidates among women has a long history, Barack Obama's advantages over his GOP rivals in this year's campaign are striking. Women favor Obama over Mitt Romney by 20 points and over Rick Santorum by 26 points. When it comes to the parties, 51% of women identify with the Democrats compared to 42% of men.
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Mar 22, 2012 - When Americans are asked what one word comes to mind when thinking about Mitt Romney, no single term stands out. The most frequent responses are “no” or “no way,” and “rich.” That represents a shift from December when far more mentioned his Mormon faith than anything else.
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Mar 14, 2012 - Mitt Romney again has established a significant national lead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, but he has slipped further behind Barack Obama in a general election matchup. Most voters view Obama as likely to defeat either Romney or Rick Santorum in November. The public's views on the economy have shown decided improvement since last year, but perceptions of news about gas prices have taken a sharp turn for the worse.
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Mar 05, 2012 - The battle for the GOP presidential nomination is having a positive effect for President Obama when it comes to rallying fellow Democrats to his side. About half (49%) of Democrats say that as they learn more about the Republican candiates, their impression of Obama is getting better. Just 36% of Democrats expressed that view before the Republican caucuses and primaries began.
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Feb 27, 2012 - Recent comments by GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum has renewed discussion about the role of religion and politics. Surveys in 2010 and 2008 found that narrow majorities said that churches and other houses of worship should keep out of political matters rather than express their views on social and political questions.
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Feb 14, 2012 - Americans are closely divided over whether religiously-affiliated institutions should be given an exemption if they objected to a proposed federal rule that would require employers to cover birth control as part of their health care benefit plans. The Obama administration has since modified the rule in response to criticism that it would force religious organizations to violate their religious beliefs.
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Feb 13, 2012 - Lifted by a surge of support from Tea Party Republicans and white evangelicals, Rick Santorum has pulled into a virtual tie with Mitt Romney in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. President Obama holds sizable leads over Santorum, Romney and Newt Gingrich in general election matchups.
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Feb 07, 2012 - More than a third of Americans get their information about the presidential campaign from cable news, making it the one constant in the media environment over the past four elections. By contrast, the decline continues in the number of people getting campaign information from local and network TV news, and local newspapers. Despite the rise in social media,sites like Facebook and Twitter are used for by a relatively limited audience for campaign information.
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Feb 02, 2012 - Mitt Romney’s statement that he is focused solely on the problems of middle class Americans, not the poor, may not sit well with lower-income voters within his own party. Nearly six-in-ten lower-income Republican and Republican-leaning voters said the government does too little for poor people.
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Jan 30, 2012 - A majority of Republicans and Republican-leaning registered voters rate the field of GOP presidential contenders as only fair or poor, an increase in the number of those who held that view in early January. More voters say Barack Obama understands the problems of average Americans than they do about Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich.
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Jan 23, 2012 - As the State of the Union approaches, more than eight-in-ten Americans say strengthening the economy and improving the job situation should be the top priorities. Although fewer Americans put reducing the federal budget deficit at the top of their lists, it is the fastest growing policy priority, largely because of growing concerns among Republicans. Fighting terrorism is given less priority today than over the course of the past decade.
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Jan 19, 2012 - Barack Obama begins his fourth year in office facing a struggling economy, an unhappy public, and a lower job approval rating than most of his recent predecessors at a comparable point in their presidencies. However, Obama possesses political strengths at the start of his reelection year, notably a positive personal image.
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Jan 18, 2012 - Many Americans are highly critical of the 2012 presidential campaign, with half of the public saying it has been too negative and majorities describing it as too long and dull. While the number of those who say the campaign is too long is about the same as four years ago, significantly more Americans saw the 2008 presidential campaign as interesting and less believed it to be too negative.
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Jan 18, 2012 - Mitt Romney holds a substantial lead in the GOP presidential race, nearly doubling the support of his closest competitor. But among all voters, Romney's image is negative with a plurality expressing an unfavorable opinion of the former Massachusetts Governor.
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Jan 17, 2012 - A Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey finds that voters familiar with the 2010 Supreme Court decision allowing unlimited independent expenditures on political ads overwhelmingly say that these new rules are having a negative effect on the 2012 presidential campaign.
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Jan 13, 2012 - Political endorsements by prominent Republicans would provide little help for GOP candidates in the primaries and might be more of a liability than a benefit in a general election campaign.
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Jan 09, 2012 - The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds that Republican voters continue to express mixed views of the party's presidential field. Roughly half (51%) of Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters say the candidates are excellent or good, while 44% say they are only fair or poor.
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Jan 04, 2012 - The first vote that counted in the 2012 race for the GOP presidential nomination -- the Iowa caucuses -- produced several signficant indicators about issues and ideological divides among Republicans in the state and the make-up of the electorate.
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Dec 28, 2011 - A new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds that perceptions of capitalism – and even of socialism – have changed little since early 2010, despite the recent Occupy Wall Street protests and public attention directed at what organizers see as the excesses of America’s free market system.
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Dec 20, 2011 - Public dissatisfaction with the tax system has grown over the past decade. The public's frustration is not how much they themselves pay, but rather the impression that wealthy people are not paying their fair share. A majority of Americans say that so much is wrong with the tax system that Congress should completely change it.
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Dec 20, 2011 - Four years ago, as voters were about to cast the first ballots in the 2008 election, the public’s mood was not very good, but still a lot better than it is today.
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Dec 15, 2011 - Public discontent with Congress has reached record levels, and the implications for incumbents in next year's elections could be stark. The number who say their own member should be replaced matches the all-time high recorded in 2010, when 58 members of Congress lost reelection bids. Republicans are taking more blame than the Democrats for a do-nothing Congress.
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Dec 14, 2011 - When Americans are asked what comes to mind when they hear Newt Gingrich’s name, no single word stands out. When it comes to Mitt Romney, the most common word offered is "Mormon."
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Dec 13, 2011 - Newt Gingrich has a substantial lead over Mitt Romney among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who say they are likely to vote in GOP primaries or caucuses. But a new Pew Research Center survey finds that neither Gingrich nor Romney is drawing much in the way of strong support.
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Dec 08, 2011 - As the newly anointed GOP frontrunner, Newt Gingrich is facing increased scrutiny about his record, policy proposals and temperament. But so far, Gingrich's age - he will turn 69 next summer - has virtually escaped notice. This is a change from the 2008, when then 72-year-old John McCain faced persistent questions about his age as did Bob Dole and Ronald Reagan in previous campaigns.
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Dec 08, 2011 - The political conversation on Twitter is markedly different than that on blogs -- and both are decidedly different than the political narrative presented by the mainstream press, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. The study analyzed more than 20 million tweets, the online conversation and traditional news coverage.
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Dec 06, 2011 - The public continues to support tough measures to crack down on illegal immigration, but also a path to citizenship for those in the country illegally. Partisan differences on the issue continue, but there are also divisions within each party.
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Dec 06, 2011 - As the fight for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination took yet another turn this weekend, more Americans were saying their impression of the GOP field is worsening than improving. Those views, however, have not resulted in a better view of President Barack Obama.
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Dec 01, 2011 - There has been a modest increase over the past two years in the percentage of Americans who say there is solid evidence of global warming, although substantially fewer Americans now hold that view than did so from 2006 to 2008. A large partisan and ideological gap continues to exists in opinions about the evidence for global warming and how serious a problem it presents.
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Nov 29, 2011 - According to a recent Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey, since the 2010 midterm elections, the Tea Party has not only lost support nationwide, but also in the congressional districts represented by members of the House Tea Party Caucus. The Republican Party's image also has declined substantially in Tea Party districts.
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Nov 17, 2011 - Barack Obama's job rating has improved modestly over the past month, although few Americans approve of the way he is handling the economy. A majority of Americans continue to hold a favorable personal opinion of Obama. This is not the case for his main GOP rivals, whom he mostly bests in test election measures. In the race for the Republican nomination, Mitt Romney and Herman Cain are running a point apart.
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Nov 10, 2011 - Public support for increased federal funding on research into alternative energy technology, including solar, has decreased substantially since the start of the Obama administration. Nearly all the decline comes from Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.
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Nov 03, 2011 - In the last four national elections, generation has mattered more in American elections than it has in decades. This continues to be true as voters look ahead toward the 2012 general election. In a contest between President Obama and Mitt Romney, there is a 20-point gap in support for Obama between Millennials and the over-65 Silent generation.
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Oct 24, 2011 - About four-in-ten Americans say they support the Occupy Wall Street movement (39%), while nearly as many (35%) say they oppose the movement launched last month in New York’s financial district.
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Oct 18, 2011 - When Americans are asked to describe Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain in a single word, they most frequently offer a series of numbers: “9-9-9.” Cain’s tax proposal is mentioned more often than his background as a businessman.
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Oct 17, 2011 - About a quarter of the public (27%) says they have watched one or more of the Republican presidential debates so far this year. Most debate watchers say the televised sessions have been helpful in learning about the candidates (61%) and a third (34%) say the debates have led them to change their minds about which candidate they might support.
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Oct 07, 2011 - The Tea Party has emerged as a political force on domestic issues, but Republican supporters of the movement also have a distinct approach to national security and the U.S. role in the world. Tea Party Republicans favor an assertive foreign policy, are strong supporters of Israel and take a hard line against illegal immigration.
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Oct 06, 2011 - President Obama is running a close race in matchups against Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. More supporters of the two Republicans describe their choice as a vote against Obama than a vote for either GOP hopeful. Romney is leading in the Republican nomination race, followed by Perry and Herman Cain.
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Oct 05, 2011 - Smaller percentages of Americans can name, without being prompted, the leading candidates in this year's Republican presidential race than in previous GOP races. At this stage of previous campaigns, significantly more Americans could name Bob Dole, George W. Bush, and Rudolph Giuliani than they can Mitt Romney or Rick Perry.
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Sep 26, 2011 - While public confidence in President Obama on the budget deficit remains little changed since last December, confidence in congressional leaders, particularly Republican leaders in Congress, has plummeted.
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Sep 12, 2011 - Though the shifts in perception since the summer of 2010 have been modest, an increasing number see the Republican Party as very conservative, while slightly fewer see the Democratic Party as very liberal.
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Sep 08, 2011 - Despite the apparent success of NATO-supported rebel troops, public views about the decision to conduct air strikes in Libya remain mixed and have changed little since the U.S. and allies launched military operations there in late March.
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Sep 06, 2011 - Nearly six-in-ten Americans say they plan to watch President Obama’s speech Thursday night to a joint session of Congress about his plans to spur job growth and help the struggling national economy. About as many Republicans say they plan to watch the GOP debate.
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Aug 10, 2011 - Despite speculation that the Democratic base has become increasingly disillusioned with Barack Obama, nearly six in ten Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say they would not like to see other Democrats to take on Obama for the nomination.
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Aug 09, 2011 - More Americans now think that members of Congress who support the Tea Party are having a negative effect than said that in January, at the start of the new Congress.
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Aug 01, 2011 - The latest survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds that the budget negotiations of recent weeks are most frequently summed up in words such as ridiculous, disgusting, stupid, and frustrating. Nationwide, these critical views cross partisan and ideological lines, with 75% of Republicans, 72% of Democrats and 72% of independents all describing the negotiations in negative terms.
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Jul 28, 2011 - The sizeable lead Barack Obama held over a generic Republican opponent in polls conducted earlier this year has vanished as his support among independent voters has fallen off.
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Jul 26, 2011 - The public overwhelmingly favors a compromise in the debt ceiling standoff, with 68% saying they want lawmakers to reach a deal even if they disagree with it. A majority of Republicans who identify with the tea party say their representatives should stick to their principles.
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Jul 22, 2011 - The electorate's partisan affiliations have shifted significantly since Obama won office in 2008. Notably, the GOP gains have occurred only among white voters, and especially among the young and poor.
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Jul 18, 2011 - Most Republicans say that it will not be a major problem if the debt ceiling is not raised by Aug. 2, while the balance of opinion is the reverse among Democrats.
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Jul 18, 2011 - Americans have more confidence in the president than congressional leaders to do the right thing, but only about of half of the public holds that opinion.
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Jul 05, 2011 - An important group within the Republican base, white evangelical Protestants, is more uncomfortable with the idea of a Mormon candidate than are other Republicans.
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Jun 27, 2011 - Following the president's June 22 speech about the Afghanistan war, public opinion about his plans for drawing down U.S. combat troops there is little changed.
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Jun 20, 2011 - Partisans express strong opinions about which side would be most responsible if no agreement is reached before federal borrowing hits the debt limit.
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Jun 16, 2011 - Partisan differences in opinions about America's role in the world have blurred. Still, Republicans remain the most supportive of the war in Afghanistan.
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Jun 14, 2011 - Across party lines, a majority of Americans say elected officials get caught more often because they are watched more closely, not because they have lower moral standards than average citizens.
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Jun 02, 2011 - The emerging GOP field draws tepid ratings, and Mitt Romney is the only well-known candidate with broad potential appeal. In a hypothetical matchup, President Obama continues to hold a sizable lead against a generic Republican opponent.
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Jun 01, 2011 - Overall, 44% offer negative words to describe the GOP presidential candidates, 19% use neutral words and just 12% use positive words.
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May 09, 2011 - Barack Obama’s job approval rating has fallen slightly since the day after Osama bin Laden’s death was announced. But the balance of opinion regarding Obama’s job performance remains more positive than it was in early April.
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May 04, 2011 - The Pew Research Center’s new Political Typology finds that the public is more doctrinaire at each end of the ideological spectrum, yet more diverse in the middle than it has been in the past.
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May 03, 2011 - The public is reacting to the killing of Osama bin Laden with relief, happiness and pride. And Americans overwhelmingly credit the U.S. military and the CIA for the success of the operation.
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Apr 12, 2011 - With President Obama set to address the nation about the federal deficit, Pew Research surveys provide a look at at how serious Americans consider the problem, their views of competing proposals, and their confidence in policymakers.
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Apr 11, 2011 - A weekend survey finds that "ridiculous" is the word used most frequently by the public to describe the budget negotiations.
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Apr 08, 2011 - As the Tea Party has evolved from a grass-roots movement into a major force on Capitol Hill, public views of the movement have grown more negative. Slightly more now disagree than agree with the Tea Party.
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Apr 07, 2011 - About as many now approve as disapprove of the way Obama is handling his job. The president earns especially negative ratings on his handling of the budget deficit and the overall economy. However, ratings of both Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress are far more negative.
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Apr 04, 2011 - With a deadline approaching for a possible federal government shutdown, most Democrats and independents support a compromise; Tea Party supporters favor a stand on principle even if means a government shutdown.
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Mar 31, 2011 - The public is generally aware of basic facts about several recent national and international news stories, but is much less knowledgeable about current politics in Washington, according to the Pew Research Center’s latest News IQ survey.
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Mar 23, 2011 - In his reelection bid, President Obama tests well at this early stage. Republicans have no clear frontrunner in their slow-starting race as yet, but Romney and Huckabee lead the pack.
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Mar 16, 2011 - Far fewer Americans now say that Republicans in Congress have the better approach to the budget deficit than did so in November with the GOP losing ground among political independents and key elements of its base, including Tea Party supporters. But the public is no more supportive of Barack Obama's approach to the budget deficit than before.
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Mar 03, 2011 - Americans' are less discontent with the federal government but no more ready for political compromise. Views of Congress remain heavily negative while Obama's ratings stay positive. On social issues, the public is, for the first time, evenly split on gay marriage, while support for legal abortion, legalized marijuana--but not gun control--have all risen.
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Feb 28, 2011 - By a 42%-to-31% margin, Americans side with public employee unions in their dispute with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. At the federal level, Obama and GOP leaders would share blame for a government shutdown.
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Feb 11, 2011 - Across a wide range of programs Tea Party Republicans take a much harder line on federal spending cuts than do other Republicans, who are far more in sync with Democrats.
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Feb 04, 2011 - Americans like the idea of their government promoting democracy in other nations. But democracy promotion has typically lagged far behind other objectives among the public's long-term foreign policy goals.
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Jan 31, 2011 - In a survey conducted last spring, a majority of Egyptian Muslims said that democracy was preferable to any other kind of government. An overwhelming majority also believes Islam's influence in politics is positive.
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Jan 24, 2011 - Most Americans say they plan to watch Obama's State of the Union address. Still, a sizable majority sees the speech as no more important than in previous years.
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Jan 20, 2011 - Americans overwhelmingly cite the economy and jobs as the most important issues facing the president and new Congress. On health care reform, roughly as many would like to see legislation expanded as have it repealed.
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Jan 13, 2011 - The public remains evenly divided over Obama's job performance, while his personal image stays positive on balance. Opinion of the Republican congressional leadership, however, has become far more negative since the elections.
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Oct 31, 2010 - Republicans retain a solid lead in preferences for Tuesday's midterm elections among likely voters thanks to strong backing from independents and record-levels of engagement among its partisans.
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Oct 13, 2010 - Data from Pew Research Center polling this year suggest that the landline-only bias is as large as it was in 2008 -- and potentially larger.
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Sep 12, 2010 - Instead of replacing traditional news platforms, Americans are increasingly integrating new technologies into their news consumption habits according to a report from The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
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Aug 19, 2010 - More than a year into his presidency, 18% of Americans say that Barack Obama is a Muslim. A plurality say they do not know what religion he follows. The view that the president is a Muslim is highest among his political opponents.
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Aug 03, 2010 - While scholars analyze Kagan's impact on the "Roberts court," most Americans have no idea who "Roberts" is. As experts debate if the court has become conservative, the public sees it moving in the other direction.
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Aug 02, 2010 - The latest Congressional Connection poll asked voters about earmarks in the midterm elections; the impact Barack Obama, Sarah Palin or the Tea Party movement would have on voters of different party affiliations; and how the public feels about energy policy.
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Jul 26, 2010 - While most Americans disapprove of Barack Obama’s handling of the economy, far more think his administration’s policies – rather than those of the Bush administration – would do more to improve economic conditions over the next few years
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Jul 19, 2010 - The public sees clear winners and losers from the economic policies the government has implemented since the recession of 2008. Most Americans say these policies have helped large banks, large corporations and the wealthy, while providing little or no help for the poor, the middle class or small businesses.
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Jul 16, 2010 - In broad terms, voters view the Democratic Party’s ideology as the opposite of the Republican Party’s: 58% say the Democratic Party is either very liberal or liberal while 56% say the GOP is either very conservative or conservative.
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Jul 12, 2010 - The public overwhelmingly views the job situation as a major priority for Congress during the coming months. Fully 80% say it is very important for Congress to pass legislation to address the job situation, which is virtually unchanged from Ma
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Jul 09, 2010 - The belief that the Supreme Court is conservative has declined across the political spectrum since 2007. Yet among Republicans, in particular, there also has been a striking rise in the view that the court is liberal.
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Jul 01, 2010 - With four months to go before Election Day, voting intentions for the House remain closely divided, and neither party has gained or lost much ground over the course of 2010.
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Jun 24, 2010 - Since the beginning of this year, President Obama has signed a controversial health care measure, coped with a stubbornly high jobless rate, and struggled to manage the largest environmental disaster in the nation’s history. In that period, Obama’s overall job approval rating has moved from 49% to 48%.
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Jun 21, 2010 - There is broad public agreement that past government policies intended to address the financial crisis and recession have not worked. At the same time, there is very little agreement about what the government should do now to deal with the nation’s biggest economic concern – the job situation.
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Jun 14, 2010 - Despite the growing damage from the Gulf oil leak, the public generally favors continuing to drill for oil and gas in U.S. waters.
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May 25, 2010 - According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, many Americans say they will look less favorably this fall at congressional candidates who supported the federal bailout of major banks and financial institutions in response to the 2008 financial crisis.
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May 19, 2010 - Congress's ratings remain abysmal and Elena Kagan draws mixed ratings but half have no opinion, according to a new weekly survey by the Pew Research Center.
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May 12, 2010 - The public broadly supports a new Arizona law aimed at dealing with illegal immigration and the law’s provisions giving police increased powers to stop and detain people who are suspected of being in the country illegally.
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May 11, 2010 - A majority of Americans see the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico as a major environmental disaster, but nearly as many voice optimism that efforts to control the spill will succeed.
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May 05, 2010 - Americans are widely dissatisfied not only with government but with most major institutions. A recent survey finds one notable exception: tech firms.
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May 04, 2010 - A national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press tests reactions to words and phrases frequently used in current political discourse.
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Apr 28, 2010 - As has been the case for two years, about nine-in-ten rate economic conditions as only fair or poor. As a political consequence, the Democrats have lost ground to the GOP on a wide range of issues, including the job situation.
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Apr 20, 2010 - The race for Ted Kennedy’s Massachusetts Senate seat started out as a largely drama-free event that generated little media interest. But it ended up as the most surprising and intensely-covered political story in the country. Which candidate got the most favorable attention? How did coverage change over time? How did the local Boston papers differ in their reporting? A new study examining newspaper coverage of the Senate race offers answers.
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Apr 19, 2010 - By almost every measure Americans are less positive and more critical of government today. A new series of Pew Research Center surveys provides a detailed picture of the public's opinions about government.
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Mar 18, 2010 - As the day of reckoning for health care reform approaches, Americans have little to cheer about, according to the latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Nearly everyone (92%) gives the national economy a negative rating. Closer to home, 85% say that jobs are hard to find in their community.
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Mar 10, 2010 - While an increasing number of Americans cite addressing the government's debt as a priority, there is not much support for curtailing government spending in either party, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey.
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Feb 23, 2010 - A nationwide survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds that favorable opinions of unions have fallen across demographic and partisan groups. Still, far more Democrats have favorable views of unions (56%) than do independents (38%) or Republicans (29%).
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Feb 18, 2010 - The "Millennial Generation" of young voters played a big role in the resurgence of the Democratic Party in the 2006 and 2008 elections, but their attachment to the Democratic Party weakened markedly over the course of 2009.
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Feb 12, 2010 - According to the latest nationwide survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, anti-incumbent sentiment runs high. GOP ratings are up but far more blame Republicans for the poor economy than Democrats. President Obama's ratings are flat, and Wall Street's are abysmal.
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Feb 05, 2010 - A third of Millennials lack health care insurance, and their support for health care reform exceeds that of older generations, but they have tuned out of the debate in Washington.
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Jan 28, 2010 - The Pew Research Center's latest News IQ Quiz finds that the public struggled with political questions; despite expressing strong interest in the health care debate, few know how many votes it takes to break a filibuster or how many GOP votes the bill got in the Senate. Less than half can identify the Senate majority leader...or Stephen Colbert. Before reading the report, see how much you know by taking the quiz.
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Jan 26, 2010 - A look at the connection between the rise and fall of joblessness and the political fortunes of past presidents in the modern era is instructive although the lessons to be drawn are far from crystal clear. Thus far, only Ronald Reagan’s ratings in his first term have borne as close a connection as have Obama’s to changes in the unemployment rate.
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Jan 25, 2010 - A stronger economy and improved job situation remain nation's top priorities, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. But strong shifts have occurred on energy (down) and the budget deficit (up). Huge partisan gaps exist on health care reform and global warming.
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Jan 21, 2010 - The first lady is more popular than either her husband or her two immediate predecessors.
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Jan 14, 2010 - The government's rating for reducing the threat of terrorism has slipped. Americans are now more concerned with safety than civil liberties, while few see an upside to health care reform. However, the president's political standing is little affected, according to the latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
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Dec 16, 2009 - The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds roughly half the country now approves of President Obama's performance. The nation is also divided on Afghanistan and health care. One rare point of agreement: the economy remains poor.
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Dec 01, 2009 - After peaking in mid-2008 during Obama’s presidential election campaign, the number of Americans describing the Democratic Party as friendly toward religion returned to levels similar to those seen in 2005 through 2007, according to a new survey report. The Obama administration, however, is seen as friendly toward religion by more people (37%) than the Democratic Party as a whole (29%).
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Nov 19, 2009 - While most Americans oppose government funding of abortion, few cite funding as a reason for opposing health care reform legislation. If anything, opposition to reform has declined since abortion was debated, with currently 42% in favor and 39% opposed to the reform proposals in Congress.
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Nov 11, 2009 - The mood of America is glum. Most are dissatisfied with the state of the nation, economic conditions, personal finances and an increasing number say the war in Afghanistan is not going well, according to the latest survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Still, a majority continues to approve of Obama's job as president.
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Oct 30, 2009 - Republican viewers have migrated increasingly to Fox News but Democrats comprise a larger share of the Fox News audience than Republicans do of CNN's audience.
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Oct 27, 2009 - Why do fewer Americans believe the earth is warming? A range of possibilities, including a sour economy and, perhaps, a cooler than normal summer in parts of the U.S., may provide an explanation.
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Oct 22, 2009 - Substantially more Republicans and independents now doubt that global temperatures are rising. Still, by 50% to 39%, the public supports capping carbon emissions even if energy prices rise.
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Oct 14, 2009 - There is a lot to keep up with in the news right now. The Pew Research Center's latest News IQ Quiz finds that many Americans know key facts about health care and the economy, but questions about Afghanistan and environmental legislation in Congress stump the public. Before reading the report, see how much you know by taking the quiz.
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Oct 09, 2009 - A new report finds that a clear majority of Americans favor allowing civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. Over the past year, support for civil unions has grown significantly among those who oppose same-sex marriage while remaining stable among those who favor same-sex marriage. At the same time, opponents of same-sex marriage continue to outnumber supporters overall.
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Oct 08, 2009 - Many religious organizations have taken on the look of political campaigns, as advocates for and against health care reform preach their politics.
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Oct 08, 2009 - Public opinion is conflicted regarding the two major domestic issues of the day – the economy and health care reform. On the economy, most Americans remain optimistic that Barack Obama’s policies will help, but the public expresses mixed views of the steps he has taken so far and sees no clear signs of recovery at this point.
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Sep 21, 2009 - Opinion of the United Nations has grown more positive since 2007 in 12 of the 25 nations surveyed by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project—and nowhere more than in the United States.
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Sep 17, 2009 - Obama’s job approval ratings, which had declined in the summer, have remained essentially unchanged over the past month. And the balance of opinion regarding the health care reform proposals before Congress has become a bit more positive than it was in late August, though the public is about evenly divided over those proposals.
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Sep 02, 2009 - Americans’ opinion of Congress is at a 24-year low, and as a result the party in power has lost its electoral edge. Voters split between the Democrats and GOP in a 2010 matchup, but Democrats are still favored on most issues.
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Aug 19, 2009 - More say the president and GOP leaders are not working together, as Obama's approval inches lower and the Democratic Party's favorability falls sharply. Opinion about the economy remains negative with personal financial assessments becoming more bearish, according to the latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
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Aug 11, 2009 - The falloff in favorable views has been greater in states with the largest deficits, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Also, views of the federal government have shifted dramatically over partisan lines under the new administration.
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Jul 30, 2009 - Support for Obama's job performance and his handling of health care, the economy and deficit has fallen, but most remain confident his policies will be positive in the long term, according to a new poll by Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. The public supports many of his health care goals but opposes many proposals being debated in Congress.
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Jun 25, 2009 - Despite such challenges as a growing wireless-only population, possible racially-related response bias and greater-than-usual difficulties in forecasting turnout, polllsters' methods were evidently adequate to the task.
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Jun 24, 2009 - While Sarah Palin is a GOP favorite, it is Mitt Romney who now enjoys a positive balance of opinion among the general public, according to the latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
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Jun 24, 2009 - How the question is phrased has a clear impact on whether the public rates deficit reduction or stimulus spending more important.
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Jun 18, 2009 - A solid majority continues to approve of the president's performance, but they express mixed views of several of his policies. Only about one-in-five Americans (21%) say the U.S. is less safe from terrorism under the Obama administration than under the Bush administration.
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Jun 17, 2009 - Even while their personal worries have deepened, Americans have been feeling more upbeat about the national economy's prospects and less concerned about rising inequality. What underlies this trend and can it be sustained?
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Jun 05, 2009 - Younger Americans are more liberal in views of government and traditional values than older generations. A new Pew Research Center analysis also finds evidence of increased political engagement in the aftermath of the election.
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May 21, 2009 - Centrism has emerged as a dominant factor in public opinion as the Obama administration begins. Republicans and Democrats are even more divided than in the past, while an increasing number of Americans identify as independents. The Pew Research Center's long-term values study tracks beliefs and attitudes—on government, business, race, religion and more—shaping public opinion and influencing voting behavior.
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Apr 30, 2009 - A poll finds that most Catholics who have heard about the issue support the University of Notre Dame's decision to invite Barack Obama to speak and receive an honorary degree at their May 17 commencement. But the poll also finds a deep division on this issue between the most-observant Catholics and those who are less observant, as defined by frequency of worship attendance.
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Apr 30, 2009 - Public attitudes on gun control and abortion have moved in a more conservative direction over the past year, largely the result of changing attitudes among men.
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Apr 30, 2009 - Demographic changes have increased the number of eligible non-white voters, but the racial and ethnic diversity of last year's electorate was also driven by substantially higher levels of participation by black, Hispanic and Asian voters, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data by the Pew Research Center.
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Apr 28, 2009 - How have the news media covered the early days of the Barack Obama presidency? And how does that coverage stack up against that of his predecessors? This study by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism examines both the tone and focus of Obama’s media narrative and compares it to Bill Clinton’s and George Bush’s in their first two months in office.
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Apr 28, 2009 - Support for trade agreements is up nine points—from 35% to 44%—putting positive views of trade back in line with long-term trends. Americans in low-income families and Democrats are much more supportive of trade this year.
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Apr 23, 2009 - As he approaches the 100-day mark of his presidency, Barack Obama’s job approval ratings are higher than those of his most recent predecessors. However, the 44th president is even more distinguished by his strong personal popularity.
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Apr 15, 2009 - Three-quarters (74%) of Internet users—55% of all U.S. adults—went online to take part in or get news and information about the 2008 election. The most interested are the most likely to browse sites that match their views.
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Apr 08, 2009 - A majority of Americans (53%) currently says that Republicans and Democrats have been bickering and opposing each more than usual, while just a quarter (25%) say the two sides have been working together more. The biggest partisan gap over budget priorities is with respect to health care.
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Apr 02, 2009 - The Pew Research Center's new test of current-events knowledge finds more know the unemployment rate than the Dow Jones average. How much do you know?
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Apr 01, 2009 - As was the case during the campaign, white evangelical Protestants (19%) and Republicans (17%) are among the most likely to view Obama as a Muslim.
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Mar 26, 2009 - Americans' perception about the state and direction of the nation typically go hand-in-hand. But last fall's election opened up an unusually wide split between these two indicators of the public's national outlook.
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Mar 25, 2009 - The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press explores the public's opinion of several proposals that are currently being considered or may emerge in the future.
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Mar 18, 2009 - The Pew Research Center examines an 86-year-old poll that sheds light on why female Americans were slow to appreciate the hard-fought battle for access to the ballot box.
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Mar 16, 2009 - Most people think the new president is doing as much as he can to fix the economy, but the public expresses mixed views of his many major proposals to fix the economy. The public overwhelmingly supports Obama's plan to remove most combat troops from Iraq by the end of August but a much narrower majority supports his planned troop buildup in Afghanistan.
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Feb 18, 2009 - Americans approve of Obama's handling of terrorist threats by more than two-to-one but views about Guantanamo, torture and surveillance remain divided along familiar lines.
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Feb 09, 2009 - After weeks of intense debate over President Obama’s economic stimulus plan, a narrow majority of Americans who have heard about the $800 billion plan say it is a good idea, while 34% say it is a bad idea.
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Jan 29, 2009 - The current Democratic favorability advantage is the largest measured in nearly two decades. Even among white evangelical Protestants, loyal supporters of the Republican Party, opinions about the two parties are about even.
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Jan 22, 2009 - The celebratory tone that characterized international media coverage of Barack Obama's historic election victory was again pervasive in many of the stories about his inauguration. However, many newspapers noted the more somber tone of Obama's speech, and were themselves relatively somber about the enormous challenges and inflated expectations facing the new president.
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Jan 21, 2009 - More Americans say that people like themselves will gain influence under the Obama administration than was the case for the last two incoming presidents. Many who did not vote for Obama say this as well -- including pluralities of all whites and white evangelical Christians.
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Jan 15, 2009 - According to a report from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, public confidence in Barack Obama to deal with the nation's most pressing problems is high and many Americans not only see the president-elect as a problem-solver, but as a "uniter" as well.
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Jan 07, 2009 - As Barack Obama prepares to take office, majorities say the country is losing ground on any number of key issues, particularly economic ones.
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Jan 05, 2009 - What a difference eight years can make -- or not. As shown in this report from the Pew Research Center, some things have changed a great deal since George W. Bush was elected president in 2000, but other things, most notably certain American beliefs and attitudes, have remained remarkably constant.
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Dec 30, 2008 - A new survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project finds that voters expect that the level of public engagement they experienced with Obama during the campaign, much of it occurring online, will continue into the early period of his new administration.
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Dec 18, 2008 - This report reviews many of the project's key findings on America's image during the Bush presidency, as well as other major global trends, such as tensions between Western and Muslim nations, changes in the global economy, and the rise of China.
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Dec 18, 2008 - As George W. Bush prepares to leave the White House, the United States is in many ways dramatically different from when he took the oath of office in 2001.
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Dec 18, 2008 - The latest study of Pew Research Center election surveys analyzes the effects of conducting both landline and cell phone interviews. While the addition of cell phones had at most a modest effect on estimates of candidate support in individual surveys, when looked at in the aggregate clear patterns emerge.
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Dec 16, 2008 - Findings from Pew Research Center polls over the year told the story of the longest -- and one of the most exciting -- presidential elections in U.S. history as well as recording the public's reactions to other major events ranging from the pope's visit, to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to the onset of a mega-economic downturn.
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Dec 15, 2008 - While just about everyone knows Obama's new secretary of state, fewer than half were generally aware of where the Dow is trading these days. A new Pew News IQ survey provides an updated look at the public's knowledge of political and world affairs.
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Dec 11, 2008 - Nearly six-in-ten who say they are cutting back or delaying purchases report they are doing so because they worry things might get worse, according to the latest survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Fewer than one in four say they are cutting back because their own financial situation has worsened. Lower fuel and food costs do not appear to have had a positive impact on the public so far.
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Dec 08, 2008 - The Pew Research Center provides a wrapup of possibly overlooked polling trends and end-of-campaign happenings.
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Nov 25, 2008 - Still, ideological labels don’t always predict policy opinions; e.g.,about half of self-described conservatives say that all or some of the Bush tax cuts should be repealed while many liberals support off-shore drilling.
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Nov 13, 2008 - A week after the election, voters are feeling good about themselves, the presidential campaign and Barack Obama. Looking ahead, they have high expectations for the Obama administration, with two-thirds predicting that he will have a successful first term.
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Nov 13, 2008 - This year, 66% of those under age 30 voted for Barack Obama, making the disparity between young voters and other age groups larger than in any presidential election since exit polling began in 1972.
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Nov 05, 2008 - Among nearly every religious group, Barack Obama received equal or higher levels of support compared with the 2004 Democratic nominee, John Kerry, according to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Still, a sizeable gap persists between Obama’s support among white evangelical Protestants and his support among the religiously unaffiliated. Similarly, a sizeable gap exists between those who attend religious services regularly and those who attend less often.
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Nov 05, 2008 - Barack Obama captured the White House on the strength of a substantial electoral shift toward the Democratic Party and by winning a number of key groups in the middle of the electorate. In particular, the overwhelming backing of younger voters was a critical factor in Obama's victory, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of National Election Pool exit poll data.
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Nov 05, 2008 - This Pew Hispanic Center report contains an analysis of exit poll results for the Latino vote in nine states and for the United States.
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Nov 02, 2008 - The Pew Research Center’s final pre-election poll of likely voters finds Barack Obama holding a significant lead over John McCain in the final days of Campaign 2008.
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Oct 31, 2008 - The proportion of voters identifying with the Democratic Party has grown significantly since the 2004 election, and the shift has been particularly dramatic among younger voters.
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Oct 31, 2008 - Television remains the dominant source, but the percent of people who say they get most of their campaign news from the internet has tripled since 2004.
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Oct 29, 2008 - Unlike in the rest of the country, the Latino vote in the Sunshine State has tended to be heavily Republican; but changing politics and demographics have produced a substantial shift in electoral rolls.
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Oct 28, 2008 - Barack Obama leads John McCain by a 52% to 36% margin in the Pew Research Center’s latest nationwide survey of 1,325 registered voters. Obama holds a 53% to 34% lead among the sizable minority of voters (15%) who say they have already voted.
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Oct 23, 2008 - Despite the imploding stock market, the looming recession, the unpopular president and discouraging political polls, a new Social Trends survey finds GOP adherents still beat Democrats on the happiness scale.
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Oct 23, 2008 - With less than two weeks to go before Election Day, voters remain riveted to the presidential campaign. But liberal Democrats are leading the way by engaging in far more activism than other partisan and ideological groups, according to the Pew Research Center. The survey also finds new indications of the Internet’s expanding reach in political communication.
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Oct 21, 2008 - Currently, Obama enjoys his widest margin yet over McCain among registered voters, at 52% to 38%, according to the latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
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Oct 06, 2008 - While last week’s vice-presidential debate had a larger audience than any other in history, voters’ impressions of Sarah Palin have changed little, according to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
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Oct 01, 2008 - The Pew Research Center reports that Barack Obama has achieved a significant lead over John McCain in the days following the first presidential debate.
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Sep 23, 2008 - As in two preceding tests, a new survey shows that including cell phone interviews results in slightly more support for Obama and slightly less for McCain.
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Sep 18, 2008 - The race remains close as enthusiasm for McCain increases among GOP base. Somewhat more swing voters (46%) say their greater concern is that McCain will govern too much like President Bush, rather than that Obama lacks experience (37%), according to the Pew Research Center.
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Sep 15, 2008 - With roughly seven weeks left until Election Day, which candidate has the edge online, and how so? A new study by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism finds both campaigns' official sites are now quite advanced.
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Sep 15, 2008 - A Pew survey, like others before it, found Republicans far more troubled than Democrats by the long term trend toward mothers of young children working outside the home. But these surveys were conducted before Sarah Palin entered the political scene. The especially enthusiatic initial reponse to her vice presidential candidacy contrasts sharply with these findings.
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Aug 25, 2008 - Americans believe women have the right stuff to be political leaders. When it comes to honesty, intelligence and other traits they value highly in leaders, the public rates women superior to men. But only 6% say women make better political leaders than men. A Pew Research Center survey explores this paradox.
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Aug 21, 2008 - A new Pew Research Center survey finds a decline in the share of Americans who want churches and other houses of worship to be involved in political matters. Most of the drop in the past four years has come among political conservatives.
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Aug 13, 2008 - With fewer than two weeks to go before the start of the presidential nominating conventions, McCain has solidified his support among Republicans and white evangelicals, especially in the South, while Obama lags in attracting Clinton supporters.
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Jul 24, 2008 - This Pew Hispanic Center survey finds the presumptive Democratic nominee now has a strong lead among Hispanics, a sharp reversal from the primaries when Obama lost the Latino vote to Hillary Clinton by a nearly two-to-one ratio.
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Jul 17, 2008 - This Pew Research Center national survey, including a sample of 503 adults on a cell phone, finds that the overall estimate of voter presidential preference is modestly affected by whether or not the cell phone respondents are included.
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Jul 17, 2008 - John McCain has a smaller lead among white evangelical Protestants than George W. Bush had at a similar point in the 2004 campaign, even though Barack Obama has made few inroads into this key constituency. Religiously unaffiliated voters, however, strongly favor the Democratic candidate.
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Jun 12, 2008 - The Pew Research Center finds that overall opposition to same-sex marriages has declined somewhat, but the issue has regained importance among some conservative groups.
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May 29, 2008 - While Obama has opened up a wide lead in the Democratic primary, he now runs about even against McCain. The tightening general election shows some sullying of Obama's personal image over the past three months, which is in some measure a negative reaction from frustrated Clinton supporters.
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May 14, 2008 - Since endorsing Obama, the talk show host's popularity has fallen among Republicans while the former vice president now rivals Obama and tops Clinton in favorability.
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May 08, 2008 - While the outcome of the North Carolina primary fit into a racial pattern observed in earlier primaries this year, Clinton’s showing in Indiana was less strong than would have been expected.
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May 01, 2008 - The Pew Research Center finds Barack Obama's slipping support for the Democratic nomination reflects a modest decline in his personal image rather than improved impressions of Hillary Clinton. Both retain advantage over McCain as economy tops the public's concerns.
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Mar 27, 2008 - Fully 85% of Americans say they heard about Obama's speech, and 70% have heard more about him in the last week than any other candidate. The impact of events on Obama's image appears to be mixed.
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Mar 20, 2008 - The balance of party identification in the U.S. electorate now favors the Democratic Party by a decidedly larger margin than in either of the two previous presidential election cycles including in some key swing states.
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Feb 21, 2008 - As the Democratic nomination contest heads for a showdown in Texas on March 4, the Pew Hispanic Center reports that Latinos may be a pivotal constituency in a state where they make up a quarter of the electorate.
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Feb 11, 2008 - Beyond the vote, the exit polls point to interesting differences -- and similarities -- between younger and older Democratic voters.
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Feb 07, 2008 - Race still plays a role in U.S. politics but it showed up in surprising ways in tallies from Democratic primary elections so far this year.
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Jan 31, 2008 - Study finds that on key political measures such as presidential approval, Iraq policy, presidential primary voter preference and party affiliation, respondents reached on cell phones hold attitudes very similar to those reached on landline telephones.
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Jan 28, 2008 - This time, the pre-election polls understated Barack Obama's support among both white and black voters.
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Jan 17, 2008 - Race, ethnicity and politics can sometimes make for a volatile mix, but a poll finds that race relations in this country are on a pretty even keel.
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Jan 16, 2008 - The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds that the presidential primaries are being shaped by such factors as ideology, religion, class, race and gender.
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Jan 11, 2008 - The internet is living up to its potential as a major source for news about the presidential campaign. Nearly a quarter of Americans say they regularly learn something about the campaign from the internet, almost the double the percentage from a comparable point in the 2004 campaign.
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Jan 04, 2008 - Americans begin 2008 with a highly negative view of national conditions and President Bush, and with tempered expectations for the coming year. More Democrats look forward to elections, but Republicans are more optimistic about the year ahead.
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Dec 19, 2007 - The Pew Research Center released a compilation of the top 15 stories in which public opinion played a significant role, and the year's most notable "non-barking dogs."
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Dec 19, 2007 - The Democratic race in Iowa is likely to hinge on how well the campaigns can motivate their potential backers to turn out for the complicated and time-consuming caucuses. On the Republican side, the situation is more fundamental, hinging as it does on a potential divide between social and economic conservatives within the party.
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Nov 08, 2007 - The 2007 elections prove once again that all politics is local as voters in three states soundly rejected governors' pet projects and others put big-ticket spending items such as roads and cancer research on the state's credit card. The results yielded clues to the mood of voters as the country gears up for the kickoff of the 2008 presidential race.
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Jul 16, 2007 - An analysis of the 2008 presidential candidates' standings.
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May 11, 2005 - Results of an in-depth survey of the American political landscape coming out of the 2004 election. Sorts voters into homogeneous groups based on values, political beliefs, and party affiliation.
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Apr 06, 2005 - An in-depth look at activists involved in Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign.
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Nov 11, 2004 - Public opinion polling on what motivated voters at the ballot box in 2004.
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Oct 27, 2004 - Follow up interviewing on swing voters leading up to the 2004 presidential election.
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Oct 01, 2004 - A new subsidiary — the Pew Research Center — is one change following Pew's governing transformation. The components of this organization, however, are well known.
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Sep 23, 2004 - A commentary on public opinion polls and party affiliation.
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Aug 19, 2004 - A survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds that foreign affairs and national security issues are looming larger than economic concerns in the 2004 presidential election.
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Jul 08, 2004 - Report finds that while voters are more engaged, the 2004 presidential campaign gets lukewarm ratings.
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