The Week: Most Recent :

Poll watch

The Week — Fri, 22 May 2009 08:47:26 -0400

Only 31% of Israelis consider President Obama to be “pro-Israel.” 14% consider him “pro-Palestinian” and 40% feel he is neutral on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. George W. Bush was considered pro-Israel by 88% of Israelis.
Smith Research Poll

43% of voters say they believe that the CIA misled House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and did not inform her about the waterboarding of suspected terrorists. 41% believe that Pelosi was informed about the use of the harsh interrogation technique.
Rasmussen Reports

Poll watch

The Week — Thu, 14 May 2009 04:49:45 -0400

65% of American adults say they expect daily newspapers will be extinct within the next 10 years, including 17% who think papers will be gone in less than three years. In the 18–29 age group, 83% give newspapers 10 years or less to survive.
Rasmussen Reports

In Alaska, Sarah Palin’s popularity ratings have dropped from 85% in March 2008 to 54% today. About 42% of Alaskans now view her negatively, with many saying she’s put her national ambitions above serving her state.
Hays Research

Poll watch

The Week — Thu, 07 May 2009 05:42:41 -0400

87% of U.S. voters are now somewhat or very concerned about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, in light of recent gains in that country by the Taliban.
Rasmussen

54% of consumers from households with incomes above $500,000 say they feel “guilty” making luxury purchases in the current economic climate. Just 29% said they like being recognized as “wealthy,” down from 35% a year earlier.
Harrison Group/American Express Publishing

Poll watch

The Week — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 05:46:15 -0400

51% of Americans favor an investigation into the Bush administration’s use of harsh interrogation techniques on terrorism suspects, while 42% are opposed. But 55% believe that in retrospect, the use of the harsh tactics was justified, while 36% say it was not.
Gallup

42% of Americans now say same-sex couples should be allowed to legally marry, up nine points from just a month ago.
The New York Times/CBS News

Poll watch

The Week — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:40:30 -0400

51% of Americans have a favorable or very favorable view of the “tea parties” that were held around the nation last week to protest Obama administration taxation and other policies. 33% hold a negative view of the tea parties, while 15% are not sure.
Rasmussen

For the first time this decade, a majority of non-retired Americans, 52%, doubt they will have enough money to live comfortably when they stop working.
Gallup

Poll watch

The Week — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:13:49 -0400

59% of Americans think the Obama administration should hold diplomatic talks with Iran without preconditions. 40% say the U.S. should not talk to Iran until it changes its policies toward other countries.
CNN/Opinion Research

Only 53% of Americans believe capitalism is better than socialism. 20% say socialism is better and 27% are not sure.
Rasmussen

Poll watch

The Week — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 05:29:51 -0400

Americans are giving President Obama high marks for his first overseas trip, with 79% saying they believe people in other countries will now have a more positive view of the U.S. 19% said foreign opinion of the U.S. would be more negative due to Obama.
CNN/Opinion Research

57% of Americans favor a military response to eliminate North Korea’s missile-launching capability. 15% oppose a military response, while 28% are not sure. 73% are concerned that North Korea could one day use nuclear weapons against the U.S., up from 69% who held that view in 2006.
Rasmussen

Poll watch

The Week — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:14:12 -0400

American Catholics are more liberal than the general population on homosexuality, divorce, and premarital sex, despite the Catholic Church’s official stance on those issues. 54% of Catholics say homosexual relations are morally acceptable, compared with 45% of non-Catholics. 71% of Catholics approve of divorce, compared with 66% of non-Catholics. 67% of Catholics say premarital sex is morally acceptable, compared with 57% of non-Catholics.
Gallup

60% of voters now have an unfavorable opinion of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, including 42% who say their view is “very unfavorable...

Poll watch

The Week — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 01:59:39 -0400

While a majority of Americans still give Barack Obama high marks for his overall job performance, 53% now disapprove of his performance on the economy.
Harris Poll

When it comes to basic scientific literacy, many Americans flunk. Only 53% of adults know it takes one year for the Earth to revolve around the sun; only 59% know that humans and dinosaurs did not live at the same time; and just 47% can approximate the percentage of the Earth’s surface covered by water (about 70 percent).
Harris Poll

Poll watch

The Week — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:38:57 -0400

53% of Americans disapprove of the federal government’s giving taxpayer money to banks and other ailing financial institutions, up from 44% who opposed such bailouts in December. Only 37% of Americans approve of the bailouts.
CBS News

43% of Americans say that losing their local newspaper would greatly hurt civic life in their community. Just 33% say they would personally miss reading the local newspaper if it were no longer available.
Pew Research

Poll watch

The Week — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 10:52:25 -0400

When it comes to religious affiliation in the U.S., the fastest-growing group is the non-affiliated. 25.1% of Americans are Catholic, down from 26.2% in 1990; 15.8% are Baptist, down from 19.3%; 12.9% are mainline Protestant, down from 18. What7%. Those claiming “no religion” now constitute 15% of the population, up from 8.2%.
American Religious Identification Survey

52% of Americans support President Obama’s decision to lift the ban on federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research. 38% are opposed.
Rasmussen Reports

Poll watch

The Week — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:03:58 -0500

Just 27% of likely voters believe the new economic stimulus package will personally benefit them or their family. 48% of Democrats expect that the stimulus plan will help them, but only 19% of independents and 7% of Republicans agree.
Zogby Interactive Poll

46% of Americans say they’re unable to get a good night’s sleep, and most cite the nation’s economic crisis as the main culprit. The issues people name most as the cause of their restlessness are deteriorating personal finances, the tanking U.S. economy, and concerns about losing their jobs.
National Sleep Foundation

Poll watch

The Week — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:06:53 -0500

74% of Americans said President Obama is trying to bridge the partisan divide by compromising with Republicans. Only 31% said Republicans are doing the same. 63% said Republicans in Congress opposed the stimulus bill “for political reasons,” not real issues of policy.
CBS News/The New York Times

President Obama now tops the roster of people, living or dead, that Americans named as their “personal hero.” Rounding out the top five were Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King Jr., Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush. Respondents were not given a list of names to choose from.
Harris Poll...

Poll watch

The Week — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 10:37:15 -0500

As the world marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birthday, only 39% of Americans say they “believe in the theory of evolution.” Those who attend church weekly and did not attend college are least likely to believe in evolution. Of Americans with postgraduate degrees, 74% do accept evolution as fact.
Gallup Poll

75% of Americans say the federal government should not take over the faltering U.S. banking system, while only 9% think nationalizing the banks is a good idea.
Rasmussen

Poll watch

The Week — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 12:00:05 -0500

Only 40% of Afghans say their country is headed in the right direction, down from 77% in 2005. Just 47% have a favorable opinion of the U.S., down from 83%.
ABC News/BBC/ARD German TV

20% of sexually active adults say they have missed work to make time for sex. 13% say they’ve missed out on time with the kids for sex, and 9% have canceled a doctor’s appointment. While 80% say they’ve put off sex because they were too tired or sick, 78% say the economic crisis has not affected their sex lives.
Consumer Reports

Poll watch

The Week — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:58:52 -0500

48% of Americans say the news media’s coverage of Barack Obama’s presidency so far has been “about right.” 38% say the press hasn’t been “tough enough” on Obama, while 11% say it has been “too tough.”
USA Today/Gallup

Many Americans are living dangerously. 73% sometimes use cotton swabs to clean inside their ears, 39% eat raw cookie dough, 24% sometimes do not fasten their seat belts, 48% do not have a carbon-monoxide detector at home, and 32% eat undercooked hamburgers.
Consumer Reports