2007-12-17

Some interesting US poll data

  • 57% of Americans think the country is in recession. Source. Obviously people are feeling scared.
  • 61% of Americans think that some tax cuts should be reversed. Source. This is mainly repealing tax cuts for the rich, rather than the mainstream.
  • 52% of Americans think that the Democrats are best suited to handle the budget deficit, while 29% think that the Republicans are best suited. Source. The idea that Republicans are good economic managers has been shot to pieces.
  • 50% of Americans think that illegal immigrants have made no negative impact on their community. Source. A substantial minority do have problems, but I think this shows that many Americans see the issue as being overstated.
  • 73% of Americans think that Global Warming will be a major problem in 50 years. Source. Obviously they don't think it is a problem now, but believe it will be in the distant future.
  • 18% of Americans think Iran should be bombed. 73% of Americans think that diplomatic and economic efforts should be used to address problems with Iran. Source. Americans don't want to bomb Iran. They want this fixed up the old fashioned way - by talking.
  • 68% of Americans oppose the US war in Iraq. 59% believe that neither side is winning. Source.
  • 61% of Americans are not too worried about the chances of being directly harmed by terrorists. Source. The further we get from 9/11 without any further terrorist attacks, the safer average Americans feel.
  • 81% of Americans are unhappy with the nation's health care. Source. The next president and the 2009 Congress should act on this straight away.
  • 79% of Americans approve of marriage between blacks and whites, while 15% disapprove. In 1994, the approval rating was 48% and the disapproval rating was 37%. In 1983, 43% approved while 50% disapproved. In 1978, 35% approved and 54% disapproved. In 1972, 29% approved and 60% disapproved. In 1968, 20% approved and 73% disapproved. In 1958, 4% approved and 94% disapproved. Source. More than anything else, this poll, dating back to 1958, shows just how much American society has changed in 50 years.
  • 70% of Americans are dissatisfied with the country's direction. Source.
  • 64% of Americans disapprove of how George W. Bush is doing his job. It has been around this percentage for at least 12 months. Source. The same disapproval percentage is seen with the Democrat controlled Congress. Source. I would argue that the reason why Americans don't like the Democrat controlled Congress is because they haven't made a stand against George Bush.
  • 53% of Americans would probably vote Democrat in the 2008 congressional elections. Source.
  • 50% of Americans have an unfavourable attitude towards Hillary Clinton. Source. This is an important statistic. Obviously there are people out there who can't stand her.
  • 16% of Americans have an unfavourable attitude towards Mike Huckabee. 33% have a favourable attitude. 33% don't know who he is. Source. Huckabee is suffering because of voter ignorance. Who knows what will happen when he becomes better known?
  • 53% of Americans have a favourable attitude towards Barack Obama. 33% unfavourable. Source. Shows again how much America has changed regarding race.
  • 36% of Americans have a favourable attitude towards Mitt Romney. 30% unfavourable. 20% don't know who he is. Source. Not a good start for a potential Republican candidate.
  • 52% of Americans have a favourable attitude towards Rudy Guiliani. Source. Obviously he is still held in highish regard after 9/11.
  • More Americans would vote for John Edwards over Rudy Guiliani, Mitt Romney, John McCain or Mike Huckabee. Source. This is interesting since Clinton and Obama don't run as well against these Republicans. It probably shows that Edwards has some level of public trust that other Democrats don't have.
  • Whichever candidate ends up running, 48% of Americans would probably vote Democrat while 31% would probably vote Republican. Source. Even though lots of people are undecided, such a big spread essentially guarantees a Democrat in the White House in 2009.
  • 46% of Americans have a favourable attitude towards Al Gore, while 29% do not. In June it was 34% favourable and 40% not favourable. Source. This shows that Gore's Nobel Prize turned many Americans to favour him.

9 comments:

BLBeamer said...

I would argue that the reason why Americans don't like the Democrat controlled Congress is because they haven't made a stand against George Bush.

I don't agree. I think the reason why Americans don't like the current Congress is because they see them as being just as corrupt, inefficient and feckless as the Republicans. This is being held against them since the biggest plank in their platform in 2004 was they would institute a new, corruptionless culture.

Neil Cameron (One Salient Oversight) said...

Actually I think there's a lot of evidence from this polling that the Democrats aren't seen as badly as you think.

For starters, the percentage of people who oppose the war is about the same percentage as those who don't like congress.

Then there's the fact that more people are intending to vote for Democrats in congress in 2008, along with a greater amount of people wanting to vote for a Democrat president.

Plus, the previous Republican controlled congress had low approval ratings as well.

And lastly - what Democrat corruption has been in the news lately? All the big ones seem to be Republicans.

BLBeamer said...

Don't mistake my reply as endorsement of the GOP. I'm glad they lost the 2004 election. They deserved to lose and they deserve to be out of power for at least 10 years.

Here's a few examples of what I was referring to.

Harry Reid’s land deal.

Rep. Jefferson’s freezer

Pork

Pelosi

Not an awe-inspiring example, particularly when your primary plank was anti-corruption.

Neil Cameron (One Salient Oversight) said...

Ahhh, Jefferson's freezer. This is the same Jefferson who won the last election with about 25% of the vote?

Here's an enjoyable activity. Why don't you make a list of actual, real scandals that are being investigated by the Feds that have been caused by Democrats. Jefferson is one. More?

And then we have De Lay, that guy in Florida who likes pages, the guy from California who likes boats, the guy from somewhere who likes meeting people in toilets, "I like firing people" Gonzo and a multitude of others from the Republican side.

I remember a few years ago when all these Republican scandals came up, the so called liberal media kept up this message that both sides were just as corrupt when all the indictments and scandals were (apart from Jefferson), exclusively Republican.

This is not to say that the Dems are fine upstanding citizens - it's just that, since about 1994, the Dems have had very little congressional power to deserve being bribed.

Neil Cameron (One Salient Oversight) said...

Links don't work Beamer, BTW

Neil Cameron (One Salient Oversight) said...

Okay, here's a good list of recent scandals:

Jack Abramoff Scandal - afflicting mainly Republicans, including Bob Ney, who resigned.

Tom DeLay (R) is being investigated by a texas Grand Jury for campaign finance irregularities.

Duke Cunningham (R) took bribes from Defense contractors.

Columnists in the MSM were paid to write good things about George Bush.

Someone in the Republican White House leaked the name of Valerie Plame.

Jim Traficant (D) has been taking bribes.

Robert Torricelli is another Democrat charged with bribery.

Trent Lott resigned to "spend more time with his family" (code for I am about to be indicted).

Mark Foley, a Republican who liked page boys.

Lawyergate, the whole Gonzales/Bush plan to have partisan Republicans as US Attorneys.

Virtually every single Republican in Alaska has done something wrong.

Larry Craig likes Republican bathrooms.

Glenn Murphy is no longer an up and coming young Republican

Bob Allen, a Republican took bribes.

Most of those linked to the DC Madam Scandal are Republicans.

Jack Ryan, a Republican, wasn't satisfied with being married to 7 of 9.

BLBeamer said...

A mite defensive aren't we, Neil? I don't believe you've listed half of the GOP scandals, there are plenty more. I've already stipulated the point the GOP is corrupt. In fact, my opinion of them is lower than yours.

Great campaign motto: "Vote Democratic - we're not as corrupt because we've been out of power. Give us our shot, we can do better."

Sorry about the links. Here's Reid's.

Here's Pork

Here's Pelosi's

There was no "someone" who provided Plame's name. He admitted it. I wonder why he wasn't indicted?

BLBeamer said...

BTW, I'm not sure if we're talking about the same Rep. Jefferson or not, but he was re-elected despite his freezer full of cash.

This guy.

BLBeamer said...

I should not post so early in the morning. In my post above, the "he" who admitted he revealed Plame's name was Richard Armitage.

Any idea why he wasn't indicted?