Last Updated: October 10, 2008
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PewResearchCenter Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Blaming the Messenger
A Continuum of Press Condemnation
Blaming the Messenger
10 Oct 08 From Jefferson to Palin, politicians have blamed the media for public discontent with their policies, politics or personal behavior.
Couples
Gender and Power
Who's the Boss at Home? At Work?
25 Sep 08 They say it's a man's world, but in the typical American family, it's the woman who wears the pantsuit. Still, Americans retain strong traditional gender preferences with respect to some job roles. To find out where you fit, take our Couples Quiz, then read the report on the findings of the national survey.
Support for Global Engagement Declines
Even as Optimism About Iraq Surges
24 Sep 08 The public's top long-term foreign policy goals are decidedly America-centric. Defending the country against terrorism, protecting U.S. jobs, and weaning the country from imported energy all draw extensive bipartisan support.
Election '08 Coverage
Beat the Press: Many Say Press has Been Too Tough on Sarah Palin
9 Oct 08 While strong majorities feel the press has been fair to John McCain, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, as many people say the press has been too tough on the governor of Alaska (38%) as say it has been fair (38%). Republicans overwhelmingly believe the press has been too hard on Palin (63%).

Did Campaign Coverage Move off the Economy? You Betcha!
7 Oct 08 Though the economic crisis dominated general news coverage, the vice presidential debate drove the campaign narrative as Sarah Palin received the most attention of the four candidates.

VP Debate Boosts Biden's Ratings But Palin Still Seen as Unqualified
6 Oct 08 Impressions of Sarah Palin have changed little since her debate with Joe Biden according to a special re-interview of voters this weekend, but opinions of Joe Biden rose substantially.

A Word about Debate Impressions
Word Clouds
4 Oct 08 View "word clouds" of voters' impressions of the performances of John McCain and Barack Obama in their first presidential debate based on one-word descriptions from a recent Pew survey.

Obama Boosts Leadership Image, Gains Significant Lead Over McCain
1 Oct 08 The Illinois senator, helped by the debate, has been able to erase concerns about his ability to lead, to widen his advantage on economic issues and to move to a significant lead in swing states. There has been a broad-based decline in the number of voters who view Palin as qualified to become president.

Religious Vote: Much like 2004 but Economy Now Tops Social Issues
2 Oct 08 A national survey finds remarkable stability in the candidate preferences of major religious groups compared with the last presidential campaign. But issue priorities among all religious groups have changed with possible implications in November.

Update: Polls and Cell Phones
23 Sep 08 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.

Gen Dems: Party ID Gap Widens
Gen Dems
28 Apr 08 The current generation of young voters who came of age during Bush's term in office is leading the way in giving the Democrats a wide advantage in party identification. Use an interactive tool to track generational differences in party affiliation over time.

Fewer Voters Identify with GOP
Vote
20 Mar 08 The balance of party identification among the electorate, both nationally and in key swing states, now favors the Democratic Party by a much larger margin than in either of the two previous presidential election cycles.
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Recent Findings and Releases
>Escalating Financial Crisis Grips States
Escalating Financial Crisis Grips States
10 Oct 08 A week after President Bush signed a $700-billion bailout plan for Wall Street, the financial crisis has deepened in many state capitals with tight credit markets and new, pessimistic budget figures that pose the biggest threat to states' fiscal health in 25 years.
Culture War Politics
Culture War Politics
2 Oct 08 Leading experts discuss the history of cultural divisions in American politics and what role, if any, they will play in the outcome of the November election.
Trickle-Down Global Economics: World Already Saw U.S. Influence as Negative
Trickle-Down Global Economics: World Already Saw U.S. Influence as Negative
7 Oct 08 Well before the current economic crisis circled the globe, publics worldwide were well aware that U.S. economic conditions affected their own economies. Most -- including the U.S. itself -- viewed that influence in a negative light.
Economic Bailout: Public Remains Divided, but Partisan Support Shifts
6 Oct 08 The relative stability in the overall numbers obscures considerable movement in public opinion about the package recently passed by Congress.
Middle Class, By the Numbers
Middle Class
6 Oct 08 The plight of Middle Americans has been much invoked by candidates from both parties this election year. Who are these folk? Here's a self-portrait painted in statistics.
Undocumented Immigration Now Trails Legal Inflow, Reversing Trend
2 Oct 08 Estimates now show that the unauthorized immigrant population grew more slowly from 2005 to 2008 than it did earlier in the decade, although its size has increased by more than 40% since 2000, and now constitutes 4% of the total U.S. population.
Non-Citizen Immigrants Suffer Sharp Recent Decline in Household Income
2 Oct 08 The current economic slowdown has taken a far greater toll on households headed by non-citizens than it has on the U.S. population as a whole, according to a Pew Hispanic Center analysis of new Census data.
Pastors' Protest, but Most Americans Wary of Church Involvement in Politics
1 Oct 08 More than two dozen pastors recently challenged a tax code provision restricting political activities by houses of worship, but surveys show that substantial majorities of the public have consistently opposed such action.
Networked Workers
Networked Workers
24 Sep 08 More than six-in-ten workers now use the internet or email on the job. But many find technology a mixed blessing as they are able to do their jobs more efficiently but also report higher rates of working at home.
Unfavorable Views of Both Jews And Muslims Increase in Europe
17 Sep 08 Publics that view Jews unfavorably also tend to see Muslims in a negative light. However, the trend in negative views toward Muslims in Europe has occurred over a longer period of time than recently growing anti-Semitic sentiment.
Teens and Video Games: The Current State of Play
16 Sep 08 The first nationally representative study of teen video game play and civic engagement looks at which teens are playing what games, the equipment they use, the social context of their play, and the role of parents and parental monitoring.
The Post-Palin Mommy Wars: Politics, Gender and Parenthood
15 Sep 08 A Pew survey, taken shortly before Sarah Palin's selection as running mate to John McCain, found Republicans far more troubled than Democrats by the idea of women with children holding public office - a finding in sharp contrast with Palin's enthusiatic welcome among Republicans.
Archives
The Vault
The Pew Research Center recommends the following items from the deep archive:

ObesityWeight Problems Everywhere—Except in the Mirror
Nine-in-ten U.S. adults say most of their fellow Americans are overweight. But just under four-in-ten (39%) say they themselves are overweight.

Feeling Guilty: Americans Say They Aren't Saving EnoughFeeling Guilty: Americans Say They Aren't Saving Enough
Most Americans at every income level and in every demographic group worry they aren't putting enough aside for the future -- but they're apparently not worried enough to do much about it.

Online Social NetworksThe Threat of Online Social Networks
Are today's teens sharing information on the internet that will harm their future college or job prospects? Or worse, are they putting themselves at risk of victimization?