Polling Analysis: Afghanistan 2009 Vs. Iraq 2007
President Obama is expected to announce that he will send additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan during his address Tuesday night -- something just a third of the public supports.
According to the latest CBS News Poll conducted November 13-15, slightly more, 39 percent, would like to say the number of troops decreased, and 20 percent want troop levels kept the same.
As was the case with the war in Iraq, views on sending more troops are influenced by partisanship: half of Republicans support a troop increase, but just 17 percent of Democrats do. 34 percent of independents think troops should be increased.
Continue »
(CBS)
As was the case with the war in Iraq, views on sending more troops are influenced by partisanship: half of Republicans support a troop increase, but just 17 percent of Democrats do. 34 percent of independents think troops should be increased.
Continue »
Poll: Most Say War in Afghanistan Going Badly
(CBS)
Sixty-nine percent now say things are going badly for the U.S. in Afghanistan, a sharp increase from the 53 percent who said so in September. Just 23 percent say things are going well, down 12 points from September.
The findings reflect the most negative assessment of the war ever measured in CBS News polls.
Continue »
Poll Shows Support for Public Option, But Not for Full Bill
(CBS)
However, most Americans remain doubtful that the proposals currently before Congress would help them personally, according to the poll, conducted Nov. 13 -16. And amid a debate over restricting abortion coverage in the health care bill, more than half say federal subsidies for health care plans should not be allowed to pay for abortions.
The Public Option
Continue »
Poll: Most Oppose Terror Trials in Open Court
(CBS)
A new CBS News poll finds that only 40 percent of Americans believe suspected terrorists should be tried in an open criminal court. Fifty-four percent say such suspects should be tried in a closed military court.
There is a correlation between where people stand on the trials and their political beliefs. Roughly six in ten Republicans and independents favor closed military trials, while 54 percent of Democrats prefer open civilian trials.
Continue »
Poll: 51% Say Fort Hood Could Have Been Prevented
(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Fifty-one percent of Americans say the military had sufficient information to prevent the shootings, while 29 percent say it did not. Another 20 percent are not sure.
Republicans and independents were slightly more likely than Democrats to say the military had sufficient information, though the percentages were relatively stable across the political spectrum.
Continue »
Poll: Less Than 1 in 4 Have Favorable View of Palin
(CBS)
Just 23 percent of those surveyed in a new CBS News poll have a favorable view of the former Alaska governor. That matches her favorable rating in July, when Palin announced she was resigning from her job as governor.
Thirty-eight percent, meanwhile, have an unfavorable view of Palin -- also roughly matching her July rating. Another 37 percent say they are undecided or haven't heard enough, despite the spotlight on Palin in recent days tied to the imminent publication of her memoir, "Going Rogue."
Continue »
Conservatives (Still) Vastly Outnumber Liberals
(CBS/iStockphoto)
Thirty-six percent of those surveyed call themselves moderate.
These numbers have held fairly steady since all the way back to the beginning of the Clinton administration. In 1992, according to Gallup, 36 percent of Americans called themselves conservative, while 17 percent said they were liberal.
Continue »
Poll: GOP Approval at Lowest Level in a Decade
4762464Just thirty-six percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of the Republican Party, the lowest level in at least a decade, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Friday.
More than half of those surveyed – 54 percent – have an unfavorable view of the GOP.
The numbers are far better for Democrats. Fifty-three percent say they have a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party, while 41 percent have a negative opinion about the party.
Continue »
More than half of those surveyed – 54 percent – have an unfavorable view of the GOP.
The numbers are far better for Democrats. Fifty-three percent say they have a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party, while 41 percent have a negative opinion about the party.
Continue »
Poll Shows Clinton is More Popular than Obama
(AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)
The poll results show that her favorability ratings outrank his, 62 percent to 56 percent.
The poll, which surveyed 1,013 American adults, was conducted during the first week of October (which should be noted is before Mr. Obama was announced the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize).
Continue »
Intent to Get Flu Vaccine Doesn't Match Reality
538337 A CBS News Poll conducted in early October found just under half of Americans said they were likely to get vaccinated against the H1N1 flu, including only 28 percent who said they were very likely to do so. Other recent polls show similar results: for example, just 52 percent of respondents in an AP/GfK poll also conducted in early October said they were likely to be vaccinated.
In fact, those findings aren't much different than reaction to past flu outbreaks.
The last serious outbreak of the H1N1 virus in this country occurred in 1976. Then, the U.S. government undertook a public health campaign urging people to get the vaccine, and many millions of Americans did so. But questions arose about possible serious and potentially life-threatening side effects from the vaccine, and the vaccination program was cancelled in December.
Continue »
In fact, those findings aren't much different than reaction to past flu outbreaks.
The last serious outbreak of the H1N1 virus in this country occurred in 1976. Then, the U.S. government undertook a public health campaign urging people to get the vaccine, and many millions of Americans did so. But questions arose about possible serious and potentially life-threatening side effects from the vaccine, and the vaccination program was cancelled in December.
Continue »
Americans Split on Abortion with Obama in Office
(CBS/AP)
Down seven points from last year, 47 percent of Americans said this summer that abortion should be legal in most cases, according to a poll (PDF) from the Pew Research Center. The poll, conducted from Aug. 11 - 27, 2009, found that 45 percent of Americans said abortion should be illegal in most cases -- an increase of four points from 2008.
The decline in support for legal abortion first became apparent in the spring of 2009, and according to Pew, that may be related to President Obama's election. Just over half of conservative Republicans polled by Pew said they worry the president will go too far in supporting abortion rights.
Continue »
Poll: Improved Perceptions of Stimulus Package
(CBS)
Thirty-six percent say the stimulus has made things better, up from 25 percent in July. The percentage who says it has had no impact has fallen from 57 percent to 46 percent. Thirteen percent say the stimulus has made things worse.
Nearly half of Americans – 47 percent – expect the stimulus to have a positive impact in the long run. Roughly one in four expect it to have no impact, while another 21 percent say it will ultimately have a negative impact.
Continue »
Poll: On Issues, Obama Approval Rating Lags
(AP Photo/David Karp)
Only 44 percent approve of the president's handling of Afghanistan, down from 48 percent last month. (Fewer - 35 percent - disapprove of the president's handling on the issue.) The president is now trying to decide whether to follow the advice from General Stanley A. McChrystal, laid out in a leaked memo, to increase troop levels in the country if he wants to avoid failure.
Perceptions of the president's handling of health care, by contrast, have improved, though they are still below 50 percent. Forty-seven percent now say they approve of the president's handling of what has became his defining issue over the summer, up from 40 percent last month.
Continue »
Poll: Obama Overexposed? Most Say No
(CBS)
A new CBS News/New York Times survey suggests that most Americans do not think so. Fifty-eight percent of those surveyed said Mr. Obama has made about the right number of appearances, while an additional four percent say he has made too few.
Thirty-five percent do believe that the president has made too many appearances. But that's exactly the same percentage as disapproved of the president in a CBS News poll earlier this month – and it's likely that any presidential appearances would be too many for at least some members of that group.
Continue »
Polling Shows Americans Wary of Bailouts
(AP)
In polls conducted last fall, both the general principle of providing government assistance to financial institutions and the specific legislation Congress passed last fall met with lukewarm public support.
A CBS News/New York Times poll conducted September 21-24, 2008, in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, found just 42 percent of Americans approved of the government providing money to Wall Street, and more, 46 percent, disapproved. Those sentiments transcended partisanship: just 43 percent of Republicans, 41 percent of Democrats and 4 percent of independents approved. By October, just 36 percent approved of this approach, and 52 percent disapproved.
Continue »
