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04.02.2008 -- Reality Bites |
Much like the contestants on dozens of reality TV shows, Americans are increasingly concerned about getting voted off their own personal islands as economic problems crash onto our shores. In recent polling Public Opinion Strategies has conducted for media outlets and dozens of campaigns, we have seen pocketbook concerns not only rapidly rise to prominence, but have major implications for public policy on issues like global trade and immigration.
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02.04.2008 -- The Hit List for 2008 |
Stay in the political "family" long enough and you will see hot voter target groups come and go faster than characters on The Sopranos get killed off.
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11.20.2007 -- World Peace? Actually, Contenders Should Talk Health Care! |
In the never-ending presidential beauty pageant, the runway goes through a few critical states. We recently interviewed voters - including likely Democratic and Republican primary voters/caucus goers - in the early decision states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada to see where these presidential "judges" are likely to give extra points.
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08.06.2007 -- Taken to the cleaners |
A $54 million lawsuit against a neighborhood dry cleaning shop over a pair of misplaced pants is the latest example of lawsuit abuse that has voters steamed. While the owners won round one of the two year legal battle, they still face a possible appeal. The media attention the case has generated is sure to reinforce voters' concerns. In a Public Opinion Strategies national poll conducted on election night last November on behalf of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, a near unanimous 85% of the electorate viewed the number of frivolous lawsuits as a serious problem.
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04.20.2007 -- A Dog-Eat-Dog World |
Your dog doesn't care about the global economy -- but maybe Fido should. A key ingredient from a new supplier in China was the likely tainted culprit that found its way into a Canadian company's pet food, leading to the illness and death of hundreds of American pets. Globalization disrupted Fido's dinner, and it seems just as unsettling to many U.S. voters.
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09.11.06 -- A Time to Look Back and a Time to Look Ahead |
Our nation marks the anniversaries of two tragedies at this time of year. While the re-building and recovery continue both at Ground Zero and along the Gulf Coast, Americans are seeking to fit these events into the patchwork quilt of American history. Will one event eventually fade into the background, while the other continues to stand out?
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08.14.06 -- Well of Good Feelings Full for Israel. |
With the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah still storming in Lebanon, Americans are expressing an affinity towards Israel at unprecedented levels. The most recent NBC/Wall Street Journal survey in late July conducted jointly by Public Opinion Strategies’ partner Bill McInturff and Peter Hart of Hart Research shows that 57% of Americans say they sympathize more with Israel in the Middle East situation rather than Arab nations (9%). This is the highest proportion in 33 years indicating greater sympathy with Israel.
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06.14.06 -- Seniors warm to Medicare drug plan |
Like the change in the thermostat, seniors are warming to the new prescription drug plan which closed enrollment last month. The soaring temperatures across the country match the increase in favorable feelings toward Medicare Part D. Despite a great deal of media attention regarding some early kinks in the system, the vast majority of enrollees tell us they have experienced few problems, are saving money, and are satisfied with the coverage.
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06.02.06 -- Something Old and Something New |
Prices at the pump and in their energy bills are fueling American ingenuity and a renewed interest in some time-tested alternatives. A Tennessee company has tripled its production of stills - not for moonshine, but for penny pinchers making their own ethanol. The vintage notion of street cars or light rail are back on the planning boards in many urban centers.
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03.31.06 -- Crying Fowl |
While the U.S. government has recently announced
it will step up its monitoring of wild and
domestic birds, Americans are divided on whether
to panic over poultry’s current plight
and its potential implications for triggering
an avian flu pandemic. A national survey conducted
by Public Opinion Strategies on behalf of The
Center for Health Transformation founded by
Newt Gingrich, the results of which were presented
at a national forum on the subject, indicates
Americans are paying attention to news about
bird flu. But, the public is divided over whether
health experts and the media are simply being
Chicken Little about this potential threat.
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01.06.06 -- A tale as old as time |
From the time of Aristotle to Mark Twain,
politicians have been easy prey for jokes about
corruption and vices. No wonder most Americans
view recent ethics breaches as more of an ancient
tale like one of Aesop's fables, and do not
indict one side of the aisle over the other.
Recent national surveys conducted by Public
Opinion Strategies for both National Public
Radio* and NBC/Wall Street Journal** find a
jaded electorate who refuses to lay blame at
the feet of only one political party.
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12.20.05 -- Just like the ones I used to know... |
A few weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, crooner Bing Crosby gave the first public performance of a newly penned Christmas carol which was planned for release the following holiday season. Fueled by demand from homesick GI’s training and fighting far from home, however, White Christmas topped the charts the next year, months before the holiday it celebrated, on its way to becoming the best-selling record in history.*
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11.16.05 -- Missing the Boat |
Our Thanksgiving celebrations today may be more about food, football and family, but the school child in all of us still holds an image of that early Thanksgiving feast held by our nation's first immigrants firmly implanted in our collective psyche. Interestingly, that idyllic picture of a peaceful meal between Pilgrims and Indians was one which only emerged in popular culture at the turn of the 20th Century. The country was then facing concern over a surge in immigration and integration of those newcomers into the American culture. The first Thanksgiving of peace and harmony between different ethnic groups provided a historical symbol of the melting pot tradition.
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10.25.05 -- If The Shoe Fits... |
Disenchanted with last year's presidential
race outcome, the Hollywood magic machine is
in full gear spinning prime-time fairy tales
of more glamorous candidates than the "safe"
choice Democrat primary voters made in 2004.
West Wing viewers are being treated to the first
Hispanic presidential nominee in the guise of
Jimmy Smits. On a rival network, Geena Davis
is playing the first female president in history
on Commander-in-Chief.
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09.27.05 -- Seeking Shelter from the Storm |
There's an ill wind blowing toward Washington. A tempest of events from two major hurricanes and the aftermath in New Orleans has affected voters' psyches. Confidence in government has deteriorated to 31% of voters who say they trust Washington to do what is right most of the time, down from 40% last year and 64% following the September 11th terrorist attacks.
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05.25.05 -- Ready For The Real World? |
Thousands of America's high school seniors
are entering their own reality series this month.
As graduates face work or college on their own,
many Americans and elected officials are questioning
just how good a job schools are doing at getting
students ready for "real life."
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05.05.05 -- Black Gold |
Even the millionaire Beverly Hillbillies might
be considering some adjustments due to the ever
increasing prices at the pump. According to
Public Opinion Strategies’ latest national
survey, 88% of Americans are taking at least
one action to combat high gas prices and a near
majority (46%) say rising gas prices have had
“a lot of impact” on them and their
family.
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03.02.05 -- The New Politics of Baseball |
While the nation's storied pastime has survived
past breaches of confidence with its fans, it
has yet to face a crisis like the current steroids
scandal in an age of 24-hour ESPN and with greater
competition from other sports and entertainment
options. In fact, recent national polls by Public
Opinion Strategies demonstrate that the continuing
steroids saga is indeed tarnishing baseball's
image.
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12.30.04 -- Election 2004: The Security Election |
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11th, three-quarters (74%) of Americans told us that the attacks were "a turning point that will fundamentally change things forever." Indeed, in the first presidential election following 9/11, the electorate was viewing the candidates vying to lead the nation through an entirely different perspective. In 2000, just one-in-ten voters named an issue related to global or security concerns as a factor in their vote decision for President (a mere 6% in 1996 did the same). In Public Opinion Strategies' polling of actual voters on Election Night this year, a stunning 61% named a global or security concern as a factor in their vote decision for President.
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12.09.04 -- Move On Over |
While liberal groups and donors had the early jump in running advertising through 527 organizations, Public Opinion Strategies' polling clearly demonstrates that the most powerful advertising from the 2004 presidential race was from the Bush Campaign and groups supporting the President. Actual voters in Election night polling by Public Opinion Strategies in six of the swing states identified three ads as most memorable:
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07.14.04 -- You Gotta Know When To Hold 'Em
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It isn't the sort of celebrity poker match you catch on television these days, but a new Public Opinion Strategies' survey indicates that Capitol Hill staffers on both sides of the aisle would put their money on the GOP to maintain control of both the Senate and the House in November.
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05.27.04 -- The Not so Happy Meal
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Just as the Memorial Day weekend signals the beginning of beach season, a different kind of wave is hitting the nation’s courtrooms. All those Americans squeezing into their swimsuits may be blaming too many trips to the drive-through in more ways than one. A few lawyers are trying to lasso the Golden Arches and other fast food titans as the culprits for a growing wave of “globesity.” The latest Public Opinion Strategies’ national survey demonstrates that claiming “the burgers & fries made me obese” won’t cut it with the public. Still, the food service industry is well advised to follow McDonald’s lead in making positive steps to insulate itself from perceptions it is partly to blame for those tubby toddlers playing at the beach this summer.
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04.09.04 -- Ideas Blooming In The States
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April showers may bring May flowers, but there’s more blossoming than tulips and
daffodils this Spring in many states. Public Opinion Strategies has been polling on
a "bunch" of new ideas flowering across the country to determine which
ones will be
a bed of roses for the candidate espousing them and which ones are likely to wither
too soon.
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12.17.03 -- The Ghosts of Elections
Past
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Much like the spirits who visited Ebenezer
Scrooge, Public Opinion Strategies had the unique
opportunity in our post-election polling on
behalf of the Republican Governors Association (RGA)
to glean some insights from the key 2003 races.
Our conclusions may hold the "shadows
of things which could be" for the 2004
campaigns. . .
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10.31.03 -- Trick or Trade
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This Halloween, more Americans appear to be scared of foreign competition and jobs moving offshore than of ghosts and goblins. In fact, foreign trade and American jobs are poised to be a critical issue for the 2004 elections.
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09.24.03 -- How Personal Connection Increases Support For War In Iraq
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On the eve of President Bush’s address to the nation regarding Iraq, a groundbreaking national survey by Public Opinion Strategies demonstrated a new attitude gap within the American electorate. Those voters with a personal connection to the men and women serving in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are much more supportive of the President and rate U.S. efforts in Iraq more positively than other Americans.
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08.26.03 -- Measuring Up on School Accountability
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As students file back into classrooms around the country this year,
education has seemingly been moved to the back of the class on the
public policy agenda. The new focus on national security since September
11th and passage of the “No Child Left Behind” Act has
made it difficult for the White House and Republicans in Congress
to sustain an education message.
At the same time, GOP Governors have been forced to deal with budget
crises, leaving little time for a public message on strengthening
schools.
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05.15.03 -- Top Gun |
President Bush’s fighter jet landing onto the deck of
the USS Abraham Lincoln to give a memorable speech in front
of homebound heroes is not the only high-flying maneuver the
Bush administration has undertaken lately. A recent Public Opinion
Strategies national survey indicates that Bush’s approval
ratings are still soaring and that the war in Iraq has been
deemed an overwhelming success by the American electorate.
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