Datapoints

Private Medical Data? 07/25/2008

Over the past year, government agencies and private healthcare facilities have acknowledged that confidential personal medical information has been lost or stolen.

Americans are paying attention, say Dr. Alan Westin of Columbia University and Harris Interactive. According to Harris's most recent poll, nearly seven in ten Americans (69 percent) report reading or hearing about “medical records with personal health information being lost or stolen from doctors' offices, clinics, hospitals, health insurers, employers, or government agencies" over the past year. Four percent of respondents—roughly equivalent to 9 million Americans—say that they or one of their family members have had medical records lost or stolen.

Source: Harris Interactive online survey, June 2008.

Same-Sex Unions? 07/24/2008

In May, the California Supreme Court struck down a state ban on same-sex marriage by invoking what it called the fundamental "right to marry." Opinion polls suggest that while most Americans support at least some rights for same-sex civil unions and partnerships, they tend to draw the line at marriage. According to a Princeton Survey Research Associates/Newsweek poll conducted in June, 30 percent of Americans support "full marriage rights for same-sex couples," compared to 27 percent who support "civil unions or partnerships, but not full marriage rights" and 37 percent who oppose any legal recognition for same-sex couples. When Gallup asked a similar question in May, 40 percent of Americans said "marriages between same-sex couples should be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriage," compared to 56 percent who said they should not.

Will the California Court's decision stand? Opinion about Proposition 8, which would void the court's decision, tilts to the negative: according to an early Field poll, 42 percent of Californians would vote for the proposition, compared to 51 percent who would vote against it.

Source: PRSA/Newsweek, June 2008.

Politics at the Pump 07/23/2008

Soaring gas prices—Americans paid an average of $4.05 for a gallon of gas in June, or 33 percent more than they paid at this time last year—have catapulted energy issues to the forefront of public concerns. According to a recent Gallup poll, 47 percent of Americans believe Barack Obama would do a better job on “energy, including gas prices,” compared to 28 percent who say John McCain would. But when it comes to actually bringing prices down, Americans have little confidence in either candidate. According to a recent CBS News/New York Times poll, only 30 percent of Americans believe Obama’s policies would reduce gas prices, compared to 25 percent who think McCain’s would.

Source: CBS News/New York Times, July 2008.

Commander-in-Chief? 07/22/2008

This week, Barack Obama will visit Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Germany, France, and Great Britain as part of a tour designed to boost his foreign policy credentials. Recent polls suggest that he has his work cut out for him. Although most Americans share Obama's belief that the Iraq war was a mistake, they have less faith in his ability to serve as commander-in-chief. According to a July ABC News/Washington Post poll, 48 percent of Americans believe Obama would make a good commander-in-chief, compared to 72 percent who think John McCain would. When Gallup/USA Today asked a similar question in June, 55 percent said that Obama could "handle the responsibilities of commander-in-chief," compared to 80 percent who said that about McCain.

Source: ABC News/Washington Post, July 2008.

Hedging Their Bets 07/21/2008

Americans often split their tickets, and if a recent Quinnipiac poll is any indication, swing-state Minnesota will be no exception this fall. Likely Minnesota voters give Barack Obama a 17-point edge over John McCain, but also give their incumbent senator, Republican Norm Coleman, a 10-point advantage over Democratic challenger Al Franken.

Source: Quinnipiac University, June 2008.

Government Doing Too Much? 07/18/2008

As the nation’s financial woes have deepened, the Federal Reserve has taken an increasingly active role in the economy: it orchestrated the bailout of Bear Stearns, has cut interest rates aggressively, and just last weekend it offered to rescue the troubled home-mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Is the government trying to do much? 

According to a recent Gallup poll designed to assess attitudes about the government’s general role, 50 percent of Americans believe “the government is trying to do too many thing that should be left to individuals or businesses,” compared to 43 percent who think it should “do more to solve our country’s problems.” Not surprisingly, there are large divisions between Republicans and Democrats.

Source: Gallup/ USA Today, June 2008.

Is America in a Recession? 07/17/2008

The Reuters/ University of Michigan Index of Consumer Expectations, which has provided early warning of recessions in the past, is now at 48.3, a number significantly below the 81.5 recorded in July 2007 and a number that surveyors say clearly indicates a recession.

Source: Reuters/ University of Michigan.

Consumer Confidence? 07/16/2008

In an address before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned that rising oil, food, and other commodity prices, coupled with tight credit, had “sapped [consumer] purchasing power”—a downbeat assessment that is consistent with the opinion of many Americans. According to the preliminary results from the July Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, consumer confidence is at 56.6, barely above its 50-year low of 51.7 (in May 1980). In their June press release, the surveyors noted that the pessimism may seem unjustified, given that current inflation and unemployment rates are “less than half the 1980 levels.” But consumers, they tell us, make judgments based on the recent—not distant—past. 

Source: Reuters/ University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index.

Another Terrorist Attack? 07/15/2008

Nearly seven years after September 11, 2001, Americans’ concerns about another terrorist attack at home are at an all-time low. According to a CNN/ Opinion Research Corporation poll conducted in late June, only 35 percent of Americans believe it is “very” or “somewhat” likely that there will be “further terrorist attacks in the United States over the next several weeks,” down from the 41 percent who said so in August 2007 and the 54 percent who said so in August 2006. Sixty-six percent believed further attacks to be very or somewhat likely in late September 2001.

Most polls suggest that Americans think John McCain would do a better job handling terrorism than Barack Obama. But the salience of the issue is clearly down—and according to a recent Gallup poll, Obama leads his Republican rival on most other major issues, including healthcare, Iraq, energy, and the economy.

Source: CNN/ ORC, June 2008.

Vote by Denomination 07/14/2008

Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has a slight edge among Catholics, an important swing group in Americans politics. Catholics have supported the winner of the popular vote in the past nine presidential elections, voting for five Republican contenders and four Democratic ones.

According to a recent Gallup poll, 47 percent of Catholics favor Obama, compared to 43 percent who support McCain. Obama’s edge comes from his strong appeal to Hispanics, most of whom are Catholic. Sixty-six percent of Hispanic Catholics prefer him over McCain. (Among non-Hispanic Catholics, McCain is favored slightly.) Protestants, traditionally a reliable Republican group, are leaning toward McCain, while Jews, a solidly Democratic group, are leaning toward Obama.

Source:The Gallup Organization, June 2008.