6 facts about the electorate on midterm day
Six facts about the 2014 electorate culled from Pew Research surveys and analyses during this midterm year.
Bruce Drake
Publications
5 takeaways on how Americans view a world in crisis
The crises in the Middle East with ISIS and the power struggle with Russian in the Ukraine have caused Americans shift to their views on U.S. global involvement.
Kohut: How Americans View an Unruly World
Andrew Kohut writes in the Wall Street Journal that when Americans look at the world's trouble spots, majorities are inclined to say they aren't our problem.
More Americans say U.S. failed to achieve its goals in Iraq
As Sunni militants make a major military push against the central government in Iraq, the Obama administration is said to have rebuffed requests from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to use drones to strike at extremist bases. That reported reluctance follows years of U.S. military intervention in Iraq that many Americans say was misguided and failed to achieve its goals.
On D-Day anniversary, only 1 million World War II veterans still alive
By the next decennial anniversary, the VA estimates that their numbers will be down to 81,117.
EPA to propose power plant pollution cuts, an idea the public has backed
President Obama is expected to announce a new rule cutting emissions from coal-fired power plants. A Pew Research Center survey last September found support for action to cut emissions.
Obama charts a new foreign policy course for a public that wants the focus to be at home
The speech also comes at a time when the American public has less of an appetite for foreign involvement and believes American clout is not what it used to be.
In the polls, Tea Party support falls among Republicans
Tea Party agreement among GOP has fallen from 48% in March 2010 to 33% in late April, 2014.
Veterans Administration critics include the soldiers who served in post-9/11 wars
Asked whether the VA put enough focus on post-9/11 war veterans compared to its treatment of previous generations of veterans, half of those who served in Iraq or Afghanistan said the treatment they got was about the right amount while 44% said it was not enough.
Obama job ratings higher than Bush, but pale next to Bill Clinton
Obama’s job approval rating stands at 44% while Bush’s was 35% at the same point in the 2006 midterm year. Clinton’s approval rating was a solid 62% at this point in 1998.
