Partisanship & Issues

The departure of the Bush Administration’s most-polarizing adviser gave talk shows plenty to talk about last week, as hosts from the left and right assessed the White House tenure of Karl Rove. But even as the aide prepared to shuffle off to Texas, the campaign was on most hosts’ minds.

by John C. Green, Senior Fellow in Religion and American Politics For the presidential candidates and the pundits who write about them, one concern in the 2008 campaign is the “religion gap” – shorthand for the religious differences between Republican and Democratic voters. An analysis of national exit polls from 2004 shows there is not […]

On Thursday night six Democratic presidential candidates came together for a debate on issues important to the gay community. Candidates took on issues from gay marriage to "don't ask don't tell" and addressed a party whose rank-and-file hold ambivalent positions on some issues of concern to gays.

Less than a week before the Iowa straw poll, the nine Republican presidential candidates squared off in Des Moines. Candidate views generally mirrored those of the Republican rank-and-file, but were often at odds with the opinions of the general public.

Summary of Findings As official Washington winds down for its summer holiday, all three branches of government are coming under fire from the American public. Just 29% approve of the way President Bush is handling his job, and only slightly more, 33%, approve of the job performance of the Democratic leaders of Congress. Even the […]

Before a predominantly black audience at Howard University, the eight candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination focused on issues of special interests to minorities including health care, education, taxes and racial discrimination.

There have been a few twists and turns in the eight-year history of Beliefnet.com, the faith-oriented web site. But the outlet, which recently captured a major National Magazine Award, has reinvented itself by trying to turn a potentially polarizing subject into an all-inclusive gathering place.

Ten candidates for the 2008 Republican nomination for president squared off last night in a debate held in New Hampshire. Here is a run-down of how their views on key issues stacked up against the attitudes of the general public and of self-identified Republicans, Democrats and independents, as measured by recent Pew Research Center surveys.

Eight candidates for the 2008 Democratic nomination for president squared off Sunday night in New Hampshire. Here is a run-down of how their views on key issues stacked up against the attitudes of the general public and of self-identified Democrats, Republicans and independents.

Summary of Findings Former Sen. Fred Thompson has broad potential appeal among Republican voters even before his expected entrance into the presidential race. Thompson is not nearly as well known as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani or the other leading GOP candidates. But 37% of the Republican and Republican-leaning voters who have heard […]