The American Public in 2017: What We Learned

As it has for more than 80 years, Gallup continued in 2017 to measure and monitor Americans’ views on their government, political leaders, public policy, the economy and their own lives. The following are Gallup editors’ picks for the most important trends and discoveries reported each month this year. CONT. […] Read more »

17 striking findings from 2017

Pew Research Center studies a wide array of topics both in the U.S. and around the world, and every year we are struck by particular findings. Sometimes they mark a new milestone in public opinion; other times a sudden about-face. From an increase in Americans living without a spouse or […] Read more »

The year in polls

President Obama left office a popular figure — 62 percent of Americans approved of the way he handled his job over the past eight years, ranking him third among outgoing presidents since CBS began asking the question in 1981 – behind outgoing presidents Bill Clinton (68 percent) and Ronald Reagan […] Read more »

America’s chaotic, crazy, challenging, great, tumultuous, horrible, disappointing year

Would you say this was a good year for the United States? For decades, Americans’ sense of how their nation was doing was closely linked to the economy. Through Democratic and Republican presidencies, through divided and unified sessions of Congress, Americans were consistent. When they saw jobs and GDP growing, […] Read more »

CBS News Poll: American attitudes toward gun violence

As the anniversary of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School approaches, one third of Americans – and women in particular – say the level of gun violence in the United States today is a crisis, and most call it at least a very serious problem. But views on what […] Read more »