Forceful clearing of Lafayette Square protest was defining moment for president and protests

The police crackdown to clear protesters from Lafayette Square last week looms as a defining moment in the national debate over race and law enforcement that followed the death of George Floyd. An exclusive USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll finds Americans overwhelmingly endorse the right of peaceful protest outside the White House […] Read more »

The ‘Hard Hat Riot’ Was a Preview of Today’s Political Divisions

This was something genuinely new, and raw. Even jaded viewers tuning in to the network news on May 8, 1970, must have been shocked to see helmeted construction workers waving enormous American flags and chanting “All the way, U.S.A.” as they tore through an antiwar demonstration in Manhattan’s financial district […] Read more »

How Progressives Can Recapture Seven Deeply Held American Values

… When conservative politicians and pundits invoke “faith, family, and country,” many progressives cringe. On one level, this attitude is understandable. For decades, some leading right-wingers have added a mean-spirited twist to these mainstream values, with sometimes-tragic results. They have invoked “faith” as a reason to restrict the rights of […] Read more »

Nurses Continue to Rate Highest in Honesty, Ethics

For the 18th year in a row, Americans rate the honesty and ethics of nurses highest among a list of professions that Gallup asks U.S. adults to assess annually. … Americans’ high regard for healthcare professionals contrasts sharply with their assessments of stockbrokers, advertising professionals, insurance salespeople, senators, members of […] Read more »

Divisiveness and Collaboration in American Public Life: A Hidden Common Ground Report

This inaugural Public Agenda/USA Today/Ipsos Hidden Common Ground survey examines how Americans view divisiveness and partisan divides in public life and offers a number of solutions to build a more collaborative society, despite our social and political differences. Overall, the research shows a good deal of cross-partisan agreement on the […] Read more »