Less than One in Five Americans Say Their Congressperson Deserves to be Re-Elected

25 Nov 2013 11:00 Africa/Lagos


Less than One in Five Americans Say Their Congressperson Deserves to be Re-Elected
President Obama's job ratings drop again this month

NEW YORK, Nov. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Another month and another round of headaches for the White House. They finally get through the government shutdown and now have to answer many questions about why the Affordable Care Act's website was not ready for millions to sign up for health insurance. And, perhaps because of this, President Obama's job ratings continue their downward movement. This month just one-third of Americans (32%) give the President positive ratings for the job he is doing, while 68% give him negative ratings. This is down from last month, when 35% gave the President positive marks and 65% gave him negative ones.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100517/NY06256LOGO )

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,250 adults surveyed online between November 13 and 18, 2013 by Harris Interactive . (Full results, including data tables, can be found here)

While it's not surprising that just 4% of Republicans but 59% of Democrats give the President positive ratings on the overall job he is doing, what should have White House worried about legacies and Democrats worried about fallout for Congressional elections is that just 26% of Independents give President Obama positive ratings while three-quarters (74%) give him negative marks.

There are two things that could make the President a little happier. First, there is an uptick in perceived direction of the country as three in ten Americans (30%) believe it is going in the right direction, up from 20% last month; seven in ten (70%) believe things in the country have seriously gotten off on the wrong track. The second is that when it comes to who deserves the most blame for shutting down the federal government, almost half (45%) of Americans blame Republicans in Congress compared to "just" one-third (32%) blaming President Obama; 7% blame Democrats in Congress, while 16% are not at all sure.

It's one year until the Congressional elections

Congress still sees their approval in the single digits, with just 7% of Americans rating the job they are doing positively while 93% give them negative ratings. This is slightly better than last month when just 4% of Americans gave Congress positive ratings. But it's not just the institution of Congress that is suffering. Just one in five Americans (19%) give their Member of the House of Representative positive ratings, while 71% give him or her negative ratings. And this is across political parties, as 70% of Republicans, 68% of Democrats and 75% of Independents give their Member negative marks for the overall job he or she is doing.

Even more ominous for sitting Members is that half of Americans (52%) say, when it comes to their Member of the House of Representatives, it's time to give someone else a chance, compared to just 17% of Americans who believe their Congressperson deserves to be re-elected. What should give sitting Members some hope is that 31% are still not at all sure. Looking at this by party, 52% of Republicans, 47% of Democrats and 60% of Independents say it's time to give someone else a chance.

To see other recent Harris Polls, please visit the Harris Poll News Room .

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Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between November 13 and 18, 2013 among 2,250 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.

J43568
Q1205, 1210, 1215, 1220, 1225

The Harris Poll ® #88, November 25, 2013
By Regina A. Corso, SVP, Harris Poll and Public Relations, Harris Interactive

About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for The Harris Poll® , Harris offers proprietary solutions in the areas of market and customer insight, corporate brand and reputation strategy, and marketing, advertising, public relations and communications research across a wide range of industries. Additionally, Harris has a portfolio of multi-client offerings that complement our custom solutions while maximizing a client's research investment. Serving clients worldwide through our North American and European offices, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help our clients stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com .

Press Contact:
Corporate Communications
Harris Interactive
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press@harrisinteractive.com

SOURCE Harris Interactive

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What are Americans Thankful for this Thanksgiving? Not the Economy

Photo Credit: Survey Monkey.

21 Nov 2013 19:00 Africa/Lagos

What are Americans Thankful for this Thanksgiving? Not the Economy.

Talking turkey: the bird tops the list of Thanksgiving dishes Americans look forward to

NEW YORK, Nov. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Thanksgiving means different things to different people. For some it's all about the parade. For others, it's a chance to see family and friends. For a few, it's become about the sales and strategizing on how to hit the best ones. But for many it's about giving thanks, and more than two in five Americans (43%) say they have about as much to be thankful for as a few years ago, while 38% say they have more to be thankful for than a few years ago. Just over one in ten U.S. adults (14%) say they have less to be thankful for than a few years ago.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100517/NY06256LOGO)


These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,368 adults surveyed online between October 16 and 21, 2013 by Harris Interactive . (Full results, including data tables, available here)
This year, fewer Americans feel they have more to be thankful for than said so in 2010 (41%), but it's about the same as in 1974 (when this question was first asked) and 1980 (38% and 37%, respectively).  However, in 1983 half of Americans said they had more to be thankful for (50%), which is more than in any other year this has been asked.


Looking at some specific items, Americans have a lot to be thankful for. Over three-quarters of Americans are thankful because of the health of their family (85%), because of their family relationships (84%) and because technology makes it easy to stay in touch with family and friends (76%). Interestingly, in 1980 almost all Americans said they were thankful for the health of their family (96%) and because of family relationships (95%).


While three in five Americans (62%) are thankful for their own personal economic situation, this is down from 66% in 2010 and 81% in 1980. Three in five U.S. adults (60%) are thankful for their work situation, compared to 65% who said this in 2010 and 78% who said so in 1980. What Americans are not thankful for is the economic situation of the United States, as 62% say they are not thankful for this while 17% are thankful. In 1984, 78% were thankful for the economic situation of the U.S. and in 1988 59% were thankful; in 2010 that number was 23%.


The Turkey!

And, for many Americans, Thanksgiving is all about the food. When asked which of these traditional food dishes people look forward to the most, two in five U.S. adults (40%) say it's the turkey while one in five (21%) look forward to the stuffing. Smaller numbers look forward to pumpkin pie (13%), potatoes whether mashed (9%) or sweet (7%) and the cranberry sauce, jelly or relish (4%). Men are more likely than women to look forward to the turkey (46% vs. 35%), while women are more likely to look forward to the pumpkin pie (14% vs. 10%).


While cooking there are always the grumblings about "wouldn't it be easier to just go out for dinner," the truth is that over three-quarters of Americans (78%) disagree with that and say they would rather eat in a restaurant than cook Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe it's because of the leftovers, as nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults (65%) agree that even more important than Thanksgiving dinner is eating the leftovers.
To see other recent Harris Polls, please visit the Harris Poll News Room .
Want Harris Polls delivered direct to your inbox? Click here !

 
Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between October 16 to 21, 2013 among 2,368 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.


All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.


Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.


These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.
J43567
Q830, 835, 840, 845
The Harris Poll ^® #87, November 21, 2013
By Regina A. Corso, SVP, Harris Poll and Public Relations Research


About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for The Harris Poll® , Harris offers proprietary solutions in the areas of market and customer insight, corporate brand and reputation strategy, and marketing, advertising, public relations and communications research across a wide range of industries. Additionally, Harris has a portfolio of multi-client offerings that complement our custom solutions while maximizing a client's research investment. Serving clients worldwide through our North American and European offices, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help our clients stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com .


Press Contact:
Corporate Communications
Harris Interactive
212-539-9600
press@harrisinteractive.com
SOURCE Harris Interactive

Web Site: http://www.facebook.com/harrisinteractive?ref=share


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150 Years Ago, President Lincoln Delivered the Gettysburg Address That Changed America

President Obama's Handwritten Tribute to the Gettysburg Address.

One hundred fifty years after President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address, President Obama penned a handwritten tribute to President Lincoln's historic remarks. Read his essay below, then share it with others.

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