Ratings of Leaders in Washington

9 Feb 2011 12:04 Africa/Lagos


Ratings of Leaders in Washington, While Still Mostly Negative Improve Slightly
Sizable increase in familiarity with and ratings of House Speaker Boehner

PR Newswire

NEW YORK, Feb. 9, 2011

NEW YORK, Feb. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A new Harris Poll finds that the ratings of some of the most prominent leaders in Washington have improved slightly. However their ratings are still mostly negative; they are just slightly less unpopular now than they were at the end of last year.

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

Secretary of State Hilary Clinton continues to be by far the most popular Cabinet member and majorities still do not know enough about Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Defense Secretary Bob Gates, or the new House Speaker John Boehner to have any opinions of them. However those familiar with John Boehner are up 11 points to 48%, from 37% last October and his positive ratings are up from 12% to 22%.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,566 adults surveyed online between January 17 and 24, 2011 by Harris Interactive.

Findings in this Harris Poll include:

* While substantial majorities are familiar with most of the people covered in the survey, sizable numbers say they are not familiar enough to have any opinions about some of the most visible leaders – Secretary of State Hilary Clinton (19%), Vice-President Joe Biden (29%) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (31%);
* More than half of all adults do not feel they are familiar enough with the following leaders to have any opinions about them: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner (60%), Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (55%), Defense Secretary Bob Gates (53%), and House Speaker John Boehner (52%);
* Hilary Clinton's ratings are now 50% positive and 31% negative, a slight improvement and her best numbers since August 2009;
* Joe Biden's ratings are now 33% positive and 39% negative, a significant improvement since last October and equaling his best numbers since August 2009;
* While less than half of all adults are familiar with him, Bob Gates wins mostly positive (30%) rather than negative (18%) ratings—these are his most positive ratings since early 2009;
* Tim Geithner continues to get more negative (26%) than positive (14%) ratings, but even these weak numbers are better than they have been in recent months;
* Nancy Pelosi continues to have many critics. Fully 48% of adults give her negative ratings. However her numbers are a slight improvement on her ratings late last year when she was still House Speaker;
* While most people do not have an opinion of Ben Bernanke, his critics (25%) still outnumber his admirers (20%) by a small margin; and,
* The generic questions about the two parties in Congress continue to show that they are both almost equally unpopular—the Democrats are 47% negative and 19% positive, the Republicans are 44% negative and 20% positive. However in both cases these are not as bad as they were at the end of 2010, when both parties had negatives in the low 50s.


So What?

These modest improvements are consistent with other indicators that the national mood has improved slightly over the last couple of months. Several polls have shown modest improvements in President Obama's ratings. Consumer confidence has improved a little, as have some of the other leading economic indicators. The stock market made gains for most of the last few months. However many of these numbers are still low by historic standards and the unemployment rate remains very high. Whether the modest uptick we have seen recently is the beginning of an upward trend or just a temporary blip remains to be seen.


Click here for more details



Hot Topics
Ratings of Leaders in Washington, While Still Mostly Negative Improve Slightly
IntercontinentalExchange Reports 26% Increase in 2010 Net Income Attributable to ICE to a Record $398 Million on Record Revenues of $1.15 Billion
Consumer Reports Index: Stress Is on the Rise
Tax Credit Hangover Continues as Home Values Drop, Negative Equity Rises in Fourth Quarter
Importers' Confidence in Economy and Trading Conditions Slumps
Political Upheaval in Egypt
Valentine's Day

Deadly Fires Prompt National Warning

31 Mar 2008 05:00 Africa/Lagos


Deadly Fires Prompt National Warning

Fire safety experts say most home fires preventable

WASHINGTON, March 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

Fires strike across the country, killing on the average nine people each day (one every 162 minutes) and injuring thousands. Each one is a tragedy, and just within the past two weeks we have seen several particularly horrific ones. Five children died in a house fire in Arkansas, six people were killed in two fires within days of each other in New Hampshire and four more died in Alaska. Fires in Arizona, California, Iowa, New York, Colorado, Michigan, Washington and Delaware have claimed lives, all within just the past few days. On average, more than 3,200 people are killed in fires and 16,400 are injured each year and, ironically, over 82% of these deaths occur in the very place that people feel the safest from fire -- their homes. These are tragedies for the families, the communities, and the nation.


So often these fires and their fateful outcomes are avoidable through the use of proven fire prevention strategies and education. By making the public more aware of the role that they have in helping to build a fire-safe community we can make tremendous strides, one home at a time, towards reducing the loss of life and property that occurs every single year.


We have joined together to redouble our efforts to reach out to people across the nation to raise the national awareness of fire prevention. We know, without a doubt, that by educating our citizens about fire-safe practices and what to do if a fire should break out we can reduce the losses in our communities and work towards a fire-safe future for today's generation and beyond. Each of the organizations listed is committed to a simple mission -- saving lives. Some of the actions are ones that can be done today, others are for the future. However, by starting right now, we can someday point back and say that it started today.


We have reduced fire deaths nationally during the last 20 years but the problem and sadness continues to exist. We believe that we can further reduce our national life loss in this area by focusing on these key areas:


-- Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside all sleeping areas and on every level of your home. For the best protection interconnect them so when one sounds they all sound.


-- Test them monthly to make sure they are working at all times.


-- Residential sprinklers save lives. If you are building or remodeling, consider installing residential sprinklers in your home.


-- Smoking is one of the leading causes of fatal fires. If you smoke, put them out every time.


-- Cooking fires are the leading cause of all fires. Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling or broiling food.


-- Know two ways out, no matter where you are -- your home, office, restaurant, movie theater.


-- Always react to a fire alarm immediately.

QuickStats
The Overall Fire Picture -- 2006
-- There were 3,245 civilians that lost their lives as the result of fire.
-- Nationwide, there was a civilian fire death every 162 minutes.

-- There were 16,400 civilian injuries that occurred as the result of fire.


-- Nationwide, there was a civilian fire injury every 32 minutes.
-- There were 106 firefighters killed while on duty.
-- Fire killed more Americans than all natural disasters combined.
-- 82 percent of all civilian fire deaths occurred in homes.

-- 1.6 million fires were reported. Many others went unreported, causing additional injuries and property loss.


-- Every 19 seconds, a fire department responds to a fire somewhere in the nation.


-- Direct property loss due to fires was estimated at $11.3 billion.


-- An estimated 31,000 intentionally set structure fires resulted in 305 civilian deaths.


-- Intentionally set structure fires resulted in an estimated $755 million in property damage.


Source: National Fire Protection Association Fire Loss in the U.S. During 2006 and USFA's Firefighter Fatalities in the United States in 2006


Source: People's Burn Foundation

CONTACT: Ed Comeau, +1-413-323-6002, cell: +1-413-896-5718,
ecomeau@writer-tech.com, for People's Burn Foundation


Web Site: http://www.peoplesburnfoundation.org/