Issue Watch
Track global public opinion on current issues.
- 2008: Race for the White House
- 2008: The U.S. Electoral College
- Abortion
- Africa
- Angela Merkel
- Death Penalty
- Economy and Globalization
- Environment
- European Union
- George W. Bush
- Global Warming
- Gordon Brown
- Hamas
- Immigration
- Iran
- Iraq War
- Kevin Rudd
- Latin America
- New Zealand Election 2008
- Nicolas Sarkozy
- North Korea
- Oil and Gas
- Same-Sex Marriage
- Silvio Berlusconi
- Stem Cell Research
- Stephen Harper
- Terrorism
- U.S. Election 2008 - The Democrats
- U.S. Election 2008 - The Republicans
- U.S. Election 2008: The Primaries
- Vladimir Putin
- Yasuo Fukuda
Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
Some Americans Disappointed with Candidates
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - More than a third of adults in the United States appear disheartened by the current crop of presidential contenders, according to a poll by Gallup released by USA Today. 58 per cent of respondents feel the candidates have come up with good ideas for solving the country’s problems, while 36 per cent disagree.
The list of presidential hopefuls in the Republican Party includes former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, Arizona senator John McCain, Texas congressman Ron Paul, and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. The Democratic Party’s contenders are former North Carolina senator John Edwards, Illinois senator Barack Obama, and New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Earlier this month, former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney—who is seeking the Green Party’s presidential nomination this year—discussed the race, saying, "While (mainstream politicians) and their media change the subject, preferring to give us every detail about what Britney Spears wore when she was arrested, for example, and while no one deals seriously with growing poverty and racism in this country, things only get worse."
In American elections, candidates require 270 votes in the Electoral College to win the White House. In November 2004, Republican George W. Bush earned a second term after securing 286 electoral votes from 31 states. Democratic nominee John Kerry received 252 electoral votes from 19 states and the District of Columbia.
Bush is ineligible for a third term in office. The presidential election is scheduled for Nov. 4.
Polling Data
Do you feel that any of the presidential candidates have come up with good ideas for solving the country’s problems, or not?
|
Yes |
58% |
|
No |
36% |
|
No opinion |
6% |
Source: Gallup / USA Today
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 2,010 American adults, conducted from Jan. 10 to Jan. 13, 2008. Margin of error is 2 per cent.