Suchergebnisse

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has been characterized simultaneously as a central political figure in the executive branch as well as one of the most controversial and contentious cabinet members of the Bush administration. This article assesses Americans' impressions of Secretary Rumsfeld's job performance and reveals that evaluations of Secretary Rumsfeld's performance have steadily declined since 2001. Over the same period, President Bush's approval ratings have dwindled, although the evidence I present indicates no relationship exists between the two. The broader implications of this research suggest that public evaluations of a president's key subordinates may not necessarily influence levels of presidential approval.

The terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, fueled widespread concern & speculation about mounting Islamophobic sentiment among Americans in response to the events. To monitor developments in opinions about Muslims & Arabs (both living in the United States & abroad) & attitudes toward the Islamic faith, survey organizations began to assess more regularly Americans' attitudes on these topics. I analyze developments in public sentiment about Arab & Muslim Americans & Islam in the age of the war on terror using available public opinion data. The data analyses in this study suggest that Americans possess lingering resentment & reservations about Arab & Muslim Americans. The evidence also reveals low levels of awareness about basic elements of Islam but growing anxiety about Islam's (especially Islamic fundamentalism's) compatibility with Western values of tolerance, acceptance, & civility. Some of the sharpest movement in opinion dynamics we observe is in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, but opinion levels stabilize shortly thereafter. Monitoring these developments as the war on terror continues is crucial. Appendixes, References. Adapted from the source document.

Discusses rising obesity in America. Appendixes, References.

The 2004 presidential election was unique in that the main contenders—Howard Dean, John Kerry, and George W. Bush—decided to reject public financing during the primary elections. In fact, fundraising did not appear to be problematic for either major party nominee during the entire election cycle, and both major parties collected and spent unprecedented sums of money to execute campaign activities. This study will assess data available from the Federal Election Commission to examine the amounts and sources of funding for the 2004 presidential election. Using available survey data from the 2004 National Election Study, we also investigate the characteristics of contributors and analyze their motivations for giving.

In this article in the Notes on Recent Elections section, the 2004 parliamentary elections held in Greece are argued to mark the comeback of the New Democracy(ND) party as the governing party, although not as an ideological shift. A brief discussion of the election background traces the Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) conflicts confrontation with the church, & the Achilles heal of the parties economic scandals. Analysis of the electoral campaigns indicates that PASOKs focus on the powerful leader image of Papandreou was vulnerable to the campaign for policy change by ND. The gains by ND are concluded to have been won by public dissatisfaction & weariness with PASOK, but do not indicate a change in ideology by the electorate. J. Harwell