Ten years after the Iraq war, YouGov's Director of Political and Social research, Joe Twyman, discusses the sectarianism that divides the country During the early months of my time in Iraq I witnessed a very interesting event at Baghdad International Airport (colloquially known as 'BIAP') that, for me, came to ...
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Do Britons understand the US better than Americans? It is often said that a political leader must be a teacher and not just someone who takes tough decisions. As he embarks on his second term as President, perhaps one of Barack Obama’s challenges is to teach his fellow Americans to ...
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No self-respecting Washington policy wonk involved in the fiscal cliff negotiations can turn a blind eye to the public’s response to possible tax and spending changes. The public doesn’t always understand the terms being bandied about, though. Previously, I noted confusion about the payroll tax. Now I’d like to look ...
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Over the last few years, YouGov asked Americans to evaluate the relationship between the United States and a set of 56 other countries. Across 43,273 interviews, respondents were asked their view of the relationship between the United States and a sample of around 6-8 countries. Over these interviews, 324,222 different ...
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One of the emerging stories from the 2012 campaign has been Obama’s success (and Romney’s failure) at data mining and microtargeting. While many pundits have applauded the efficiency and effectiveness of the efforts of the Obama campaign, some political observers have bristled at the privacy implications. Terms such as “creepy” and ...
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Throughout the year, I have been tracking beliefs about President Obama’s citizenship (see here, here, and here). YouGov has asked whether “Barack Obama was born in the United States of America.” The pattern of results to this question has been extremely stable over the last year. About 55-60 percent of ...
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On November 29, the Congressional Committee on Oversight and Government Reform conducted hearings on “A Look into the Federal Response to the Rising Rates of Autism.” A persistent theme of the hearing was the alleged link between vaccinations and autism. Congressman Dan Burton led the charge, arguing, “I’m convinced that ...
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The secret ballot is now thought to be a central democratic institution in the United States and abroad. We did not always vote in secret, but since the introduction of the Australian Ballot in the late 1800s, Americans have voted in private. One of the primary reasons for the adoption ...
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In 21st century America, most voters have ceased to regard adultery or homosexuality as barriers to holding senior posts in politics, the military, business or government-funded services. General Petraeus’s tangled life may have cost him is job as director of the CIA, but most Americans believe that it is no ...
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In case you hadn't heard, there was a big storm right before the election. Despite no real evidence, pundits, and even some scholars, have tried to demonstrate an effect of Hurricane Sandy on the election outcome. Is it possible that it had an effect? The likelihood that the hurricane had ...
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