http://newspolls.org/rss/ Stories from newspolls.org en-us http://newspolls.org/story.php?story_id=70 Americans who watched the nation's longest and most expensive presidential primary fight unfold on television this year thought Democratic winner Barack Obama had the most inspirational ads of any candidate. They thought Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton used the most negative ads. And, in a close call, they thought Republican winner John McCain had the most honest ads. http://newspolls.org/story.php?story_id=69 Illinois Sen. Barack Obama cinched the Democratic presidential nomination this week with the unprecedented help of an estimated 3 million Republican voters who cast ballots in their rival party's primaries. About 12 percent of Obama's aggregate vote in presidential primaries came from people who normally align themselves with the GOP. http://newspolls.org/story.php?story_id=66 Nearly two-thirds of Americans think it is possible that some federal officials had specific warnings of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, but chose to ignore those warnings, according to a Scripps Howard News Service/Ohio University poll. http://newspolls.org/story.php?story_id=67 As the national mortgage crisis worsens, nearly one-fifth of Americans with mortgages report feeling financially pinched by their monthly payments. Homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages are almost twice as likely to say they're having trouble making payments than are people with traditional fixed-rate mortgages. http://newspolls.org/story.php?story_id=68 Most Americans trust Democrats rather than Republicans to handle the war in Iraq, to balance the federal budget and to craft federal policies on thorny issues like abortion and illegal immigration. Republicans have hit such hard times with most of the American public that they are losing against Democrats on many of the GOP's historical core issues, http://newspolls.org/story.php?story_id=65 Don't remember much of the French you took in high school? You're not alone. Nearly two-thirds of Americans wish they'd taken more foreign language instruction while they were in high school. Adults are generally satisfied with the amount of mathematics and science they received, but a survey found a fairly widespread longing for more foreign language skills. http://newspolls.org/story.php?story_id=63 Nearly two-thirds of American adults want Congress to re-write or outright abolish the landmark No Child Left Behind Act that mandates nationwide testing of elementary students to determine if public schools are performing adequately. Opposition is especially high among people most familiar with the law, according to a survey of 1,010 adults conducted by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University. http://newspolls.org/story.php?story_id=64 Plenty of skeletons are rattling in the political closets of the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates this year. A survey of 1,010 adults conducted by the Scripps Survey Research Center at Ohio University finds many Americans voice concerns about candidates who've used cocaine, been married three times, have uncommon religious beliefs, have little government experience or are just plain too old. http://newspolls.org/story.php?story_id=61 Americans increasingly suspect the federal government has become cloaked in secrecy, a concern they don't have with their local and state governments. People also overwhelmingly believe that their federal leaders have become sneaky, listening to telephone conversations or opening private mail without getting court permission, according to a survey of 1,008 adults conducted by the Scripps Survey Research Center at Ohio University at the request of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. http://newspolls.org/story.php?story_id=62 Americans agree that the baby boom _ the folks who flamboyantly celebrated sex, drugs and rock-n-roll _ is the nation's fun generation. A national survey also found that boomers are not regarded as the most generous, self-sacrificing or hardworking generation. But baby boomers are credited for enjoying life and for producing the best music of any recent generation.