America's thoughts on 06

[DOGS THAT BARK]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-12-30-19-22-18

--And so it goes for most Americans. An AP-AOL News Poll finds that while most Americans said 2006 was a bad year for the country, three-fourths thought it had been a good one for them and their families.

While full article above gives some hypothetical reasons--I find much simpler theory--when media drums into some people day after day how bad things are they tend to believe it despite everything around them dictating just the opposite.

--of course I have to wonder about accuracy of AP/AOL polls were they generally poll only 1000 or so people and one has to wonder what santariums they are polling--case in point--

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061228/ap_on_re_us/villains_and_heroes_poll_method_1

If you were asked to name a famous person to be the biggest villain of the year, whom would you choose?

_George W. Bush, 25 percent

_Osama bin Laden, 8 percent

_Saddam Hussein, 6 percent

_President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, 5 percent

_Kim Jong Il, North Korean leader, 2 percent

_Donald Rumsfeld, 2 percent

_John Kerry, 1 percent

_Rosie O'Donnell, 1 percent

_Dick Cheney, 1 percent

_Hillary Clinton, 1 percent

_Brad Pitt, 1 percent

_Tom Cruise, 1 percent

_Satan/The Devil, 1 percent

_Donald Trump, 1 percent

_O.J. Simpson, 1 percent

_Hugo Chavez, 1 percent

_George Clooney, 1 percent

_Nancy Pelosi, 1 percent

_Bill Clinton, 1 percent

_Colin Farrell, 1 percent

_Oprah Winfrey, 1 percent


If you were asked to name a famous person to be the biggest hero of the year, whom would you choose?

_George W. Bush, 13 percent

_Soldiers/troops in Iraq, 6 percent

_Oprah Winfrey, 3 percent

_Barack Obama, 3 percent

_Jesus Christ, 3 percent

_Bono, 2 percent

_Angelina Jolie, 1 percent

_Al Gore, 1 percent

_Arnold Schwarzenegger, 1 percent

_Colin Powell, 1 percent

_Mel Gibson, 1 percent

_George Clooney, 1 percent

_Bill Gates, 1 percent

_Donald Rumsfeld, 1 percent

_Bill Clinton, 1 percent

_Jimmy Carter, 1 percent

_Martin Luther King, 1 percent

_Condoleeza Rice, 1 percent

_Billy Graham, 1 percent

_Warren Buffett, 1 percent

If I had to draw from list would be co-favs for

worst--Ahmadinejad/Kim Jong Il

best--troops hands down--with Gates and Buffets charity a very distant 2nd.

 

[WhatsHisNuts]

Article

Seventy-two percent of Americans feel good about what 2007 will bring for the country, and an even larger 89 percent are optimistic about the new year for themselves and their families, according to the poll.

That fits with a long-term trend suggesting that Americans are generally an optimistic lot. Polling over recent decades is replete with optimism, and with a tendency for people to feel more positively about their own situations than that of the country overall.

After reading this section and the part about the poll sample size (1,000), what is your point? Is it that people still share the same personal outlook they have for decades? Where are you going with this?

-Gary

 

[buddy]

Satan/The Devil, 1 percent

Only 1 percent?

No wonder he's called the master of deception.

 

[Chadman]

Nice try, Wayne. Obviously, in looking at the voting, you already cast your vote for the biggest villain...

_Bill Clinton, 1 percent

:tongue

 

[AR182]

i question anybody's intelligence who doesn't vote for any of these as biggest villain in the world....


Osama bin Laden, 8 percent

Saddam Hussein, 6 percent

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, 5 percent

Kim Jong Il, North Korean leader, 2 percent

and to vote anybody else is just plain stupid


and as far as biggest hero....

it has to be the soldiers that are fighting these terrorist thugs...

 

[WhatsHisNuts]

I think the same poll is referenced below in this article I just saw on Yahoo. Seems like they covered a lot of ground in this telephone survey.

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press Writer
Sun Dec 31, 12:29 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Another terrorist attack, a warmer planet, death and destruction from a natural disaster. These are among Americans' grim predictions for the United States in 2007.

Only a minority of people think the U.S. will go to war with Iran or North Korea over those countries' nuclear ambitions. An overwhelming majority of those surveyed think Congress will raise the federal minimum wage. One-third see hope for a cure to cancer.

These are among the findings of an Associated Press-AOL News poll that asked people in the U.S. to contemplate what 2007 holds for the country.

Six in 10 people think the U.S. will be the victim of a terrorist attack. An identical percentage thinks it likely that a biological or nuclear weapon will be unleashed somewhere else in the world.

Seventy percent of people in the U.S. predict a major natural disaster in the country and an equal percentage expects worsening global warming. Also, 29 percent think it likely that the U.S. will withdraw its troops from Iraq.

Among other predictions for the U.S. in 2007:

_35 percent predict the military draft will be reinstated.

_35 percent predict a cure for cancer will be found.

_25 percent anticipate the second coming of Jesus Christ.

_19 percent think scientists are likely to find evidence of extraterrestrial life.

With Democrats poised to take control of Congress this week, eight in 10 people predict lawmakers will raise the $5.15-an-hour federal minimum wage. It would be the first increase since 1997.

Democratic leaders have proposed raising it in stages to $7.25 an hour. President Bush has said he supports the idea, with some protections for small businesses.

Fewer than half the public think it likely the U.S. will go to war with Iran or North Korea. Should it come down to that, 40 percent think the battle will be with Iran while 26 percent said North Korea.

Higher gas prices, legalized gay marriage and the possible arrival of bird flu also are seen as being in the cards.

More than 90 percent of people think higher gas prices are likely. A gallon of self-serve regular gasoline averaged $2.29 last week, compared with $3 over the summer.

Also, 57 percent said it is likely that another state will legalize gay marriage. Same-sex marriage is legal in Massachusetts; four other states offer civil unions or domestic partnerships.

People were split on whether 2007 will bring the U.S. its first bird flu case. More than 150 people worldwide have died from the disease. Health officials fear a pandemic if the virus mutates into a form easily passed from person to person.

Women generally were more likely than men to expect some of the more dire predictions to come true, such as a worldwide terrorist attack and war with Iran or North Korea. Democrats and people under 35 were more likely than Republicans and older people to say global warming will worsen in 2007.

The telephone poll of 1,000 adults was conducted Dec. 12-14 by Ipsos, an international polling firm. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.