News
2007-06-29
New poll shows
young Americans are leaning liberal
According to a
new poll conducted by The New York Times, CBS News,
and MTV, young Americans are more likely than the public at
According to a
new poll conducted by The New York Times, CBS News,
and MTV, young Americans are more likely than the public at
large to be in favor of hot-button cultural issues
such as the legalization of gay marriage,
government-run universal health care insurance, and an
open-door policy on immigration.
As reported by TheNew York Times, the poll also shows that
Americans between the ages of 17 and 29 appear to be
familiar with only two of the candidates for the 2008
presidential race, senators Barack Obama and Hillary
Rodham Clinton, both of whom are Democrats. A 54%
majority say they plan to vote for a Democratic
candidate in 2008, with 52–36 saying they
share similar moral values with Democrats moreso than
Republicans. An "overwhelming majority" said the
nation was ready to elect a president who was black,
female, or had admitted to smoking marijuana.
The poll also
found young Americans hold a negative opinion similar
to the public at large on President Bush, who scored a
28% approval rating with this group. This comes in
sharp contrast to earlier polls, just after the
attacks of September 11, that showed Bush's approval
rating at more than 80% with this group.
Forty-four
percent believe that same-sex couples should be able to get
married, while only 28% of the public at large hold
that view;and 62% said they would support a universal,
government-sponsored national health care insurance
program, compared to 47% of the general public.
Additionally, 30%
said that “Americans should always welcome new
immigrants,” while 24% of the general public holds
that view.
TheNew York Times states that young
Americans’ views on abortion mirror that of the
general public: 24% said it should not be permitted at
all, while 38% said it should be made available but
with restrictions.
The survey also
conveyed that 42% of young Americans thought it was
likely or very likely that the nation would reinstate a
military draft over the next few years. Two thirds
said they thought the Republican Party was more likely
to do so, and 87% of respondents said they opposed a
draft.
When asked about
the Iraq war, young Americans were slightly more
optimistic than the nation's population about the outcome:
51% said the United States was very or somewhat likely
to succeed in Iraq, compared with 45% among all
adults.
Results also
showed that young Americans believe the country is ready for
both a woman president and a black president.
The nationwide
telephone poll, which was collaboration between The New
York Times, CBS News, and MTV, was conducted from
June 15 to June 23. It involved 659 adults ages 17 to
29. (The Advocate)
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