2008-08-26-皮尤-Obama_s_Background_Better_Known_Than_His_Issue_Positions_16页_74kb

Report Analysis Summary: August 27, 2008 News Release

Public Awareness of Candidates

• Higher awareness of Barack Obama's personal background (62% knew a lot or fair amount) compared to his policy positions (56% for economic, 54% for foreign policy).
• For John McCain, awareness of personal background was higher (64%) than policy positions (54% for foreign policy and 54% for economic).
• Democrats were more familiar with Obama's background and positions, while Republicans showed less willingness, and independents were more aware of McCain's details.

Vice Presidential Selection (Barack Obama's Choice of Joe Biden)

• The announcement was a major Campaign Event, ranking among the top five events of 2008 in awareness.
• About 58% said they heard a lot about it, primarily through television (51%) or internet (21%); only 2% learned about it via text message.

Media Coverage and Awareness

• Barack Obama dominated media coverage, with 78% of campaign stories featuring him, compared to 56% for John McCain.
• Obama had 77% awareness for being heard most about in the news.
• The presidential campaign had modest public interest (31%), lower than the Beijing Olympics (35% closely followed).

Comparison with Other Events

• Interest in Obama's VP choice was similar to events like the Rev. Wright controversy and Clinton suspending her campaign.
• Other events like Tropical Storm Fay (27% interest), Iraq Situation (26% interest), and the Olympics (35% closely followed) drew significant attention but varied in awareness.

Other Key Findings

• Favorable opinion of Obama was the most common, while opinions of McCain or other candidates were more mixed.
• Public awareness of policy positions was generally moderate, with no significant advantage for either candidate.

This summary is based on the August 2008 installment of the Pew Research Center's News Interest Index survey.