Institutions of Democracy

Eight out of ten Americans and 94 percent of lawyers feel that the process of confirming judges to the Supreme Court has become increasingly political, according to a national survey conducted by the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center.

Nearly six in ten of Americans say that they are confident the President will make good choices in his nominations to replace Supreme Court justices, while six in ten lawyers do not have faith in Bush’s ability to choose the best candidate for lifetime appointment in the highest court.

About as many Americans consider Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio talk show star, to be a journalist as say the same of Bob Woodward, the Washington Post’s assistant managing editor who broke the Watergate story with Carl Bernstein.

The American public disapproves only narrowly of partisan journalism, splits about evenly on whether news organizations usually get their facts straight and narrowly accepts the idea that the government can limit the right of the press to report a story.

One in five general election voters in 2004 reported that they cast their ballots before Election Day, the University of Pennsylvania’s National Annenberg Election Survey shows. That was substantially more than in 2000. Voters were asked whether they cast their ballots on Election Day, or if they had voted before then. Twenty percent of voters

Over $404 million was spent on broadcast and print issue advocacy during the 108th Congress, with business interests outspending citizen-based advocacy groups by more than five to one. APPC’s report, Legislative Issue Advertising in the 108th Congress, addresses these findings and many more.