Voters' Hope for Future Generations and Trust in Government Surpassed Economic and War Concerns in the 2008 election. FirstView pollsters Dr. Dee Allsop and Mike Dabadie are available for media interviews to provide analysis and context for voter motivations. Contact John Fitzpatrick at 202.289.2001 or JFitzpatrick@stratacomm.net.

1. FirstView Survey Voter Sentiment In A Change-Driven, Historic Election

2. FirstView Sponsors

4. Our Panel Andy Card Former White House Chief of Staff Mickey Kantor Former Secretary of Commerce Josh Kurtz Roll Call Politics Editor Analysts Dee Allsop Former White House Pollster Strat@comm Senior Researcher Mike Dabadie Former White House Pollster, Managing Director Promise NA Paul Johnson President, Fleishman-Hillard Public Affairs Researchers Moderator

6. Mood, Motivation, and Election Outcomes

7. A Historically Pessimistic Electorate Q. Generally speaking, would you say that things in the COUNTRY are going in the right direction, or have they pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track?

8. Even Among McCain Voters, 70% Were Pessimistic Q. Generally speaking, would you say that things in the COUNTRY are going in the right direction, or have they pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track?

9. Dismal Bush Job Approval Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the way George Bush is handling his job as president? [Network Post Election Survey]

10. Congress Remains Unfavorable Q. Generally speaking would you say you have a [ROTATE ORDER] FAVORABLE / UNFAVORABLE opinion of Congress? [WAIT FOR RESPONSE, THEN ASK:] Would that be a “very” [FAVORABLE/UNFAVORABLE] opinion or just a “somewhat” [FAVORABLE/UNFAVORABLE] opinion of Congress?

11. Crisis of Confidence in Government, Even Among Those Who Are Optimistic Q. Now let’s think about whether you trust elected officials in Washington to do what’s right. If 0 represents absolutely no trust in Washington to do what’s right, and 10 represents total trust in Washington government officials, what number between 0 and 10 best describes how much trust you have in Washington government officials? Trust Rating All Voters Right Direction Wrong Track 10 – Complete Trust 1% 1% 0.5% 8-9 6% 7% 6% 6-7 20% 27% 19% 1-5 No Trust 72% 63% 74%

12. Crisis of Confidence Spans Party Lines Trust Rating Total GOP Dem Independent 10 – Complete Trust 1% 1% 1% 0.5% 8-9 6% 7% 8% 1% 6-7 20% 20% 24% 16% 1-5 No Trust 73% 72% 67% 79%

13. Economy Dominates; Restoring Trust Secondary Q. Which ONE of the following issues was most important to you in determining your vote for President?

14. Obama Competitive Even on Traditional GOP Issues Read as: Of those who voted on the Economy as their number one issue, 60% voted for Obama Obama McCain Put Economy Back on Track 60 38 Trust in Gov 53 46 Secure from Terrorism 4 95 Health Care 79 17 Iraq War 63 36 Jobs 76 22 Taxes 41 51

15. 2008 Presidential Ballot Q. In the election for president of the United States, for whom did you vote?

16. No Major Coalitional Realignments Between Kerry’s 2004 Vote and Obama 2008 Vote Kerry 2004 Advantage Obama 2008 Advantage Change to Obama Hispanic 9 36 27 18-29 9 34 25 Working Women 3 21 24 Asian 12 30 18 Black 77 92 15 Independents 1 13 14 West 1 13 14 30-44 -7 6 13 Men -11 1 12 Moderates 9 21 12 Midwest -3 8 11 Conservatives -69 -59 10 Kerry 2004 Advantage Obama 2008 Advantage Change to Obama Women 3 12 9 South -16 -7 9 White Men -25 -16 9 Liberals 72 80 8 New England 13 20 7 Republicans -87 -81 6 White -17 -12 5 White Women -11 -7 4 45-59 -3 1 4 Democrats 78 80 2 60+ -8 -8 0 Union HHS 19 19 0

17. Voter Ideology

18. Obama Voters Expressed More “For” Vote than McCain Voters

19. Voters Hopeful, But Emotionally Charged Q. I am going to read you a list of words that may or may not describe how you personally feel about living in America today…please focus your answers based on today. After I read each one, please tell me whether, YES, that word describes how you feel about living in America, or NO, it does not describe how you feel about living in America today.

20. Underlying Values Q. As you have thought about this election, the candidates, and the issues, there have probably been several different emotions and motivations that have influenced your vote. Which of the following would you say has been your strongest guiding motivation for your vote choices?

21. Mood, Motivation, and Election Outcomes Analyst Perspectives

22. What is Next for Washington and Capitol Hill

23. Issue Agenda and Performance Indicators Q. On a scale of 1-10, how important are the following issues for Congress to Address? Q. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the performance of Congress on each of the following issues?

24. Voter Attitudes Toward Regulation Divide Q. On a scale of 1 to 7 where 1 means “government absolutely needs to regulate industries” and 7 means “no government regulation and free markets are the best”, where would you put yourself? You may use any number between 1 and 7.

25. Satisfaction With Addressing the Issues Q. Thinking about the Presidential elections, how satisfied were you with how the presidential candidates addressed the policies most important to you during the campaign? Sub-Group Satisfied Dissatisfied Dems 81% 18% GOP 59% 40% Ind. 55% 44%

26. Small Preference for Divided Government Q. Smith (Divided Government) thinks it is better when the White House is controlled by one party and the Congress is controlled by another party. Jones (One-Party) thinks it is better when one party controls both the White House and the Congress.

27. Perception for Spending to Go Up More So Than Taxes +12 -15 Q. Which of the following best describes your expectations about (Taxes / Spending)?

28. Government Spending Expectations Q. Which of the following best describes your expectations about government spending after the election…

29. Tax Expectations Vary By Vote Q. Which of the following best describes your expectations about tax policy under a Democratic White House, Senate, and Congress…

30. Boost Economy Even If Deficit Increases Q. Do you agree or disagree with the following: Our government should continue to spend money to boost the economy even if will increase the size of the national deficit. Do you…

31. Health Care Priority Q. When it comes to health care, do you believe the government’s primary focus should be on holding down costs or expanding coverage for more people and conditions ?

32. Economic v. Environment Priorities Q. Which one of the following statements best represents your view:

33. What is Next for Washington and Capitol Hill Analyst Perspectives

34. What Lies Ahead For the Country

35. Business and Economic Expectations Vary By Vote Q. Do you think business and economic conditions in the U.S. will be average, better than average or worse than average?

36. Job Expectations Stable, But Concerned Q. Do you think that jobs will be plentiful, not so plentiful, or hard to get?

37. A Third of Voters Watched SNL Political Skits Q. Over the last few weeks the television program Saturday Night Live has featured several comedy skits about the Republican and Democratic candidates for President and Vice President. Did you happen to see any political comedy skits on Saturday Night Live in the last few weeks? Q. All things considered, which of the following best describes the impact of the political comedy skits you saw on Saturday Night Live .

38. SNL Viewers Voted Obama

39. What Lies Ahead For the Country Analyst Perspectives

40. Q & A Additional results and recorded webinar available at www.firstviewsurvey.com