A Survey of American Political Values: What’s on the Minds of Voters?

One year before the 2004 presidential election, the political landscape has changed drastically from what it was four years ago. Since then, terrorists attacked the United States, the economy declined, and the military waged war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press has conducted a series of comprehensive surveys to ascertain what voters are thinking and what values they hold in 2003. Respondents were asked their opinions on a number of personal and political issues, including anxiety about future terrorist attacks, life after an economic boom, the balance between freedom and security, and faith in government and the political system. The results were compared with similar surveys dating back to 1987 to provide a detailed portrait of the political attitudes and values of the American electorate.

Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center, will present the findings, which will then be discussed by experts from the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute. Panelists will take questions from the audience.