American Pulse Survey (BIGResearch)

Political Debates Preferred Over Commercials, Writers’ Strike Equals Less TV Watching & 30 Ideal Age for Most

COLUMBUS, OH – 1/30/2008 – Politicians should think twice before sinking a lot of campaign dollars into their TV ads, according to the latest American Pulse™ Survey of 4,098 respondents, as 87% of Americans say TV commercials don’t affect their vote. Constituents also say they are looking for balance in a candidate with 51.6% more likely to vote for someone with both Washington experience and new ideas. Additionally, almost half (49.3%) of Americans prefer politicians to communicate their positions through TV debates (vs. 4.1% who say TV commercials).

When asked in which professional sport they think steroids are used most regularly, Baseball tops the list for Americans with 32.9% saying so. Wrestling (29.2%) and Football (22.4%) round out the top three. 60.1% say proven use of steroids at any point during a professional athlete’s career should eliminate them from being inducted in a Hall of Fame or receiving other sporting accolades…22.1% don’t care.

Other key findings include:

* Effects of Hollywood Writers’ Strike: 30.2% are watching TV less, 27.9% are reading books/magazines more and 27.5% are surfing the Internet more.
* 30 ranks highest for the age Americans would choose to be, followed by their current age, 35, 21 and 25.
* 83.2% know that TV Stations are switching to 100% digital broadcasting in February 2008…37.8% are annoyed because they think it’s just another way for big companies to make money.
* Of those who work, most are satisfied with their pay…only 38.3% say they are over-worked and under-paid.
* While the vast majority of those who have been married (72.7%) did not have second thoughts on their wedding day, more than 1 in 10 (14.9%) say they should have listened to themselves and called off the wedding.
* Top five most noble professions: medical professional, educator, clergy, parent and firefighter.

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American Pulse™ Survey is collected online by BIGresearch every month exclusively utilizing Survey Sampling International’s (SSI) U.S. panel covering topics such as politics, religion, pop culture and the economy.