American Pulse(TM): Two in Five Say Exit Afghanistan; Half Trust Elected Officials in Washington Less Than One Year Ago

COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwire - November 5, 2009) - Not much has changed in the strategy for Afghanistan a year after Obama was elected President. As he wrestles with a decision on his approach, Americans voice their vote -- get out. According to the latest American Pulse of over 5,000 people, 40.8% advise to pull troops out of Afghanistan. On the other hand, 32% say send more in, and 27.2% don't know.

Speaking of elected officials in Washington, 48% of Americans tend to trust them less than they did a year ago. It appears that this distrust is echoed in people's opinion of a government-run public healthcare option. 39.6% say it would ruin the healthcare system (v. 28.7% who say it would improve it). 35.1% say it would raise costs (v. 26.4% who say the opposite). When asked what they would be willing to do to support a public healthcare option, 69.7% say -- nothing.

What would you be willing to do to support a public healthcare option?

                                                        Adults 18+
Pay higher taxes                                           14.6%
Pay higher insurance premiums                               5.1%
Give up choices in providers                               11.3%
Take a reduction in level of service                        4.4%
None of the above                                          69.7%

Americans also appear leery of Cap-and-Trade legislation:

--  37.6% say it would hurt the economy (v. 17% who say it would help)
--  35% say it would cost jobs (v. 18.4% who say it would create jobs)
--  28.6% say it would increase global pollution by moving production to
    unregulated countries (v. 14.5% who say it would lower the earth's
    temperature).
    

In addition, 47.7% say the Government has not done all it could to make the H1N1 vaccine available to Americans.

Complimentary report (segments include age, income, gender and political party): http://americanpulse.bigresearch.com.

About American Pulse™

The 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, pop culture and the economy. Over 5,000 respondents participate, providing greater insights into how Americans really feel about issues they currently face. The use of the Artafact online blog as a listening post to develop the questions posed in the monthly American Pulse survey is a very effective use of both online qualitative and quantitative research. http://www.bigresearch.com

About Survey Sampling International (SSI)

Survey Sampling International is the premier global provider of sampling solutions for survey research. SSI offers access to more than 6 million consumer and business-to-business research respondents in 54 countries via Internet, telephone, and mobile. Additional client services include custom profiling, survey programming and hosting, data processing, sampling consulting, and survey optimization. SSI serves more than 1,800 marketing research clients, including nearly three-quarters of the top researchers worldwide. Founded in 1977, SSI has an international staff of 400 people representing 50 countries and 36 languages. The company is based in Shelton, CT with 14 additional offices worldwide. http://www.surveysampling.com

Contact Information: Contacts: BIGresearch Chrissy Wissinger 614.846.0146 SSI Diane Urso 203.567.7236