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The poll measured opinions on 48 different questions about basic political values, and found Democrats and Republicans farther apart than at any point since 1987. The sharpest differences between partisans fall mostly on the issues at the core of this year's campaign regarding government's role and effectiveness: whether regulation helps or hurts business, how involved government should be in people's lives and whether government programs are effective or wasteful. Sharp differences also centered on the question of how much of a "social safety net" government should provide
-- whether government should make sure every citizen's basic needs are met or take care of those in need even if it means more debt. Shifting opinions on these issues are not limited to core partisans: Independents who lean toward either Republicans or Democrats are also more sharply polarized from each other than they were 25 years ago, particularly on how much government should do and how effective it is. Obama holds a slim edge over Romney in the poll, 49 percent to 45 percent, among registered voters, and the results suggest the sharpest divides between Romney and Obama supporters are over the role and effectiveness of government. About one-fourth of voters are "swing voters," or those who are not firmly committed to a candidate. Ideologically, this group is closer to Romney on the social safety net, but closer to Obama on social issues and questions about labor unions. They fall about evenly between the two on the role of government. The poll also found a liberal shift on social issues in recent decades, with fewer saying they hold old-fashioned values about family and marriage, or the role of women. The Pew Research Center 2012 Values Survey was conducted by telephone April 4-15 among a random national sample of 3,008 adults. Interviews were conducted by live interviews and respondents were reached on landline and cellular telephones. The margin of sampling error for results based on all interviews is plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.
[Associated
Press;
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