Polls of the Week: Aug. 17
Paul Ryan gives Mitt Romney a boost, plus more.
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America Weighs In - Paul Ryan gives Mitt Romney a boost in the polls, voters still unclear about controversial voter ID laws, Gabby Douglas named favorite of the Fierce Five, plus more national polls. – Joyce Jones and Britt Middleton
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Swinging Romney's Way - Choosing Paul Ryan as his vice presidential running mate seems to have boosted both Mitt Romney's confidence on the trail and his numbers in key swing states. A poll released Aug. 15 by Purple Insights gives the Republican a slight edge in Florida (48-47), Ohio (48-46) and Virginia (48-45), which combined have a total of 60 electoral votes. (Photo: Darren Hauck/Getty Images)
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Ryan's Bump - Being named a vice presidential candidate carries some caché. Just ask 2008 Republican nominee Sarah Palin, who went from an unknown governor of the nation's most remote state to Tea Party force to be reckoned with. Ryan's approval rating, in an ABC News/Washington Post survey taken after the announcement bumped up to 38 percent from 23 percent a few days earlier. Among Republicans, his approval rating jumped 48 to 62 percent. (Photo: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
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She's No. 1! - While some folks felt the need to bash Gabby Douglas for her choice of hairstyle, an overwhelming majority of Americans (48 percent) not only have her back, but claim the two-time gold medalist is their favorite member of the U.S. women's Olympic gymnastics team, according to a recent Access Hollywood poll. (Photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
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All-Time Low - Congressional lawmakers frequently accuse President Obama of having a poor job-creation record, but they may want to worry about their own positions. Just 10 percent of Americans approve of Congress, according to a Gallup survey released Aug. 14. It's the lowest reading in Gallup's 38-year history of asking the question and ties with February's all-time low. (Photo: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Losing Faith - Sixty-percent of Americans identify themselves as religious compared to 73 percent in 2005, according to a recent poll conducted by WIN-Gallup International. Additionally, the number of people who identified with atheism, the disbelief in religious deities, saw an increase to 5 percent from 1 percent in 2005. (Photo: Lawren / Getty Images)
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Economic Fears - Conventional wisdom is that the outcome of this year's presidential election will center on the state of the economy. That 60 percent of Americans disapprove of Obama's handling of the economy, according to a Gallup poll published Aug. 16, isn't a good sign for the incumbent. His 36 percent approval rating on this issue is lower than George W. Bush's in August 2004 (46 percent) and Bill Clinton's in August 1996 (54 percent), but better than George H. W. Bus in 1992 (18 percent). (Photo: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
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ID, Please - Despite the best efforts of civil rights organizations and other activists to combat new voter ID laws and other election-related rules, an astounding 51 percent of respondents in a new Washington Post poll say they've heard "not much" or "nothing at all" about the laws. Still, 74 percent said they "strongly agreed" or "somewhat agreed" that presenting a government-issued ID should be required to cast a ballot. (Photo: Jamie Rose/Getty Images)
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A Heavy Burden - Health professionals continue to stress the importance of healthy eating habits and exercise to ward of chronic illness, but nationally, Americans are still struggling with their weight. On average, 36.3 percent of adults were overweight and 26.2 percent were obese in the first half of 2012, with residents in West Virginia, Mississippi and Kentucky faring the worst, according to a Aug. 16 Gallup poll. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)