Most Americans View Mandela Favorably
Most Americans hold 92-year-old Nelson Mandela in high regard as the iconic South African leader recovers from a respiratory infection that put him in the hospital last week.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 68% of American Adults share a favorable opinion of Mandela, with 25% who view him Very Favorably. Twenty percent (20%) regard Mandela unfavorably, but that includes just six percent (6%) with a Very Unfavorable opinion. Twelve percent (12%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
For the sake of comparison, 82% of Americans hold a favorable opinion of U.S. civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., including 51% with a Very Favorable view.
Mandela was the first South African president to be elected in a democratic election following a 27-year prison sentence for charges stemming from anti-apartheid activism. The increasingly frail Mandela, prior to his latest health problems, had been diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer. He was last seen widely during a World Cub game in South Africa last summer.
Only 36% of Americans have been following recent news on Mandela at least somewhat closely, including 10% who have been following Very Closely.
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on January 28-29, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Related Articles
Rasmussen Reports is a media company specializing in the collection, publication and distribution of public opinion information.
We conduct public opinion polls on a variety of topics to inform our audience on events in the news and other topics of interest. To ensure editorial control and independence, we pay for the polls ourselves and generate revenue through the sale of subscriptions, sponsorships, and advertising. Nightly polling on politics, business and lifestyle topics provides the content to update the Rasmussen Reports web site many times each day. If it's in the news, it's in our polls. Additionally, the data drives a daily update newsletter and various media outlets across the country.
Some information, including the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll and commentaries are available for free to the general public. Subscriptions are available for $4.95 a month or 34.95 a year that provide subscribers with exclusive access to more than 20 stories per week on upcoming elections, consumer confidence, and issues that affect us all. For those who are really into the numbers, Platinum Members can review demographic crosstabs and a full history of our data.
To learn more about our methodology, click here.
