While its previous polls show an electoral shift in party identification towards the Democrats, the Pew Research Center says that there has not been the same shift in the ideology of voters. The numbers of voters who put themselves in the categories of liberal, moderate and conservative has changed little since the George Bush won his first term.

At the outset of the Bush administration, 18 percent of voters said they were liberal, 38 percent called themselves moderate and 36 percent described themselves as conservative. The numbers now are 21 percent, 36 percent and 38 percent respectively. There is more ideological unit among Republicans with 68 percent saying they are conservative, while among Democrats 34 percent say they are liberal and 37 percent say they are moderate.

Pew notes that ideology does not always predict where a voter will come out on an issue. Here's a summary chart from Pew on how the ideological groups come out on a range of subjects:

Mirroring the results of a Gallup poll earlier this week, a survey by the Pew Research Center conducted Nov. 14-17 finds Americans about evenly divided on whether they think the $700 billion government bailout plan for financial institutions was the right or wrong thing to do.

Forty-three percent said it was the wrong thing compared to 40 percent who supported it. But that's a turnaround from mid-October when those polled said it was the right thing by 47 percent to 37 percent and perhaps reflects the fact that the stock market continued to nosedive in that period and most economic indicators remained relentlessly negative. Gallup's survey had respondents saying the rescue was a good thing by a bare 47 percent to 45 percent, but that too reflected a loss of support from an early October poll when it was 50 percent to 41 percent.

In the Pew survey, Republicans by far took the dimmest view of the bailout. In October, they were roughly divided at 44 percent to 42 percent in favor, but in the new poll they called it the wrong thing to do by 53 percent to 33 percent. Democrats remained about the same in support of the plan at 52 percent to 32 percent, and independents became somewhat more negative going from a small plurality in mid-October that supported it, to a 46 percent to 37 percent margin of those who now think it was the wrong course.

Half of voters described themselves as angry about what they are hearing about the economy, 57 percent are scared, 63 percent are confused, 65 percent are depressed and, despite all that, 69 percent are optimistic.

Despite the current grim economic straits in which Americans currently find themselves, poll after poll since the elections have captured a mood of optimism about things getting better in the first term of a Barack Obama administration.

The latest is a Pew Research Center survey conducted Nov. 6-9 that showed voters, including many Republicans, feeling a high sense of satisfaction about the election and the way it was conducted, believing Obama's first term will be successful and holding high expectations for him. Three-quarters of voters gave Obama a grade of "A" or "B" for the way he handled himself in the campaign.

Voters overall believe by 67 percent to 22 percent that Obama will have a successful first term. That view is held nearly universally by Democrats (92 percent) and by 39 percent of those who voted for John McCain. Forty-five percent of McCain supporters don't believe Obama will be successful, but still, that 39 percent who do hold a positive view is significantly higher than the 26 percent of John Kerry supporters in 2004 who thought George Bush would be successful.

Barack Obama's victory was due in large part to "a substantial electoral shift toward the Democratic Party and by winning a number of key groups in the middle of the electorate," according to a Pew Research Center of the exit polls.

Pew noted that as recently as 2004, voters were evenly divided among Republicans and Democrats but that, now, 39 percent identify themselves as Democrats compared to 32 percent for the Republicans. That margin was larger than in either of the last two Democratic presidential victories when Bill Clinton ran in 1992 and 1996.

The biggest of the gains for the Democratic ticket among demographic groups since 2004 were among Hispanics (13 points), voters under 29 (12 points), urban voters (9 points), voters making over $100,000 a year (8 points) and blacks (7 points).

Here's what some of the last national polls of the campaign are saying:

Barack Obama is leading John McCain 50 percent to 43 percent among likely voters with 2 percent preferring someone else and 5 percent undecided in a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll conducted Nov. 1-2. The margin of error is 3 points. Among all registered voters, Obam's lead is 48 percent to 43 percent. The last Fox poll in late October put Obama's lead at only 3 points.

Obama is leading McCain 53 percent to 42 percent among likely voters with 2 percent preferring neither or someone else and 3 percent undecided in a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted Oct. 3`1 - Nov.2. The margin of error is 2 percent. Among all registered voters, Obama's lead is 53 percent to 40 percent.

Gallup says: "The trend data clearly show Obama ending the campaign with an upward movement in support, with eight to 11 percentage point leads among likely voters in Gallup's last four reports of data extending back to Oct. 28. Obama's final leads among both registered voters and likely voters are the largest of the campaign."

The final Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll conducted Nov. 1-2 had Obama leading 51 percent to 43 percent among likely voters with 6 percent undecided. The margin of error is 3.1 percent.

"The poll shows some slight movement for McCain. But with just 48 hours left, it's going to be a challenge to make up the rest of the difference," said Neil Newhouse, a Republican pollster who conducts the survey with Democrat Peter D. Hart.

Obama holds a 49 percent to 42 percent lead over McCain among likely voters in a Pew Research Center survey conducted Oct. 29 - Nov. 1. One percent each favored Ralph Nader and Libertarian Bob Barr and 7 percent were undecided. While Obama's margin is still significant, he had led by 15 percent in the Pew poll conducted Oct. 23-26. Among all registered voters, Obama's lead is 50 percent to 39 percent compared to 52 percent to 36 percent in the previous survey.

Obama is leading McCain 53 percent to 46 percent among likely voters in the final CNN/Opinion Research poll before Election Day. The poll was conducted Oct. 30 - Nov. 1 and has a margin of error of 3.5 points.

Barack Obama is leading John McCain 52 percent to 36 percent among registered voters with 3 percent for Ralph Nader, 1 percent for Libertarian Bob Barr and 8 percent for other candidates or undecided, according to a Pew Research Center poll conducted Oct. 23-26. The margin of error is 3 points. Among likely voters, Obama's margin is 53 percent to 38 percent. Pew says this is the fourth straight survey in which the GOP ticket has been edging down.

The poll found several "ominous" signs for McCain: his support is declining across most demographic blocs with the exception of white evangelical Protestants, Obama is running nearly even with him in "red" states that George Bush won in 2004, and Obama holds a 19 point lead among the 15 percent of voters who have already cast a ballot.

Obama also leads when it comes to how "strong" the level of support is among his backers, with 74 percent falling into that category compared to 56 percent for McCain.

Of the 8 percent of voters who are undecided, 29 percent say they might vote either was, 7 percent lean towards Obama, 7 percent lean towards McCain, 8 percent lean towards neither and 49 percent "don't know."

A new Pew Research Center survey conducted Oct. 16-19 has painted a picture of what kind of role the Internet is playing in this year's campaign.

Fifty-nine percent of voters say they have sought out some kind of election content on the web or have engaged in some kind of online communication about the campaign. While some of the comparisons between use of the Internet now and last December are no doubt skewed by the fact that we're actually in the thick of the election battle, there were big jumps in the numbers of voters watching political videos (from 24 percent to 39 percent), e-mailing about politics (18 percent to 37 percent) and visiting candidate websites (16 percent to 23 percent).

Liberal Democrats have donated money to the campaigns of their choice in greater number than their GOP conservative counterparts, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center conducted Oct. 16-19. Thirty-four percent of liberals said they had given money to any of the presidential candidates during the course of the campaign compared to 13 percent for conservatives. Overall, 19 percent of Democrats say they have donated money compared to 13 percent of all Republicans.

Barack Obama is widening his lead over John McCain, now running ahead of him 52 percent to 38 percent among registered voters with 10 percent undecided in a Pew Research Center poll conducted Oct. 16-19. The margin of error is 2 points. That's a 4 point gain from Pew's poll conducted Oct. 9-12. Obama's margin when only likely voters are included is 53 percent to 39 percent.

Pew says a "widespread loss of confidence in McCain appears to be the most significant factor in the race." Forty-one percent of voters see McCain as "having poor judgment" compared to 29 percent for Obama. Thirty-four percent say he is too old to be President, up 11 points from mid-September. Voters view Obama as the more inspiring candidate by 71 percent to 37 percent.

Obama leads McCain by 21 points when voters are asked who can best handle the economy, a gain of 12 points since mid-September. He now leads 48 percent to 42 percent on who can best handle Iraq, after trailing McCain on this issue by 7 points.

While most Americans have been focused on and worried about the current economic crisis, and even before that, the economy in general, there is "little indication that the nation's financial crisis has triggered panic or despair," according to a Pew Research Center poll conducted Oct. 9-12.

But a survey by Gallup painted a gloomier picture of a public that believes the crisis will do long term harm to their financial standing.