It remains to be seen how South Carolinians judge Gov. Mark Sanford after his admission, but Gallup's last Values and Beliefs update, conducted last month put affairs between married men and woman at the top of the "morally wrong" list.
Ninety-two percent of those surveyed condemned such affairs as morally wrong, a number that has been pretty consistent since 2001. That topped polygamy (91 percent), cloning humans (88 percent), and suicide (80 percent).
Centrism and the increasing number of independent voters are emerging as hallmarks of the Obama era although the "growing political middle" is "steadfastly mixed" in its beliefs, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of its polling data it has been collecting since 1987. It includes surveys this year between March 31 - April 6 and April 14-21.
Pew says the proportion of independents among the electorate is now at its highest level in 70 years. In the last five months, the percentage of independents has risen from 30 percent to 39 percent, while Democrats have slipped from 39 percent to 33 percent and Republicans from 26 percent to 22 percent.
Some independents are more conservative on several key issues because they are defectors from the Republicans. Thirty-three percent describe themselves as conservative, up from 28 percent in 2007.
Americans who favor allowing openly gay men and lesbian women to service in the military has risen from 63 percent in 2004 to 69 percent, according to a Gallup poll conducted May 7-10.
Gallup said that while liberals and Democrats provide the most support for that view, the biggest increase has been among conservatives - who have gone from 46 percent in favor to 58 percent - and people who identify themselves as weekly churchgoers, whose support has risen from 49 percent to 60 percent.
Same-sex marriages are now legal in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, and Iowa, and will be legal in Vermont in September.