Flemington, NJ, March 17, 2008 – According to a new national study among 798 self-reported Democrats, Republicans and independents, the majority across all parties indicated that they are “less likely” to support Senator Obama after viewing segments of his former pastor’s sermons.

The study was conducted by HCD Research earlier today, to obtain Americans’ perceptions of video segments of sermons given by Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama’s former pastor, in which he makes racially charged comments directed toward Hillary Clinton and other statements denouncing the United States as racist.

While viewing segments of the video, participants indicated their levels of agreement by moving their mouse from left to right on a continuum. The responses were recorded in quarter-second intervals and reported in the form of curves. Participants were asked pre- and post-viewing questions regarding their support for Barack Obama. To view detailed results and agreement curves, go to: www.mediacurves.com

Among the study findings:

After viewing the video, are you more likely or less likely to support Senator Barack Obama?

Do you think Barack Obama’s religious ties to Jeremiah Wright will help or hurt his campaign efforts?

Prior to viewing the video segments:

After viewing the video segments:

The Media Curves web site provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans’ perceptions of popular and controversial media events and advertisements.

Editors/Reporters: For more information on the study, or to speak with Glenn Kessler, president and CEO, HCD Research, please contact Vince McGourty, HCD Research, at (908) 483-9121 or (vince.mcgourty@hcdi.net)

HCD Research is a communications research company headquartered in Flemington, NJ.  The company's services include traditional and web-based marketing and communications research.  For additional information on HCD Research, access the company’s web site at www.hcdi.net or call HCD Research at 908-788-9393