Flemington, NJ, July 16, 2008 - Results from a new national study conducted among 312 self-reported Republicans, Democrats, and Independents indicated that support for Obama’s stance on the nation’s energy situation increased moderately across party lines after viewing a new ad that outlines Obama’s beliefs regarding offshore drilling, nuclear energy, and energy conservation and development.

• Before viewing Obama's ad, all three parties showed an increase in favorability for Obama’s plan regarding offshore drilling. Democrats and Republicans both recorded an 8% increase in favorability for Obama over McCain, whereas Independents showed a 5% increase for Obama over McCain. 

• Obama's ad caused a slight shift in Obama’s favor amongst the respondent pool concerning nuclear energy policy. Democrats, Republicans, and Independents showed a 2%, 5%, and 8% increase in support for Obama over McCain respectively. 

• Republicans and Democrats both showed a significant decline in respondents who believed Obama is a candidate who is likely to oppose energy reform after viewing Obama's ad. Democrats - 31% yes to 22% yes. Republicans - 58% yes to 47% yes. 

• When asked which candidate they believed has the best policy on energy conservation and development, respondents uniformly showed an increase in favorability for Obama by a margin of 6% for Democrats, 7% for Republicans, and 3% for Independents. 

• When asked which candidate they believed has the best overall policy dealing with our nation’s energy situation, respondents again uniformly showed an increase in support for Obama by a margin of 12% for Democrats, 10% for Republicans, and 9% for Independents. 

• Despite such marked increases in favorability for Obama's position, the most strongly felt emotion amongst Republicans and Independents while watching the advertisement was ‘skeptical’ (34% Republican, 29% Independent). However, Democrats overwhelmingly selected ‘hopeful’ as the one emotion they felt most strongly while viewing the ad (43% Democrat). 

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.

HCD Research is a communications research company headquartered in Flemington, NJ.  The company's services include traditional and web-based 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.