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POLITICS

64% Say U.S. Society Fair and Decent

Most voters expect those who move here to adopt America's culture but still believe American society is fair and decent.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that nearly two-out-of three Likely U.S. Voters (64%) think society in this country is fair and decent. Twenty-six percent (26%) disagree and feel American society is unfair and discriminatory.  (To see survey question wording, click here.)

These findings show little change from last month.  Anywhere from 54% to 74% of voters have shared the belief that society is fair and decent in regular tracking since early November 2006.  In those same surveys, 17% to 33% have held the perception that society is unfair and discriminatory.

A plurality (49%) of black voters describes American society as unfair and discriminatory. Sixty-eight percent (68%) of whites and 65% of voters of other races don't share that perception and instead see the society as fair and decent.

As for the nation's first black president, 40% of voters say Barack Obama thinks society in this country is fair and decent, but slightly more (43%) feel that he believes U.S. society is unfair and discriminatory.  Seventeen percent (17%) are undecided. Voters have remained relatively evenly divided on this question since August 2009.

(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 national survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on October 26-27, 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.

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