A Political Force With Many Philosophies

Independents also are far closer to Democrats than to Republicans in their assessment of the national economy. Sixty-three percent of Republicans called the economy good or excellent. Just 35 percent of independents agreed.

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Given those attitudes on the overriding issues, it is not surprising that independents expressed more positive feelings about the Democratic Party. When asked to rate the national parties, 55 percent viewed the Democrats favorably, while 41 percent gave the Republicans positive marks.

Independents broadly favored the Democrats on Iraq, health care, global warming, social issues such as abortion and gay marriage, corruption in government, managing the federal government, and dealing with the deficit. They gave the Democrats a narrower advantage on illegal immigration, taxes and the economy.

They rated the Republicans higher only on the campaign against terrorism.

Rejecting the Party Line

Like self-identified Democrats and Republicans, political independents represent a disparate coalition of Americans who disagree on many things -- but they all cling to their independence.

"I see weaknesses in both parties, and even more so in the last 15 years," said Donna Young of Sun City, Ariz., whose father was a Republican and whose mother was a Democrat. "I don't believe you can do justice to democracy if you only look at one particular party candidate."

The new survey probes why many Americans prefer to call themselves independent. Three-quarters said voting on the issues, not a party line, is a "major reason" they claim the label, while seven in 10 said a prime factor is that they vote for individual candidates, not parties.

About half said a major reason for their independence is that they agree with Democrats on some issues and Republicans on others, and that they are not comfortable with either party. Four in 10 said not wanting to put a label on their political views is a principal reason for calling themselves independents. Fifteen percent said they are independent because they are simply not very interested in politics.

Independents stand in stark contrast to Democrats and Republicans, who in today's polarized environment typically support their own party's candidates about 9-1. About half of independent voters have cast ballots about equally for Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, and about six in 10 have divided their votes evenly in state elections.

"I'm an independent out of frustration," said Len Ungar, a retired educator from Henderson, Nev. "I was a Republican for 40 years, then I became a Democrat, and now . . . I vote independently."

Dissatisfaction binds most independents. Barely 50 percent saw important differences between the Democrats and the Republicans. Six in 10 said the two-party system fails to address the issues that are most important to them, and when asked which party better represents their views on a dozen issues, about two in 10 volunteered that "neither" does. Three in 10 said the political system would get better if there were no parties.

Discontent with contemporary politics is widely shared across the political spectrum, but it peaks among independents. On a range of questions, they are consistently less hopeful and more frustrated with the system than are Democrats or Republicans.