Flemington, NJ, January 7, 2008 – A new national study among 888 Americans revealed that half of respondents believe Barack Obama’s public perception will be negatively impacted as a result of his selection of Pastor Rick Warren as the invocation speaker.

The study was conducted by HCD Research on January 7, to obtain viewers’ perceptions of a video news clip in which Pastor Rick Warren briefly explains his views on gay rights and gay marriages.

Respondents were also asked to rate Obama’s level of support for gay rights on a scale from 1-7 before and after watching the video clip, with 1 representing the lowest level. After watching the video clip, respondents reported that Obama’s support for gay rights had slightly decreased after selecting Pastor Rick Warren for his invocation speaker.

Among the findings:

“How do you think Barack Obama’s pick of Pastor Rick Warren, for his invocation speaker will affect Obama’s overall public perception?”

While viewing the video clip, participants indicated their levels 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. The participants were also asked post-viewing questions.

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).