Who is the most important black leader in America today? The answer may be changing.

An Associated Press/AOL poll of 600 black adults conducted from January through early February found that 15 percent thought Jesse Jackson was the most important black leader in American today, followed closely by Condoleezza Rice at 11 percent.

In an early February Gallup poll, 56 percent were able to correctly identify Rice as secretary of State. In their 2003 poll, 57 percent correctly identified Colin Powell as having held the same title.

In a Feb. 13-15 WNBC/Marist College poll, 49 percent of registered voters nationally said they would support Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) if the 2008 presidential election were held today, while 44 percent said they’d back Rice if she were on the ballot.

In another question in the same poll, Republican-identified respondents were asked whom they would support if a 2008 Republican presidential primary were held today. Rice tied with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for the top spot, all at 22 percent--a finding that probably stems from high name recognition for the trio. Two-thirds of Republicans wanted Rice to run, compared to 36 percent of independents and 20 percent of Democrats.

In an early February survey by the Siena Research Institute, 48 percent of the national sample said Rice should run, and 39 percent said she should not.

In the mid-February Diageo/Hotline poll, 52 percent of those surveyed said that the U.S. was ready to elect an African-American president, while in a separate question, 56 percent said the country was ready to elect a woman. The poll didn’t ask about an African-American woman.

Question Wording on Wiretapping. In Harris Interactive’s Feb. 7-14 poll, 52 percent of respondents said they were familiar with the National Security Agency’s wiretapping program, while 47 percent said they were not very familiar or not at all familiar with it.

Nearly seven in 10 of both groups said that President Bush was justified in authorizing the NSA to use wiretaps on U.S. citizens suspected of terrorism without court authorization. Ninety-two percent of Republicans, 50 percent of Democrats, and 70 percent of independents said he was justified.

A Gallup analysis of their polling and that of six other organizations showed the public tilting toward the program but by a smaller margin. The questions Frank Newport of Gallup reviewed did not ask whether the administration was “justified” in its actions, as Harris did, but whether people “approved,” felt it was “acceptable,” or should be “allowed.”

Attitudes Toward Immigration, Here and Abroad. In a recently released international comparison, 6 percent of Americans surveyed by Gallup wanted to increase the level of immigration, 58 percent wanted to decrease it, and 35 percent said it should be kept about the same.

Attitudes were similar in Great Britain, where 4 percent wanted it increased, 60 percent wanted it decreased, and 33 percent wanted it kept the same.

Canadians were more receptive, with 17 percent arguing for an increase, 25 percent for a decrease and 56 percent for the status quo. The British and Canadian surveys were taken in August, while the U.S. survey was taken in September.

Partisanship and Gun Ownership. Gallup found that 55 percent of Republicans, compared to 32 percent of Democrats, report having a gun in their home. Republicans, at 41 percent, are also more likely than Democrats, at 23 percent, to say they personally own a gun.

Of Republicans who own a gun, 64 percent use it for hunting, compared to 53 percent of Democratic owners. Seventy-one percent of Republicans use their guns for target shooting, while 53 percent of Democratic gun owners do.

Gambling Online. Online gambling isn’t very popular in the United States or in Britain, where it’s legal. Ninety-five percent of U.S. adults who go online say they have never spent money playing at an online casino, 94 percent said they have never played in an online multiplayer poker game, and 97 percent said they have never bet on sports online. More than 90 percent in Britain hadn’t done any of these activities.

Six in 10 online adults in the United States say they’ve been to a casino. The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive in January.

Mardi Gras. One-third of respondents in a Jan. 20-22 Gallup/CNN/USA Today poll said New Orleans should celebrate as in the past, 39 percent said it should celebrate on a smaller scale, and 22 percent said it should not celebrate at all.

France in Fashion? In a February Gallup poll, 54 percent of respondents had a favorable opinion of France and 40 percent an unfavorable one. In 2003, those responses were 34 percent favorable, 64 percent unfavorable. In the new poll, 88 percent have a favorable impression of Great Britain.

Sudoku. In a December 2005 ORC survey, 24 percent were aware of the new game.

Karlyn Bowman is a resident fellow at AEI.