|
 f
you're a Democrat looking for ways to seize the political initiative
from President George W. Bush, here are some daunting statistics
from the newly released Battleground 2002 poll. Republican Ed Goeas
and Democrat Celinda Lake, the pollsters who conducted the survey,
asked people the following question: "When you think about
President George W. Bush's first year in office, which of the following
emotions best describes how you feel?" After the question came
seven choices: hopeful, reassured, content, anxious, frustrated,
disappointed, and angry.
Thirty-four
percent of respondents chose hopeful. Thirty percent said they were
reassured. Eleven percent said content. On the negative side, seven
percent said they were anxious, six percent said frustrated, another
six percent said disappointed, and three percent said angry.
Taken together,
the pollsters found that 75 percent of respondents described themselves
as feeling hopeful, reassured, or content about the Bush presidency
after one year, while just 22 percent described themselves as anxious,
frustrated, disappointed, or angry (a small percentage of those
polled had no response).
Here's another
number. Goeas and Lake asked respondents whether they agreed or
disagreed with the statement, "George W. Bush has improved
the tone of politics in Washington today." Thirty-five percent
agreed strongly, 30 percent agreed somewhat, 15 percent disagreed
strongly, and 14 percent disagreed somewhat. Together, 65 percent
of voters said the president has improved the tone — and that
number was roughly consistent among men and women, as well as independent
voters.
Overall, the
president's job-approval rating in the new poll — 85 percent
— is in line with what it has been in other surveys. But the
Battleground pollsters studied in greater detail why respondents
feel as they do — and the results show just how much of Bush's
support owes to his handling of the terrorist attacks on the United
States.
If a respondent
said he or she approved of Bush's job performance, pollsters then
asked, "Being as specific as you can, what are one or two reasons
why you approve of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as
president?" The first three reasons were all war-related: 41
percent said they approve of how Bush is handling the war on terrorism,
13 percent said he has shown strong, decisive leadership, and 13
percent said they approve of how he handled the 9/11 crisis in general.
In other areas,
11 percent said they approve of Bush's efforts to cut taxes, nine
percent said they approve of his efforts to get the economy moving
again, six percent said they approve of his strong character, family
values, and sense of morality, and five percent said he is honest,
trustworthy, and straightforward.
If a respondent
said he or she disapproved of Bush's job performance, Goeas and
Lake also asked why. Interestingly, the first reason was also war-related:
27 percent said they disapprove of Bush because he either rushed
into the war or did not handle it correctly. Twenty-one percent
said he is not doing enough (or anything) for the economy. Seventeen
percent said they disagree with the tax cut or that Bush has squandered
the surplus, 15 percent said he is only out for the rich and big
business, while nine percent said they don't think he is intelligent
and seven percent said he has not done a good job on the environment.
Clearly, besides
the war, the issue that causes the most dissatisfaction about Bush
is the economy. But the poll found mixed results overall on that
issue. Yes, people who do not approve of Bush often cite the economy
as the reason, but the pollsters did not find deep and widespread
anxiety about economic issues. In fact, they found significant optimism
about future economic growth.
When asked,
"Would you say that you and your family are financially better
off, worse off, or just about the same as you were a year ago?"
59 percent answered about the same, while 17 percent said they were
better off, and 23 percent said they were worse off — meaning
a full 76 percent of respondents said their economic condition was
the same or better than a year ago. When asked about the future,
57 percent said they believe their financial situation will be about
the same a year from now. But a full 33 percent said they would
be better off, while just eight percent said they would be worse
off. That means an impressive 90 percent of those polled believe
their financial situation will be the same or better next year.
Not exactly a grim outlook.
Respondents
were also asked whether they approve of the way Bush is handling
the economy. Thirty-nine percent said they approve strongly, while
28 percent said they approve somewhat; 13 percent said they disapprove
strongly, and 10 percent said they disapprove somewhat. Goeas and
Lake then asked whether respondents approve of the way Democrats
in Congress are handling the economy. Thirteen percent approve strongly,
while 26 percent approve somewhat; 24 percent said they disapprove
strongly, while 18 percent said they somewhat disapprove. Taken
together, the poll shows that 67 percent of respondents said they
approve of Bush's handling of the economy, while 39 percent said
they approve of congressional Democrats on the same subject.
|
