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new poll showing that Americans are happy — very happy —
that George W. Bush, rather than Bill Clinton, is in the White House
during the terrorism crisis is certainly not good news for the ex-president
as he tries to promote the notion that he was tough on terrorism
during his eight years in office. But a close look at the poll's
results suggests that there's more to the story — both for
Clinton and for the significant portions of core Democratic constituencies
that wish he were still president.
Overall, there's
no contest between the current president and the last. Pollster
John Zogby found that 72 percent of those questioned prefer having
Bush in the White House during this crisis, versus just 20 percent
who prefer Clinton.
But the 72
percent figure reflects in part the overwhelming strength of support
for Bush among Republicans and Independents. Republicans prefer
Bush over Clinton by 93 percent to 3 percent. Independents prefer
Bush by 74 percent to 17 percent. People who say they voted for
Bush prefer the president 95 percent to 3 percent for Clinton.
The story is
a bit different among Democrats. While there is substantial support
for Bush, large minorities — and in some cases, majorities
— wish Clinton were in the White House to handle the war on
terrorism. Among Democrats, a bare majority, 52 percent, prefers
Bush, versus 38 percent for Clinton. Among those who say they voted
for Al Gore, Bush's margin is even smaller, 46 percent to 41 percent.
And among the Democratic party's most loyal constituency, African
Americans, Clinton is the choice, topping Bush by 49 percent to
38 percent. (Only one other group, Nader voters, prefers Clinton
— 57 percent to 28 percent.)
So while the
poll shows that Bush's impressive handling of the terrorism crisis
has won over a substantial number of Democrats — at least for
the moment — it also reveals the size of the core group that
would prefer to see someone else in the White House, no matter how
well Bush does his job.
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