The Reassuring President
Americans feel good about George W. Bush.

January 25, 2002 11:55 a.m.

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.