Bush or Clinton?
A new poll tells two stories.

October 18, 2001 4:25 p.m.

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.