Bush’s Nagging Problem
What Americans think about the election deadlock.

November 7, 2001 9:10 a.m.

t has now been one year since George W. Bush was elected president — and about eleven months since he was actually declared the president-elect. Questions about Bush's legitimacy, which had faded well before September 11, have virtually disappeared since the start of the war on terrorism.

But a new poll shows that a significant number of Americans still view Bush's election as questionable. In the first days of this month, the Gallup organization asked respondents this question: "Which comes closest to your view of the way George W. Bush won the 2000 presidential election: a) He won it fair and square, b) He won, but only on a technicality, or c) He stole the election."

Of the total survey of 1,012 respondents, just half — exactly 50 percent — say Bush won the election fair and square. Thirty-two percent say he won on a technicality, while 15 percent say he stole the election — making a total of 47 percent who believe that Bush did not win fair and square (the remaining three percent say they don't know).

A large majority of Republicans — 85 percent — say Bush won fair and square. But the president's numbers with independents are not nearly as good. Less than half of them — 43 percent — say he won fair and square. Thirty-six percent say he won a technicality, and 16 percent say he stole the election — making a total of 52 percent who believe that Bush did not win fair and square. Among Democrats, just 18 percent say he won fair and square, while 51 percent say he won a technicality, and 28 percent say he stole the election — for a total of 79 percent who say Bush did not win fair and square.

Breaking down the numbers by sex, the survey shows that less than half of the nation's women — 45 percent — believe that Bush won the election fair and square. Thirty-seven percent of women believe Bush won a technicality, while 14 percent say he stole the election. A majority of men — 56 percent — say that Bush won fair and square, while 27 percent say he won on a technicality and 15 percent say he stole the election. (It's not possible to examine the numbers in any greater detail — to see, for example, if black opposition to Bush's election remains as high as it was a year ago — because Gallup declined to release breakdowns by any categories other than political party and sex.)

Coming a year after the disputed election, the new poll suggests that a significant number of Americans will never accept Bush's election as completely legitimate. On the other hand, in light of other polls on Bush's job approval, the new numbers suggest that opinions about the election are not a factor in Bush's standing today. Recent Gallup polls have shown Bush with an 89 percent positive job approval rating, with just an eight percent disapproval rating — which means that while 47 percent of those surveyed believe Bush either won on a technicality or stole the election in 2000, 89 percent approve of him now.

While that seems to suggest the election controversy has slid into irrelevance, it's always possible it could make a comeback if Bush's approval ratings were to fall significantly. Even when Bush is riding high, nearly half of Americans don't believe he won the election fair and square.