From a new Gallup poll, taken May 22-24, with results from an identical poll taken April 10-13 for comparison. The question was: “What one or two issues should be top priorities for the president and Congress to deal with at this time?”
May April
Situation in Iraq/war 42 29
Fuel/oil prices/lack of energy sources/
the energy crisis 29 13
Immigration/illegal aliens 23 20
Economy in general 14 14
Poor health care/hospitals; high cost
of health care 12 9
Terrorism 4 3
Education/poor education/access
to education 4 4
Federal budget deficit/federal debt 3 3
Unemployment/jobs 3 3
Taxes 3 2
Social Security 2 2
International issues/problems 2 2
National security 2 5
Environment/pollution 2 1
Medicare 2 2
Foreign aid/focus overseas 2 2
Poor leadership/corruption/dissatisfaction
with government/Congress/politicians/
candidates 2 1
Poverty/hunger/homelessness 1 1
Ethics/moral/religious/family decline;
dishonesty; lack of integrity 1 1
Natural disaster relief/funding 1 *
Trade deficit/foreign trade 1 *
High cost of living/inflation 1 1
Unifying the country * 1
Judicial system/courts/laws * 1
Abortion * 1
Lack of money * 1
Gap between rich and poor * 1
Other 1 2
No opinion 4 3
Percentages add to more than 100% due to multiple responses.