Moving the Country in the Right Direction?
Posted on 02/07/2003 5:14:31 AM PST by RobFromGa
PRINCETON, NJ -- The latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll shows little change in George W. Bush's job approval rating following his State of the Union speech last week. At the same time, Americans' views on Bush's handling of foreign affairs have improved as well as public confidence in his ability to deal with Iraq. The public continues to have an overall favorable view of the president and to give him high marks for his handling of the terrorism issue. But a growing number say he is not paying enough attention to the economy, and his economic approval rating is lagging behind his overall job approval rating and his rating on foreign affairs.
Bush's approval rating is 61%, according to the poll conducted Jan. 31-Feb. 2. This is virtually unchanged from a Jan. 23-25 poll, conducted just before the State of the Union speech, when Bush had a 60% approval rating. Bush's job approval rating has averaged 60% since the beginning of the new year.
The finding of no change following the State of the Union is the typical pattern for recent presidents. In fact, post-State of the Union approval ratings are as likely to show slight downward movement as they are to show any upward movement. There are just two recent examples of an increase in presidential approval following a State of the Union address. Bill Clinton saw his approval rating rise 10 points following his 1998 speech (which came shortly after the Monica Lewinsky scandal erupted, but in which he was able to tout a balanced federal budget and increased job growth nationwide) and six points following his 1996 State of the Union.
More generally, the public has a positive view of Bush -- 68% of Americans rate him favorably, while just 32% say they have an unfavorable view. Since Bush became president, at least 6 in 10 Americans have had a favorable view of him.
Bush on the Issues
Currently, 56% of Americans say that the policies Bush is proposing will move the country in the right direction, while 39% say they will lead the country in the wrong direction. The ratings are more positive than just prior to the State of the Union, when 49% of Americans said his proposals would move the country in the right direction -- the lowest reading in Bush's term to date. Both numbers are down considerably from a year ago, when 73% evaluated his policies favorably.
| George W. Bush’s Policies: Moving the Country in the Right Direction? |
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The poll also looked more specifically at the public's ratings of Bush's handling of nine issues discussed in his State of the Union address. Bush gets majority approval on six of the issues, with the president rated most positively on the terrorism issue, and most negatively on his handling of Medicare, healthcare policy, and the economy.
BUSH APPROVAL ON ISSUES
2003 Jan 31-Feb 2 |
Approve |
||
Disapprove |
||
|
% |
% |
|
|
Terrorism |
71 |
26 |
|
Foreign Affairs |
57 |
39 |
|
Energy |
54 |
34 |
|
The situation with Iraq |
54 |
42 |
|
The environment |
53 |
37 |
|
Taxes |
52 |
42 |
|
The economy |
47 |
48 |
|
Healthcare policy |
46 |
44 |
|
Medicare |
44 |
41 |
More than 7 in 10 Americans approve of Bush's handling of terrorism. The current rating shows some decline from last year, as do most of Bush's ratings given the decay of the post-Sept. 11 rally in support. Specifically, the most recent rating on terrorism (from May 2002) showed Bush registering an 83% approval rating.
A separate question bolsters the finding that Americans are generally content with the way Bush has dealt with the terrorism issue. Sixty-one percent of the public says Bush is paying "about the right amount of attention" to the war on terrorism, while roughly equal percentages say he is paying "too much attention" (20%) or "not enough attention" (17%).
The public is much more critical of the job Bush is doing with the economy. Currently, 60% say he is not paying enough attention to the economy, nearly double the percentage observed just over a year ago (31% in a January 2002 poll). Thirty-seven percent currently say he is paying the right amount of attention, which was the majority response as recently as July 2002.
| Attention Paid by George W. Bush to the Economy |
 |
Nevertheless, as perceptions that Bush should devote more attention to the economy have grown in the last month, ratings of his handling of the economy remain steady, with a roughly equal proportion approving (47%) and disapproving (48%) of Bush's economic stewardship. However, these ratings are much more negative than they were in the past. As recently as June 2002, 63% approved of Bush's handling of the economy.
Bush's State of the Union speech may have had a positive impact on Americans' ratings of his handling of foreign affairs. The current rating of 57% is seven points higher than that measured immediately before the State of the Union address, but is similar to the foreign affairs ratings he received in the last months of 2002.
Bush on Iraq
The poll finds a majority of Americans, 54%, approving of the way Bush is handling the situation with Iraq, while 42% disapprove. Bush's approval ratings on the Iraq issue have been slightly above 50% since October, closely mirroring the level of support Gallup has measured for a U.S. invasion of Iraq over that period.
Several other questions show the support needle moving in a positive direction for Bush on Iraq over the past week. Fifty-three percent say that the president has made a convincing case on the need for U.S. military action in Iraq, while 44% say he has not. Just prior to the State of the Union, 49% of Americans said he had made a convincing case and 48% said he had not. Also, the percentage in favor of an invasion increased from 52% to 58% between the Jan. 23-25 and Jan. 31-Feb. 2 polls. All of these polls were conducted prior to Colin Powell's Feb. 5 address to the United Nations, which could have an effect on the way Americans view the Iraq situation.
Seventy-two percent say they have a great deal or moderate amount of trust in the Bush administration to make the right decisions regarding Iraq. This, too, is higher than that measured prior to the State of the Union (65%). Also, the public is much more likely to say it has more trust in the Bush administration (58%) than in the United Nations (39%) when it comes to Iraq. These numbers have changed greatly from the prior week, when the public was evenly divided as to whom it trusted more (47% said Bush and 47% said the United Nations).
| Who Do You Trust More to Make the Right Decisions Regarding Iraq? |
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A plurality of Americans, 47%, say Bush is moving toward military action against Iraq at "about the right pace." The public is more than three times likely to say he is moving too quickly toward military action (39%) than to say he is moving too slowly (12%).
Survey Methods
These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,003 adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2003. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
Do you think the policies being proposed by George W. Bush will move the country in the right direction or the wrong direction?
|
|
Right |
|
Wrong |
||||
No |
||||
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2003 Jan 31-Feb 2 |
56 |
39 |
5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2003 Jan 23-25 |
49 |
43 |
8 |
|
|
2002 Jan 25-27 |
73 |
19 |
8 |
|
|
2001 Apr 20-22 |
55 |
34 |
11 |
|
|
2001 Jan 15-16 ^ |
56 |
36 |
8 |
|
|
2000 Aug 18-19 ^ |
55 |
36 |
9 |
|
|
2000 Apr 7-9 ^ |
51 |
31 |
18 |
|
|
1999 Oct 8-10 ^ |
64 |
27 |
9 |
|
|
|
||||
|
^ |
WORDING: Do you think the policies being proposed by George W. Bush would move the country in the right direction or the wrong direction? |
|||
Do you think the policies being proposed by George W. Bush will move the country in the right direction or the wrong direction?
|
|
Right |
|
Wrong |
||||
No |
||||
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2003 Jan 31-Feb 2 |
56 |
39 |
5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2003 Jan 23-25 |
49 |
43 |
8 |
|
|
2002 Jan 25-27 |
73 |
19 |
8 |
|
|
2001 Apr 20-22 |
55 |
34 |
11 |
|
|
2001 Jan 15-16 ^ |
56 |
36 |
8 |
|
|
2000 Aug 18-19 ^ |
55 |
36 |
9 |
|
|
2000 Apr 7-9 ^ |
51 |
31 |
18 |
|
|
1999 Oct 8-10 ^ |
64 |
27 |
9 |
|
|
|
||||
|
^ |
WORDING: Do you think the policies being proposed by George W. Bush would move the country in the right direction or the wrong direction? |
|||
George W. Bush has frequently described himself as a "compassionate conservative." Do you think Bush has -- or has not -- governed in a way that is compassionate?
BASED ON –504—NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A
|
|
Yes, has |
No, has not |
|||
No opinion |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
2003 Jan 31-Feb 2 |
64% |
34 |
2 |
George W. Bush has frequently described himself as a "compassionate conservative." Do you think Bush has -- or has not -- governed in a way that is conservative?
BASED ON –499—NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B
|
|
Yes, has |
No, has not |
|||
No opinion |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
2003 Jan 31-Feb 2 |
68% |
29 |
3 |
Do you think President Bush is paying -- [ROTATED: too much attention, about the right amount of attention, or not enough attention] -- to the war on terrorism?
BASED ON –504—NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A
Too much |
||
Right |
|||||
Not |
No |
||||
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
||
|
2003 Jan 31-Feb 2 |
20 |
61 |
17 |
2 |
|
|
2003 Jan 10-12 |
25 |
59 |
14 |
2 |
|
|
2002 Jul 26-28 ^ |
14 |
70 |
15 |
1 |
|
|
2002 Jan 11-14 ^ |
7 |
84 |
8 |
1 |
|
|
^ |
Asked of a full sample and rotated with Q.8. Trend results show when question was asked first in rotation. |
||||
Do you think President Bush is paying -- [ROTATED: too much attention, about the right amount of attention, or not enough attention] -- to the economy?
BASED ON –499—NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B
Too much |
||
Right |
|||||
Not |
No |
||||
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
||
|
2003 Jan 31-Feb 2 |
2 |
37 |
60 |
1 |
|
|
2003 Jan 10-12 |
2 |
41 |
55 |
2 |
|
|
2002 Jul 26-28 ^ |
1 |
53 |
43 |
3 |
|
|
2002 Jan 11-14 ^ |
2 |
64 |
31 |
3 |
|
|
^ |
Asked of a full sample and rotated with Q.7. Trend results show when question was asked first in rotation. |
||||
Do you think George W. Bush has – or has not—made a convincing case about the need for the U.S. to take military action against Iraq?
|
|
Yes, has |
No, has not |
|||
No opinion |
|||
|
2003 Jan 31-Feb 2 |
53% |
44 |
3 |
|
2003 Jan 23-25 |
49% |
48 |
3 |
How much trust do you have in the Bush administrationto make the right decisions regarding Iraq – a great deal, a moderate amount, not much, or none at all?
BASED ON –504—NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A
Great |
||
Moderate amount |
||||||
|
Not much |
None |
No |
||||
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
||
|
2003 Jan 31-Feb 2 ^ |
38 |
34 |
17 |
11 |
* |
|
|
2003 Jan 23-25 |
31 |
34 |
19 |
15 |
1 |
|
|
2002 Dec 9-10 ^ |
32 |
34 |
20 |
12 |
2 |
|
|
^ |
Asked of a half sample. |
|||||
Who do you trust more to make the right decisions regarding Iraq – [ROTATED: the Bush administration (or) the United Nations]?
BASED ON –504—NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A
Bush adminis-tration |
||
United Nations |
||||||
BOTH EQU- |
NEITHER (vol.) |
No |
||||
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
||
|
2003 Jan 31-Feb 2 ^ |
58 |
39 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
2003 Jan 23-25 |
47 |
47 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
^ |
Asked of a half sample. |
|||||
Do you think George W. Bush is moving [ROTATED: too quickly, at about the right pace, or too slowly]toward military action against Iraq?
Too |
About |
||||
Too |
No |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2003 Jan 31-Feb 2 |
39% |
47 |
12 |
2 |
And this was before the Powell speech at the UN. I think that President Bush has them surrounded (the Anti-War crowd at the UN, that is). He has given them an ultimatum (the Anti-War crowd at the UN). He has told them they are either with us or agin us (again the UN). Now that we've almost finished off the UN, it's on to Baghdad.
Dems are irrevelant, but it's sure fun watchin' them squirm ...
True, but more disapproval than approval implies someone else can do it better. I'm not guessing that too many others think of the Green Party, for example.
The disapproval could just be a general feeling of dissatisfaction with the current condition of their 401k's, the business levels at their workplaces, etc.
There are people both to the right and to the left of President Bush who want him to act differently on his handling of the economy. Many of these would not think the Socialist-Democrats could do a better job.
LOL !
Heheheh...I can hear them now in their 'war room'...."We NEED BETTER LIES!!!"
Wonder what's next!
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