The War Jumps to the Top of the List as the Most Important Issue for the
Government to Address
ROCHESTER, N.Y., Aug. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- President Bush's job approval
ratings are at their lowest point of his presidency as only 40 percent of U.S.
adults have a favorable opinion of his job performance, while 58 percent have
a negative opinion. This is a decline from just two months ago in June when
the president's ratings were 45 percent positive and 55 percent negative. Much
of this decline can be tied to the public's opinion on important issues. The
war has climbed to the top of the most important issues list and the economy
is now the second most important issue.
These are some of the results of a new Harris Poll of 1,217 U.S. adults
surveyed by telephone by Harris Interactive(R) between August 9 and 16, 2005.
Ratings of Other Cabinet Members
The Harris Poll(R) also examined the ratings of others in the Bush
administration and with one exception; their ratings have also dropped in the
past two months. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is the only cabinet
member who has seen a rise in her ratings. She is now at 57 percent positive
and 37 percent negative, a rise from June when she was at 52 percent positive
and 41 percent negative. Her ratings clearly top those of the political
figures measured.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has a 40 percent positive, 58 percent
negative rating while Vice President Dick Cheney has a 35 percent positive, 60
percent negative rating.
Congress and Congressional Leaders
Looking at the parties in Congress, both Republicans and Democrats see
drops in their ratings, with the Republicans taking the larger fall. Slightly
under one-third (31%) of adults give a positive rating to Democrats in
Congress and 65 percent give them a negative rating, down from their 33
percent positive, 61 percent negative ratings in June. Currently, Republicans
fare only slightly better with a 32 percent positive and a 64 percent negative
rating, down from a 37 percent positive and a 58 percent negative rating in
June.
In looking at the ratings of individual leaders in Congress, they hold
pretty steady from June. Both Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and House
Majority Leader Tom DeLay have positive ratings of 28 percent, but more than
half of adults (54%) give a negative rating to DeLay as compared to the 49
percent negative rating for Frist. The Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert,
has a 26 percent positive rating and 46 percent negative rating, and Senate
Minority Leader Harry Reid is at 24 percent positive and 47 percent negative.
Right Direction or Wrong Track
As the attitudes toward the president, his cabinet and Congress continue
to decline, Americans are also less satisfied with the way things are going in
the country now as compared to in June. A majority (59%) of adults say things
in the country have gotten pretty seriously off on the wrong track and 37
percent believe things are moving in the right direction. In June, those
numbers were 38 percent who said things were moving in the right direction and
55 percent who said things had headed off on the wrong track.
The War is the Most Important Issue
The main reason why these percentages may be as low as they are probably
has to do with the most important issues Americans want to see addressed. The
war has taken a large jump as 41 percent say that it is the most important
issue for the government to address, up from 24 percent in June. Following the
war, the economy remains near the top of the list as 19 percent believe it is
the most important issue. We also see that the rising gas prices has moved to
the top five issues of importance as 10 percent of adults think it is the most
important issue for the government to address.
The fact that neither the war nor the economy may be perceived as going
well and people are constantly being reminded of the gas prices every time
they fill their tanks has perhaps left the public looking for someone to
blame. Right now, it looks like they may be placing that blame on the
president, members of his administration and Congress.
TABLE 1
CURRENT RATINGS OF PRESIDENT, SENIOR CABINET MEMBERS AND PARTIES IN CONGRESS
"How would you rate the job (READ ITEM) are/is doing -- excellent, pretty
good, only fair, or poor?"
Base: All Adults
Excellent Pretty Only Poor Not Positive* Negative*
Good Fair Sure
% % % % % % %
Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice 21 36 22 15 6 57 37
President George
W. Bush 13 27 24 34 2 40 58
Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld 12 27 27 30 2 40 58
Vice President
Dick Cheney 8 26 26 34 5 35 60
Democrats in Congress 5 26 40 25 4 31 65
Republicans in
Congress 4 29 34 31 3 32 64
Senate Minority
Leader Harry Reid 4 20 30 16 29 24 47
Senate Majority
Leader Bill Frist 3 24 34 16 23 28 49
House Speaker
Dennis Hastert 3 23 33 13 28 26 46
House Majority
Leader Tom DeLay 3 24 33 21 18 28 54
* Positive = excellent or pretty good.
** Negative = only fair or poor
TABLE 2
POSITIVE RATINGS TRENDS SINCE 9/11/01: SUMMARY
Base: All Adults
POSITIVE RATINGS Soon
After Feb. April Aug. Dec. Feb. April June
9/11 2003 2003 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004
President George
W. Bush % 88 52 70 57 50 51 48 50
Vice President
Dick Cheney % 69 45 55 42 42 41 36 42
Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice % ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld % 78 56 71 55 57 50 45 47
POSITIVE RATINGS Sept. Oct. Nov. Feb. April June
2004 2004 2004 2005 2005 2005 Now
President George
W. Bush % 45 51 50 48 44 45 40
Vice President
Dick Cheney % 40 47 48 45 37 38 35
Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice % ** ** ** 52 54 52 57
Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld % 43 46 47 42 42 42 40
** N/A
TABLE 3
PRESIDENT BUSH'S OVERALL JOB RATING
(Not Sure's Excluded)
"How would you rate the job President George W. Bush is doing as president -
excellent, pretty good, only fair, or poor?"
Base: All Adults
TREND Positive* Negative**
2005 August % 40 58
June % 45 55
April % 44 56
February % 48 51
2004 November % 50 49
October % 51 49
September % 45 54
August % 48 51
June % 50 49
April % 48 51
February % 51 48
2003 December % 50 49
October % 59 40
August % 57 41
June % 61 36
April % 70 29
February % 52 46
2002 December % 64 35
November % 65 33
October % 64 35
September % 68 30
August % 63 37
July % 62 37
June % 70 28
May % 74 25
April % 75 23
March % 77 22
February % 79 20
January % 79 19
2001 December % 82 17
November % 86 12
October % 88 11
August % 52 43
July % 56 39
June % 50 46
May % 59 35
March % 49 38
February % 56 26
* Positive = excellent or pretty good.
** Negative = only fair or poor.
TABLE 4
RATINGS OF VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY
(Not Sure's Excluded)
"And how would you rate the job Vice President Cheney is doing - excellent,
pretty good, only fair or poor?"
Base: All Adults
TREND Positive* Negative**
2005 August % 35 60
June % 38 56
April % 37 60
February % 45 52
2004 November % 48 50
October % 47 51
September % 40 54
August % 40 54
June % 42 49
April % 36 52
February % 41 48
2003 December % 42 47
October % 42 44
August % 42 45
June % 49 40
April % 55 36
February % 45 44
2002 December % 50 37
November % 52 39
October % 54 37
September % 52 37
August % 45 43
July % 46 41
June % 55 34
May % 55 33
April % 55 31
March % 59 29
February % 57 31
January % 55 31
2001 October % 69 20
July % 39 52
* Positive = excellent or pretty good.
** Negative = only fair or poor.
TABLE 5
RATINGS OF SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZZA RICE
(Not Sure's Excluded)
"And how would you rate the job Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is doing -
excellent, pretty good, only fair or poor?"
Base: All Adults
TREND Positive* Negative**
2005 August % 57 37
June % 52 41
April % 54 39
February % 52 40
* Positive = excellent or pretty good.
** Negative = only fair or poor.
TABLE 6
RATINGS OF SECRETARY OF DEFENSE DONALD RUMSFELD
(Not Sure's Excluded)
"And how would you rate the job Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is doing
- excellent, pretty good, only fair or poor?"
Base: All Adults
TREND Positive* Negative**
2005 August % 40 58
June % 42 53
April % 42 56
February % 42 56
2004 November % 47 50
October % 46 50
September % 43 50
August % 45 49
June % 47 47
April % 45 47
February % 50 43
2003 December % 57 38
October % 47 44
August % 55 36
June % 60 32
April % 71 22
February % 56 35
2002 December % 59 30
November % 59 30
October % 60 30
September % 61 27
August % 60 29
July % 56 33
June % 65 24
May % 67 22
April % 70 18
March % 71 18
February % 70 17
January % 77 16
2001 December % 75 14
October % 78 12
* Positive = excellent or pretty good.
** Negative = only fair or poor.
TABLE 7
RATINGS OF HOUSE SPEAKER DENNIS HASTERT
(Not Sure's Excluded)
"And how would you rate the job House Speaker Dennis Hastert is doing -
excellent, pretty good, only fair or poor?"
Base: All Adults
TREND Positive* Negative**
2005 August % 26 46
June % 28 44
April % 30 50
2004 September % 29 33
August % 29 33
June % 29 32
April % 25 35
February % 26 35
2003 December % 24 30
October % 29 35
August % 29 36
June % 34 31
April % 41 29
February % 33 34
2002 December % 26 33
November % 30 31
October % 30 29
September % 35 29
August % 29 35
July % 28 36
June % 34 31
May % 33 25
April % 32 26
March % 33 25
February % 37 25
January % 40 24
2001 October (high) % 52 16
August (low) % 27 29
2000 August (high) % 29 28
July (low) % 23 31
1999 October (low) % 25 34
April (high) % 36 39
* Positive = excellent or pretty good.
** Negative = only fair or poor.
TABLE 8
RATINGS OF SENATE MAJORITY LEADER BILL FRIST
(Not Sure's Excluded)
"And how would you rate the job Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is doing -
excellent, pretty good, only fair or poor?"
Base: All Adults
TREND Positive* Negative**
2005 August % 28 49
June % 28 47
April % 32 51
2004 September % 27 40
August % 28 38
June % 30 36
April % 26 36
February % 31 36
2003 December % 27 38
October % 29 34
August % 32 35
June % 38 32
April % 39 29
February % 37 30
* Positive = excellent or pretty good.
** Negative = only fair or poor
TABLE 9
RATINGS OF HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER TOM DELAY
(Not Sure's Excluded)
"And how would you rate the job House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is doing -
excellent, pretty good, only fair or poor?"
Base: All Adults
TREND Positive* Negative**
2005 August % 28 54
June % 28 55
* Positive = excellent or pretty good.
** Negative = only fair or poor.
TABLE 10
RATINGS OF REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS
(Not Sure's Excluded)
"And how would you rate the job Republicans in Congress are doing - excellent,
pretty good, only fair or poor?"
Base: All Adults
TREND Positive* Negative**
2005 August % 32 64
June % 37 58
April % 36 61
2004 September % 38 56
August % 40 54
June % 39 53
April % 35 55
February % 40 52
2003 December % 37 51
October % 40 50
August % 41 51
June % 45 47
April % 52 41
February % 43 49
2002 December % 47 47
November % 47 45
October % 46 45
September % 47 42
August % 41 49
July % 39 52
June % 46 45
May % 48 44
April % 49 39
March % 50 41
February % 50 40
January % 58 34
2001 October (high) % 67 24
August (low) % 37 52
2000 May (low) % 33 60
February (high) % 38 55
1999 October (low) % 32 58
September (high) % 39 55
1998 June (low) % 31 62
February (high) % 44 53
1997 June (low) % 31 67
February (high) % 38 58
1996 May (low) % 29 69
January (high) % 33 66
1995 November (low) % 35 63
April (high) % 42 56
* Positive = excellent or pretty good.
** Negative = only fair or poor.
TABLE 11
RATINGS OF DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS
(Not Sure's Excluded)
"And how would you rate the job Democrats in Congress are doing - excellent,
pretty good, only fair or poor?"
Base: All Adults
TREND Positive* Negative**
2005 August % 31 65
June % 33 61
April % 34 64
2004 September % 34 60
August % 35 58
June % 31 59
April % 32 57
February % 33 58
2003 December % 28 61
October % 34 56
August % 30 60
June % 41 51
April % 39 52
February % 38 54
2002 December % 36 55
November % 40 52
October % 40 52
September % 42 49
August` % 38 54
July % 41 49
June % 45 46
May % 45 45
April % 47 42
March % 48 43
February % 49 41
January % 52 40
2001 October (high) % 68 24
May (low) % 40 51
2000 September (high) % 48 44
June (low) % 38 52
1999 October (low) % 42 50
January (high) % 50 47
1998 September (high) % 49 47
June (low) % 41 53
1997 June (low) % 36 60
February (high) % 43 54
1996 May (high) % 36 62
January (low) % 31 68
1995 November (high) % 34 64
July (low) % 30 66
1994 December % 28 70
* Positive = excellent or pretty good.
** Negative = only fair or poor.
TABLE 12
RIGHT DIRECTION OR WRONG TRACK
(No Opinion's, Not Sure's and Decline to Answer's Excluded)
"Generally speaking, would you say things in the country are going in the
right direction or have they pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track?"
Base: All Adults
TREND Right Direction Wrong Track
2005 August % 37 59
June % 38 55
January % 46 48
2004 September % 38 57
June % 35 59
2003 December % 35 57
June % 44 51
2002 December % 36 57
June % 46 48
2001 December % 65 32
June % 43 52
January % 46 39
2000 October % 50 41
June % 40 51
January % 50 38
1999 June % 37 55
March % 47 45
1998 December % 43 51
June % 48 44
1997 December % 39 56
April % 36 55
1996 December % 38 50
June % 29 64
1995 December % 26 62
June % 24 65
1994 December % 29 63
June % 28 65
TABLE 13
MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES FOR GOVERNMENT to address
(Spontaneous, Unprompted Replies)
"What do you think are the two most important issues for the government to
address?"
Base: All Adults
'94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02
Feb Feb April May Jan Feb Aug Dec Dec
% % % % % % % % %
(The) war X X X X X X X 12 18
The economy (non-specific) 12 7 14 8 9 7 5 32 34
Healthcare (not Medicare) 45 25 16 10 11 12 15 5 10
Gas and oil prices X X X X X X X X X
Social security X X X 6 6 24 16 3 2
Education 6 10 14 15 14 21 25 12 11
Terrorism X X X X X X X 22 17
Iraq/(Saddam Hussein) * * * * * 1 - - 11
Taxes 6 12 11 14 16 12 13 6 5
Energy X X X X X X X X X
(Programs for) the
poor/poverty 8 10 2 3 2 2 3 1 2
Employment/jobs 14 10 9 5 3 4 4 7 8
Immigration * 2 2 2 1 * 1 1 1
Welfare 7 16 13 14 8 4 2 1 1
Environment 1 1 1 3 2 3 3 1 3
Crime/violence 36 21 16 19 13 8 10 1 2
Abortion 3 3 4 2 2 2 6 1 1
National security X X X X X 2 2 6 3
Federal budget
surplus/deficit 8 22 22 20 12 5 4 1 1
Homeland/domestic
security/public safety X X X X X X X 8 9
Domestic/social issues
(non-specific) 4 4 4 2 3 2 2 2 2
Judicial/Legal Issues X X X X X X X X X
Drugs 6 3 4 8 6 2 5 2 3
Honesty/Integrity
/Moral Values X X X X X X X X X
Medicare X X 3 4 5 5 6 1 1
Foreign policy (non-specific) 4 2 3 3 5 4 3 2 4
Military/defense 2 1 1 2 2 2 4 4 1
Inflation X X X X X X X X X
Same sex marriage/rights X X X X X X X X X
Peace/world peace
/nuclear arms 1 1 3 1 3 3 1 2 2
Middle East peace process
between Palestinians
and Israel X X X X X X X 2 2
Ethics in government * * * * * * * 1 1
Human/civil/women's rights 1 1 2 2 1 * 1 1 1
Homelessness - - 3 4 4 3 3 2 2
Family values (decline of) * 2 2 2 1 2 1 * *
Medical research X X X X X X X X X
School safety X X X X X X X X X
Election/Voter reform X X X X X X X X 1
Religion (decline of) * 1 * * 1 * 1 2 1
Air travel safety - - - - - - - 1 *
Anthrax/Biological attack - - - - - - - 1 1
Race relations X X X X 2 * 1 1 *
Downsizing government X X X X X X 1 * X
Prescription drug prices X X X X X X X X 1
AIDS 2 1 1 * 1 - * * *
Other (1) 8 7 7 8 19 2 19 3 8
Not sure/refused/no issue 8 7 7 9 12 16 18 11 10
'03 '04 '04 '04 '05 '05 '05 '05
Jun Feb Aug Oct Feb April Jun Aug
% % % % % % % %
(The) war 8 13 24 35 30 23 24 41
The economy (non-specific) 25 31 32 28 11 13 18 19
Healthcare (not Medicare) 14 16 17 18 14 14 10 11
Gas and oil prices 1 * * 1 1 9 6 10
Social security 4 2 5 4 37 31 19 10
Education 13 11 9 7 7 9 7 8
Terrorism 11 4 11 7 4 4 6 7
Iraq/(Saddam Hussein) 3 6 6 9 11 6 7 6
Taxes 11 5 4 8 5 6 5 5
Energy 1 * 1 1 1 1 1 4
(Programs for) the
poor/poverty 3 2 1 * 2 2 3 4
Employment/jobs 8 16 10 10 6 6 5 3
Immigration 2 1 1 2 2 4 4 3
Welfare 3 2 1 * 1 2 1 3
Environment 2 4 2 1 1 1 2 3
Crime/violence 3 3 1 1 * 2 2 3
Abortion 1 3 3 4 2 2 4 2
National Security 6 4 6 5 4 4 3 2
Federal budget
surplus/deficit 4 5 2 2 10 6 4 2
Homeland/domestic security
/public safety 3 8 5 6 3 3 3 2
Domestic/social issues
(non-specific) 1 4 2 2 2 3 3 2
Judicial/Legal Issues X X X * * * * 2
Drugs 3 3 2 * * * * 2
Honesty/Integrity
/Moral Values X X X 2 1 1 * 2
Medicare 4 2 3 3 3 3 2 2
Foreign policy
(non-specific) 2 6 2 3 3 3 2 2
Military/defense 5 5 4 3 3 1 2 1
Inflation X X X X X X X 1
Same sex marriage/rights X 1 2 1 1 2 * 1
Peace/world peace
/nuclear arms 3 1 2 * 1 1 2 1
Middle East peace process
between Palestinians
and Israel 2 * 1 * * * * 1
Ethics in government 1 1 * 1 * - 1 1
Human/civil/women's rights * * * 1 1 1 1 1
Homelessness 1 1 2 * 1 1 1 1
Family values (decline of) 1 2 1 1 - * 1 1
Medical research 2 * 1 2 1 * 1 1
School safety 2 * 2 * - * 1 1
Election/Voter reform 1 1 2 * X * * 1
Religion (decline of) 1 * * 1 * * 1 *
Air travel safety * * - X - - 1 *
Anthrax/Biological attack 1 * 1 X - * 1 *
Race relations * * * X * * 1 *
Downsizing government X 1 * 1 * 1 1 *
Prescription drug prices 1 1 1 1 1 1 * *
AIDS 2 1 * X * * 2 *
Other (1) 8 3 5 8 21 4 2 1
Not sure/refused/no issue 12 15 12 9 7 1 14 8
* = Less than 0.5%.
X = Not mentioned as specific issue.
(1) Including government/politics (nonspecific), housing, gun control,
issues involving children, corporate scandals/fraud, and programs for
the elderly (not Medicare/Social Security)
Methodology
The Harris Poll(R) was conducted by telephone within the United States
between August 9 and 16, 2005 among a nationwide cross section of 1,217 adults
(aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race, education, number of adults,
number of voice/telephone lines in the household, region and size of place
were weighted where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in
the population.
In theory, with a probability sample of this size, one can say with 95
percent certainty that the results have a sampling error of plus or minus 3
percentage points of what they would be if the entire U.S. adult population
had been polled with complete accuracy. Unfortunately, there are several other
possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more
serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals
to be interviewed (nonresponse), question wording and question order,
interviewer bias, weighting by demographic control data and screening (e.g.,
for likely voters). It is impossible to quantify the errors that may result
from these factors.
These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National
Council on Public Polls.
J25035
Q410, Q417, Q426, Q430
The Harris Poll(R) #66, August 24, 2005
By Regina Corso, research director, Harris Interactive
About Harris Interactive(R)
Harris Interactive Inc. (http://www.harrisinteractive.com), the 13th
largest market research firm in the world, is a Rochester, NY-based global
research company that blends premier strategic consulting with innovative and
efficient methods of investigation, analysis and application. Known for The
Harris Poll(R) and for pioneering Internet-based research methods, Harris
Interactive conducts proprietary and public research to help its clients
achieve clear, material and enduring results.
Harris Interactive combines its intellectual capital, databases and
technology to advance market leadership through its U.S. offices and wholly
owned subsidiaries, HI Europe in London (http://www.hieurope.com), Novatris in
Paris (http://www.novatris.com), and through an independent global network of
affiliate market research companies. EOE M/F/D/V.
To become a member of the Harris Poll Online(SM) and be invited to
participate in future online surveys, http://www.harrispollonline.com.
Press Contacts:
Nancy Wong
Harris Interactive
585-214-7316
Kelly Gullo
Harris Interactive
585-214-7172
SOURCE Harris Interactive Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.harrisinteractive.com
CONTACT:
Nancy Wong, +1-585-214-7316, or Kelly Gullo,
+1-585-214-7172, both of Harris Interactive
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