GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- Republicans and Democrats are in general agreement about the qualities they are looking for in the next president of the United States, although they do differ on some important specifics. Both sides demand honesty, strong leadership, management skills, and moral integrity in the nation's 44th president. Both sides also put lower emphasis on military experience, business experience, political experience, and religious commitment.
Beyond these shared views, Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to say marital fidelity is essential in a president. Democrats have a greater interest than Republicans in wanting a president who will consider public opinion when making decisions.
Gallup probed public attitudes about the ideal president in a recent Gallup Panel survey of 1,006 nationally representative adults, conducted March 26-29, 2007. One question asked respondents to describe, in their own words, what quality they consider most important for the next president to possess. A second question asked respondents to rate the importance of 16 specific qualities a president might have. The overall results are discussed in a companion story by Jeffrey M. Jones (see "Wanted in Next President: Honesty, Strong Leadership" in Related Items).
Honesty Springs to Mind
With the open-ended measure, Gallup finds honesty to be the top-named quality by Republicans as well as by Democrats. Eleven percent of each group also mentions competency in managing the government. Leadership figures in the top five responses for both groups, but is mentioned by nearly twice as many Republicans than Democrats. Two qualities in the Republicans' top five that don't appear in the Democrats' are integrity and good moral character. And two qualities in the Democrats' top five that don't appear in the Republicans' are listening to people rather than special interests/political parties and putting domestic interests ahead of foreign interests.
Top Five Qualities Partisans Are Looking for in Next President March 26-29, 2007 |
|
Republicans/Lean Republican |
Democrats/Lean Democratic |
Honesty/straightforward (30%) |
Honesty/straightforward (34%) |
Leadership/strength (22%) |
Listen to people/not special interests (13%) |
Integrity (13%) |
Put U.S. first/focus on domestic issues (13%) |
Competent/govern effectively (11%) |
Leadership/strength (12%) |
Good moral character/family values (8%) |
Competent/govern effectively (10%) |
More generally, Republicans appear to attach a bit more importance than do Democrats to the personal qualities of a president. This is according to the sum of all personal qualities mentioned in the open-ended results: honesty, integrity, good moral values, intelligence, being honorable, being trustworthy, being a Christian, having common sense, and having charisma. Although these are the most commonly mentioned qualities for both groups, they account for roughly 7 out of 10 mentions among Republicans compared with less than 6 in 10 among Democrats.
National
|
Republicans/
|
Democrats/
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
Personal Qualities |
|
|
|
Honesty/straightforward |
33 |
30 |
34 |
Integrity |
10 |
13 |
7 |
Good moral character/family values |
5 |
8 |
2 |
Intelligence |
5 |
4 |
6 |
Honorable |
4 |
5 |
3 |
Trustworthy |
4 |
4 |
5 |
Christian |
3 |
6 |
* |
Common sense |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Charisma |
* |
* |
1 |
|
|
|
|
Total percentage of all mentions
|
65 |
71 |
59 |
* = Less than 0.5% |
Republicans and Democrats are about equally likely to mention qualities more closely associated with presidential leadership, including leadership, managerial competence, listening to people, having a vision, and being a consensus builder.
National
|
Republicans/
|
Democrats/
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
Presidential Qualities |
|
|
|
Leadership/strength |
16 |
22 |
12 |
Competent/capable/able to govern effectively |
10 |
11 |
10 |
Listen to/represent the people and not special
|
9 |
6 |
13 |
Vision for the country |
5 |
3 |
6 |
Consensus-builder/Bring country together |
2 |
1 |
3 |
Total percentage of all mentions
|
42 |
43 |
44 |
Democrats are more likely than Republicans to cite specific policy issues or positions as being the most important quality they are looking for in a president, almost entirely due to the desire to have the next president put a greater emphasis on domestic issues.
National
|
Republicans/
|
Democrats/
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
Issue Positions/Policies |
|
|
|
Put U.S. first/Focus on domestic issues |
8 |
3 |
13 |
Win/finish/end the war in Iraq |
4 |
3 |
4 |
Good on economy |
3 |
2 |
5 |
Conservative |
2 |
3 |
* |
Good on terrorism issue |
1 |
2 |
1 |
Total percentage of all mentions
|
18 |
13 |
23 |
* = Less than 0.5% |
Few Americans of either party cite political experience of any kind as the chief quality they are looking for, but this is more common among Democrats than Republicans.
National
|
Republicans/
|
Democrats/
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
Experience |
|
|
|
Experience (general) |
1 |
1 |
2 |
Foreign policy experience |
3 |
1 |
5 |
Total percentage of all mentions
|
4 |
2 |
7 |
No Argument Over Importance of Strong Leadership
The second measure asked respondents to rate each of 16 qualities as either "absolutely essential," "important, but not essential," or "not that important." On this basis, Republicans and Democrats share four of their top five responses. They widely agree it is absolutely essential for a president to be a strong and decisive leader. Most also say it is essential the next president have good moral character, though Republicans are more likely than Democrats to hold this view. A majority of both groups also agree it is essential the next president be an effective manager and focus on uniting the country.
Percentage Saying Each Quality Is "Absolutely Essential"
|
|||
National Adults |
Republicans/Lean Republican |
Democrats/Lean Democratic |
|
% |
% |
% |
|
Is a strong and decisive leader |
77 |
82 |
72 |
Has good moral character |
68 |
78 |
60 |
Is an effective manager |
63 |
63 |
64 |
Would focus on uniting the country |
59 |
56 |
62 |
Has been highly consistent with the issue
|
47 |
53 |
42 |
Has experience dealing with foreign policy
|
46 |
43 |
48 |
Pays attention to public opinion when making decisions |
43 |
33 |
50 |
Has been faithful to his or her spouse |
37 |
52 |
25 |
Has a lot of experience in government |
34 |
31 |
37 |
Is an inspiring speaker |
24 |
19 |
28 |
Sticks closely to the principles of his or
|
22 |
26 |
19 |
Has experience running a business |
19 |
19 |
17 |
Has never used illegal drugs |
19 |
22 |
17 |
Attends religious services regularly |
18 |
26 |
12 |
Has worked in Washington a long time |
10 |
10 |
11 |
Has served in the military |
7 |
7 |
7 |
Partisan Differences
The bigger partisan differences in favored qualities seem to relate to the public images of the most recent Republican and Democratic presidents.
President George W. Bush has been criticized over his Iraq War policy for "staying the course" rather than heeding public opinion polls which show Americans widely opposed to the war. Accordingly, a majority of Republicans (53%) say it is essential that a president has taken consistent issue positions over time, while only 42% of Democrats feel this way. Conversely, half of Democrats consider it essential for a president to pay attention to public opinion when making decisions, compared with only a third of Republicans.
The starkest partisan gap in the poll may stem from opposing partisan perspectives on the marital foibles of former President Bill Clinton, whose affair with a former White House intern while he was in office nearly cost him the presidency. More than twice as many Republicans than Democrats (52% vs. 25%) say it is essential a president has been faithful to his or her spouse. (Whether this pattern holds if one of the Republican presidential candidates with admitted marital problems becomes nominated remains to be seen.)
Other notable differences by party include Republicans' greater likelihood to consider it essential for a president to regularly attend religious services and to stick closely to the principles of his or her own party. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to want an inspiring speaker.
Survey Methods
Results for this panel study are based on telephone interviews with 1,006 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted March 26-29, 2007. Respondents were randomly drawn from Gallup's nationally representative household panel, which was originally recruited through random selection methods. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error 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.
3. Now, thinking ahead to the 2008 presidential election. Can you tell me in your own words what is the most important quality you are looking for in the next president? [OPEN-ENDED]
National
|
Republicans/
|
Democrats/
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
Honesty/straightforward |
33 |
30 |
34 |
Leadership/strength |
16 |
22 |
12 |
Competent/capable/able to govern effectively |
10 |
11 |
10 |
Integrity |
10 |
13 |
7 |
Listen to/represent the people and not special interests or party |
9 |
6 |
13 |
Put U.S. first/Focus on domestic issues |
8 |
3 |
13 |
Intelligence |
5 |
4 |
6 |
Good moral character/family values |
5 |
8 |
2 |
Vision for the country |
5 |
3 |
6 |
Trustworthy |
4 |
4 |
5 |
Win/finish/end the war in Iraq |
4 |
3 |
4 |
Honorable |
4 |
5 |
3 |
Good on economy |
3 |
2 |
5 |
Foreign policy experience |
3 |
1 |
5 |
Christian |
3 |
6 |
* |
Consensus-builder/Bring country together |
2 |
1 |
3 |
Conservative |
2 |
3 |
* |
Good on terrorism issue |
1 |
2 |
1 |
Experience (general) |
1 |
1 |
2 |
Common sense |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Charisma |
* |
* |
1 |
|
|
|
|
Other |
4 |
3 |
4 |
Nothing in particular |
1 |
1 |
1 |
No opinion |
3 |
4 |
2 |
* = Less than 0.5% |
|||
Note: Percentages add to more than 100% due to multiple responses |
4. Next I'm going to read a list of qualities and characteristics. For each, please say how important you think it is for the next president to have -- is it absolutely essential, important, but not essential, or not that important? How about -- [RANDOM ORDER]?
|
Essential |
Important,
|
Not that
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
Is a strong and decisive leader |
77 |
22 |
1 |
* |
Has good moral character |
68 |
29 |
2 |
* |
Is an effective manager |
63 |
34 |
3 |
* |
Would focus on uniting the country |
59 |
35 |
5 |
* |
Has been highly consistent with the issue
|
47 |
46 |
6 |
* |
Has experience dealing with foreign
|
46 |
48 |
5 |
* |
Pays attention to public opinion when
|
43 |
43 |
14 |
* |
Has been faithful to his or her spouse |
37 |
40 |
22 |
1 |
Has a lot of experience in government |
34 |
50 |
15 |
* |
Is an inspiring speaker |
24 |
56 |
20 |
* |
Sticks closely to the principles of his
|
22 |
45 |
33 |
* |
Has experience running a business |
19 |
47 |
34 |
* |
Has never used illegal drugs |
19 |
39 |
42 |
* |
Attends religious services regularly |
18 |
38 |
44 |
* |
Has worked in Washington a long time |
10 |
35 |
54 |
* |
Has served in the military |
7 |
36 |
57 |
* |
* = Less than 0.5% |