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Bush's Personal Ratings Little Changed Since Inauguration

Bush's Personal Ratings Little Changed Since Inauguration

Most Americans respect president, approve of him as a person - but half think he is out of touch

by David W. Moore

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- The American public has a generally positive impression of President George W. Bush, according to the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll. Almost eight in 10 Americans say that, regardless of how they feel about his political views, they respect Bush; seven in 10 say they approve of him as a person; and substantial majorities give him positive ratings on several personal characteristics measured in the poll. The ratings on these characteristics have changed very little since Bush was inaugurated six months ago. In addition, most Americans say Bush is doing a good job in explaining his policies to the American people. On the downside, about half say the president is out of touch with the problems faced by ordinary Americans, and two-thirds say big business has too much influence over the decisions made by his administration.

The July 10-11, 2001 poll shows that 57% of Americans approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president, but an even larger number -- 70% -- approve of him as a person. This is five points higher than it was last February, shortly after his inauguration, and 10 points higher than what he received in January before he took office.

The personal approval question was first asked about President Ronald Reagan in July of his first year in office, when 78% said they approved of Reagan as a person. The only time this question was asked about President George H.W. Bush, the current president's father, was in November of his first year in office, when 84% of Americans said they approved of him as a person. The first time it was asked about President Bill Clinton was in the wake of the Monica Lewinsky controversy, in October 1999, when only 35% of Americans approved of him as a person, about the same number who approved of him as a person in Gallup's last such rating, in July 2000.

President Bush also fares quite well on five personal characteristics measured in the current poll. Most Americans say Bush is tough enough for the job (69%), is honest and trustworthy (66%), is a strong and decisive leader (57%), cares about the needs of "people like you" (57%), and shares "your values" (56%). There are only minor differences in these ratings from what Bush received in February, shortly after he took office.

Rating George W. Bush on Personal Characteristics
July 10-11, 2001

The poll shows that most Americans -- 78% -- respect President Bush, and 71% also say he is doing a good job in explaining his policies and plans for the future to the American people. Only 20% say they do not respect the president, and just 27% say he is doing a poor job explaining his policies to the public.

Too Much Business Influence; Public Divided on Whether Bush Out of Touch

While the poll shows a public that is mostly positive about the president, it finds that two-thirds of Americans think big business has too much influence over the decisions made by the Bush administration. Also, the public is about evenly divided over whether Bush is out of touch with the problems ordinary Americans face in their daily lives -- 50% say he is, 47% disagree.

All of the views expressed about Bush are highly correlated with party affiliation, with Republicans very positive and Democrats mostly negative about the president, and independents generally more positive than negative. A clear majority of Democrats, however, agree with most independents and Republicans on one item about Bush -- 56% of Democrats (compared with 78% of independents and 98% of Republicans) say they respect him, while 40% of Democrats do not (compared with 19% of independents and 1% of Republicans).

Survey Methods

The results reported here are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 998 adults, 18 years and older, conducted July 10-11, 2001. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 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.


Apart from whether you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president, what do you think of Bush as a person? Would you say you approve or disapprove of him?

 

 

Approve

Disapprove

No opinion

       

(NA) 2001 Jul 10-11

70%

25

5

       

(NA) 2001 Feb 9-11

65%

27

8

(NA) 2001 Jan 5-7 ^

60%

33

7

(NA) 2000 Aug 4-5 †

73%

19

8

       

^

WORDING: Apart from whether you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his transition to the presidency, what do you think of Bush as a person? Would you say you approve or disapprove of him?

WORDING: Apart from whether you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as Governor of Texas, what do you think of Bush as a person? Would you say you approve or disapprove of him?



Thinking about the following characteristics and qualities, please say whether you think it applies or doesn't apply to George W. Bush. How about – [ROTATED]?

A. Shares your values

 

 

Applies

Doesn't apply

No opinion

       
 

%

%

%

2001 Jul 10-11

56

40

4

       

2001 Apr 20-22

58

39

3

2001 Feb 9-11

57

39

4

2000 Mar 10-12

52

41

7

2000 Jan 17-19

55

32

13

1999 Sep 10-14

56

34

10

1999 Mar 12-14

58

31

11



B. Cares about the needs of people like you

 

 

Applies

Doesn't apply

No opinion

       
 

%

%

%

2001 Jul 10-11

57

40

3

       

2001 Apr 20-22

59

39

2

2001 Feb 9-11

56

39

5

2000 Mar 10-12

51

42

7

2000 Jan 17-19

56

33

11

1999 Sep 10-14

59

32

9

1999 Mar 12-14

59

32

9



C. Is a strong and decisive leader

 

 

Applies

Doesn't apply

No opinion

       
 

%

%

%

2001 Jul 10-11

57

40

3

       

2001 Apr 20-22

60

37

3

2001 Feb 9-11

61

34

5

2000 Mar 10-12

63

30

7

2000 Feb 25-27

61

32

7

2000 Feb 20-21

58

33

9

2000 Feb 4-6

62

30

8

2000 Jan 17-19

66

24

10

1999 Mar 4*

60

14

26



D. Is honest and trustworthy

 

 

Applies

Doesn't apply

No opinion

       
 

%

%

%

2001 Jul 10-11

66

31

3

       

2001 Apr 20-22

67

29

4

2001 Feb 9-11

64

29

7

2000 Mar 10-12

64

28

8

1999 Sep 10-12

62

29

9



Q.4 CONTINUED

E. Is tough enough for the job

 

 

Applies

Doesn't apply

No opinion

       

2001 Jul 10-11

69%

28

3

       

2001 Apr 20-22

68%

29

3

2001 Feb 9-11

68%

28

4

1999 Sep 10-14

50%

45

5




BUSH CHARACTERISTICS SUMMARY TABLE

 

2001 Jul 10-11
(sorted by "applies")


Applies


Doesn't apply

%

%

Is tough enough for the job

69

28

Is honest and trustworthy

66

31

Is a strong and decisive leader

57

40

Cares about the needs of people like you

57

40

Shares your values

56

40



Would you say President Bush is in touch or out of touch with the problems ordinary Americans face in their daily lives?

 

 

In touch

Out of touch

No opinion

       

2001 Jul 10-11

47%

50

3



Which of the following are most important to you when you decide whether the president is doing a good job -- [ROTATED: where he stands on issues that matter to you, (or) the leadership skills and vision you think he has as president]?

 

 


Stance on issues

Leadership skills and vision

BOTH/EQUALLY (vol.)

No
opinion

         

2001 Jul 10-11

40%

48

9

3



Do you think big business does -- or does not -- have too much influence over the decisions made by the Bush administration?

 

 

Yes, does

No, does not

No opinion

       

2001 Jul 10-11

67%

26

7

       

2001 Apr 20-22

63%

30

7



Regardless of how you feel about his political views, would you say you respect President Bush, or don't you feel that way?

 

 

Yes, respect

No, not

No opinion

       

2001 Jul 10-11

78%

20

2



How would you rate the job President Bush has done so far in explaining his policies and plans for the future to the American people? Would you say he has done -- very good, good, poor, or very poor?

 

 

Very good

Good

Poor

Very poor

No opinion

           

2001 Jul 10-11

14%

57

21

6

2




Gallup https://news.gallup.com/poll/4690/Bushs-Personal-Ratings-Little-Changed-Since-Inauguration.aspx
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