Majority of Americans Say Iraq War Should Be Top Government Priority

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- As the Democrats prepare to take control of both houses of Congress this month, Americans continue to tell Gallup that the war in Iraq should be the top priority for the president and Congress at this time, according to a recent Gallup Panel poll. In fact, more than 7 in 10 Americans mention Iraq as the top priority, the highest percentage Gallup has measured to date, although not significantly higher than Gallup's measurement in November 2006. Both Republicans and Democrats say Iraq should be the most important issue for government, but Democrats continue to mention Iraq much more frequently than Republicans.

Overall Results

The Dec. 18-20, 2006, poll asked respondents to name, in their own words, what should be the "top priority for the president and Congress to deal with." Seventy-two percent of Americans mention the war in Iraq. No other issue comes close, with the general state of the economy (16%), healthcare issues (12%), and immigration (10%) being mentioned next most often.

Other issues mentioned by at least 3% of Americans are education, national security, the federal budget deficit, terrorism, fuel prices, and Social Security.

Gallup initiated a monthly measure of this question in April 2006, and since then the war in Iraq has dominated the rankings. However, public focus on Iraq in regard to this question has increased significantly in the past several months.                                                                                           

In April, 29% of Americans said Iraq should be the top priority for the president and Congress. By June, this percentage increased to a majority -- 60% -- before dropping slightly in August and September, when roughly half of Americans said Iraq should be the government's top priority. Since then, mentions of Iraq as the top priority have gradually increased each month, to 64% in October, 69% in November, and the new high of 72% in December.

While Iraq has become an even more salient issue, the percentage of Americans directing government leaders to focus on fuel prices as the top priority has reached its lowest point of the last nine months. In May, with the price of gasoline on the rise, 29% of Americans said fuel or oil prices should be the top priority for government. Since then, this sentiment has gradually decreased, reaching its current low of 3%.

Several other issues are typically named as a top priority for government in the monthly surveys by small but consistent percentages of Americans; the current percentages show no exception. These issues include the economy, healthcare, immigration, national security or terrorism, education, and the federal budget deficit.

Partisan Views of the Nation's Priorities

Republicans (including independents who lean toward the Republican Party) and Democrats (including Democratic-leaning independents) differ somewhat in their views of where the president and Congress should be focusing their attention, although Iraq tops the list for both groups.

Democrats are a bit more likely than Republicans (77% vs. 66%) to mention Iraq. Democrats are also twice as likely as Republicans to mention healthcare issues (16% vs. 8%). Republicans, on the other hand, more frequently mention immigration (16% vs. 5%) and terrorism or national security (12% vs. 5%). The two party groups are about equally likely to mention the economy, education, the federal budget deficit, fuel prices, and Social Security as top government priorities.

Since April, Democrats have consistently been more likely than Republicans to tell Gallup the war in Iraq should be the top priority for the president and Congress. The current poll finds an 11-point gap between Republicans' and Democrats' mentions of Iraq as the top government priority. The average gap over the past nine months has been 15 points, with a high of 23 points in August and a low of five points last April.

Survey Methods

Results for this panel study are based on telephone interviews with 1,013 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Dec. 18-20, 2006. 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.