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Republicans and Democrats Seek Similar Qualities in 44th President

Republicans and Democrats Seek Similar Qualities in 44th President

Key difference concerns next president's responsiveness to public opinion

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
Adults

Republicans/
Lean
Republican

Democrats/
Lean
Democratic

%

%

%

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
(Note: Results could overlap among some respondents.)

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
Adults

Republicans/
Lean
Republican

Democrats/
Lean
Democratic

%

%

%

Presidential Qualities

 

 

 

Leadership/strength

16

22

12

Competent/capable/able to govern effectively

10

11

10

Listen to/represent the people and not special
interests or party

9

6

13

Vision for the country

5

3

6

Consensus-builder/Bring country together

2

1

3

Total percentage of all mentions
(Note: Results could overlap among some respondents.)

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
Adults

Republicans/
Lean
Republican

Democrats/
Lean
Democratic

%

%

%

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
(Note: Results could overlap among some respondents.)

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
Adults

Republicans/
Lean
Republican

Democrats/
Lean
Democratic

%

%

%

Experience

 

 

 

Experience (general)

1

1

2

Foreign policy experience

3

1

5

Total percentage of all mentions
(Note: Results could overlap among some respondents)

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"
Mar. 26-29, 2007

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
positions he or she has taken over time

47

53

42

Has experience dealing with foreign policy
at the government level

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
her party

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
Adults

Republicans/
Lean
Republican

Democrats/
Lean
Democratic

%

%

%

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]?


2007 Mar 26-29
(sorted by "essential")

Essential

Important,
not essential

Not that
important


No
opinion

%

%

%

%

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
positions he or she has taken over time

47

46

6

*

Has experience dealing with foreign
policy at the government level

46

48

5

*

Pays attention to public opinion when
making decisions

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
or her party

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%


Gallup https://news.gallup.com/poll/27088/Republicans-Democrats-Seek-Similar-Qualities-44th-President.aspx
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