Public Disagrees with Bush on Kyoto, But Thinks He Represents U.S. Well

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- Yesterday, President Bush concluded his weeklong trip to Europe, which included meetings with other national leaders and a visit with Pope John Paul II. As he returns to the United States, a new Gallup poll shows that 56% of Americans approve of the job he is doing as president, a number similar to his previous ratings. In general, Americans say Bush does a good job representing America to the world, but the public is divided in their thinking on whether foreign leaders respect Bush. Bush used the trip to discuss global warming and missile defense with leaders of other developed nations, and to discuss stem cell research with Pope John Paul II. Gallup poll research shows that a majority of Americans disapprove of the Bush administration's decision to withdraw its support from the multinational global warming treaty agreed to in 1997 at Kyoto, Japan. A majority of Americans do not have an opinion on stem cell research, but among those who express an opinion, more favor it than oppose it. Similarly, many Americans do not have a firm opinion on missile defense, but 41% favor spending the money necessary to build one.

Job Approval Rating Remains Steady

The latest poll, conducted July 19-22 while Bush was in Europe, shows no change in Bush's overall job approval rating. Currently, 56% approve of the job he is doing as president while 33% disapprove and 11% have no opinion. Bush's approval rating has ranged between 52% and 57% since the beginning of May, following his high point of 62% in April during the spy plane incident with China. Bush's early term average rating is comparable to Ronald Reagan's, but lower than the elder George Bush's and higher than Bill Clinton's.

A majority of Americans, 58%, say Bush does a good job representing America to the world, while 36% think he does not. At a similar point in his presidency, 61% thought Clinton did a good job. Opinions on how well Bush represents the United States are highly partisan -- 87% of Republicans think he does a good job, as do 56% of independents and just 32% of Democrats.

Despite the fact that most Americans feel Bush represents the country well, the public is divided as to whether they believe foreign leaders respect Bush -- 45% think they do and 47% say they do not. Gallup measured this sentiment on two previous occasions, with differing results, suggesting the public does not have very firm opinions on this matter. In February, at the beginning of his presidency, 49% thought foreign leaders respected Bush, 38% did not, and 13% had no opinion. By June, opinion had shifted, only 40% thought foreign leaders respected Bush and a plurality, 46%, thought Bush was not respected. When the same question was asked about Clinton in 1994 and 2000, on both occasions a majority of Americans thought foreign leaders did not respect him.

Americans Do Not Approve of Decision to Withdraw from Kyoto Treaty

In March, President Bush announced that the United States was withdrawing support for a worldwide agreement on global warming that was reached at a 1997 summit meeting in Kyoto, Japan. The Clinton administration had supported the treaty, but Bush cited possible harmful effects on the U.S. economy and the treaty's exclusion of non-developed countries as reasons for the change in U.S. policy. The new poll shows that 51% of Americans disapprove of the administration's decision to withdraw support from the treaty, while 32% approve and 17% have no opinion. While many had hoped the Bush administration could be swayed to back the treaty, leaders in Europe reached a new agreement on global warming without involving the United States. Terms of that agreement allow the United States to pledge its support at a later date.

Plurality of Americans Support Missile Defense System

Bush used the European meetings as an opportunity to promote his plan for a missile defense shield for the United States, a proposal many foreign leaders, especially Russian President Vladimir Putin, oppose. The latest Gallup poll shows that 41% of Americans believe the United States should spend the resources necessary to develop a missile defense system, 28% think it should not, and 31% are unsure. Opinion on this issue has not changed much from earlier this year, even though the system tested successfully this month.

Stem-Cell Decision Awaits Bush

One of the more publicized stops on Bush's trip was a meeting with Pope John Paul II. The pope discussed his opposition to stem cell research with the president. Bush will soon have to decide whether the government will fund certain types of stem-cell research, a controversial decision he has struggled to make. A recent CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll suggests that Bush will receive little guidance on this decision from the American people, as a majority, 57% do not have an opinion on government funding of stem cell research. Thirty percent of Americans say they favor government funding of stem cell research, and 13% are opposed.

Survey Methods

These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,038 adults, 18 years and older, conducted July 19-22, 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.

Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president?

 

 

	Approve	Disapprove	No opinion
	%	%	%
(NA) 2001 Jul 19-22	56	33	11
(NA) 2001 Jul 10-11	57	35	8
(NA) 2001 Jun 28-Jul 1	52	34	14
(NA) 2001 Jun 11-17	55	33	12
(NA) 2001 Jun 8-10	55	35	10
(NA) 2001 May 18-20	56	36	8
(NA) 2001 May 10-14	56	31	13
(NA) 2001 May 7-9	53	33	14
(NA) 2001 Apr 20-22	62	29	9
(NA) 2001 Apr 6-8	59	30	11
(NA) 2001 Mar 26-28	53	29	18
(NA) 2001 Mar 9-11	58	29	13
(NA) 2001 Mar 5-7	63	22	15
(NA) 2001 Feb 19-21	62	21	17
(NA) 2001 Feb 9-11	57	25	18
(NA) 2001 Feb 1-4	57	25	18

Do you think George W. Bush does a good job representing America to the world, or not?

BASED ON -- 534 -- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A; ±5 PCT. PTS.

 

	Yes, does good job	No, does not	No opinion
	%	%	%
George W. Bush
(NA) 2001 Jul 19-22	58	36	6
(NA) 2001 Jun 8-10	56	39	5
Bill Clinton Trend
(NA) 1998 Aug 21-23 ^	54	44	2
(NA) 1998 Mar 20-22	64	34	2
(NA) 1994 Jan 6-8	64	34	2
(NA) 1993 Jun 29-30	61	36	3
^ Asked of half sample
Bill Clinton trend asked in list of other characteristics

Do you think leaders of other countries around the world have respect for George W. Bush, or do you think they don't have much respect for him?

BASED ON -- 504 -- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B; ±5 PCT. PTS.

 

	Respect him	Don't have much respect for him	No opinion
	%	%	%
George W. Bush
2001 Jul 19-22	45	47	8
2001 Jun 8-10	40	46	14
2001 Feb 1-4	49	38	13
Bill Clinton Trend
2000 May 18-21	44	51	5
1994 Sep 23-25	41	55	5

As you may know, George W. Bush has decided that the U.S. should withdraw its support from the global warming agreement adopted in Kyoto, Japan in 1997. Do you approve or disapprove of this decision?

BASED ON -- 534 -- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A; ±5 PCT. PTS.

 

		Approve	Disapprove	No opinion
2001 Jul 19-22		32%	51	17
2001 Apr 18-22 ^		25%	47	28
^	Princeton Survey Research Associates/Pew Research Center poll

Recently there has been some discussion about the possibility of the United States building a defense system against nuclear missiles. Do you think the government should or should not spend the money that would be required for research and possible development of such a system, or are you unsure?

BASED ON -- 504 -- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B; ±5 PCT. PTS.

 

	Should	Should not	Unsure	No opinion
2001 Jul 19-22	41%	28	31	*
2001 Feb 1-4	44%	20	36	*

* -- Less than 0.5%