GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- With President Bush off to his ranch in Crawford, Texas for a month on what he calls a "working vacation," a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll finds the American public somewhat critical of the president's long absence from the White House. Still, Bush's job approval and personal favorability ratings remain steady and, by a substantial margin, Americans are more likely to characterize the first six months of Bush's presidency as a success than as a failure.
Too Much Vacation?
Most Americans may not be aware of the fact that Bush is spending the next month in Texas, but when they are given that information, they express more opposition than support. The poll, conducted August 3-5, shows that 55% say that 30 days is too much time for the president to spend away from the White House, while 42% think it is not.
President Bush will spend the next thirty days at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Do you think this is -- or is not -- too much time to spend away from the White House?
BASED ON -- 517 -- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A; MARGIN OF ERROR = ± 5 PCT. PTS.
|
Yes, is too much |
No, is not |
No opinion |
|
|
2001 Aug 3-5 |
55% |
42 |
3 |
Among people who approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president, opinion on this matter is about evenly divided. Forty-eight percent say that 30 days is too long for the president to be away from the White House, while 50% disagree. Among those who disapprove of Bush's job performance, however, 69% say that a month is too long, while just 29% disagree.
On the broader question of how much vacation time a president should take in general, the average time suggested by Americans is 3.5 weeks. About half the public, 48%, says a president should not take more than three weeks, while the other half says he should be able to take at least four weeks. Most people, 79%, agree that a president should not take more than four weeks.
Just your opinion, how many weeks of vacation should a president take each year?
BASED ON -- 500 -- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B; ± 5 PCT. PTS.
|
2001 |
|
|
% |
|
|
No Vacation |
3 |
|
One Week or less |
5 |
|
Two Weeks |
22 |
|
Three Weeks |
18 |
|
Four Weeks |
31 |
|
Five Weeks |
3 |
|
Six Weeks |
9 |
|
More than Six Weeks |
5 |
|
No Opinion |
4 |
|
TOTAL |
100% |
|
Mean (excluding no opinion) |
3.5 weeks |
Bush's Ratings Remain Steady, First Six Months Viewed as a Success
Whatever the public's reaction to the president's vacation schedule, Bush's job approval and personal favorability ratings remain steady. The poll shows that 55% of Americans approve of the way Bush is handling the presidency, not significantly different from the 57% rating measured in a Gallup poll two weeks ago. And 60% of Americans say they have a favorable opinion of the president, again essentially the same as the 62% rating measured by Gallup in early June.
Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president?
|
Approve |
Disapprove |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
(NA) 2001 Aug 3-5 |
55 |
35 |
10 |
|
(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 |
The poll also finds that by a substantial margin -- 56% to 32% -- Americans characterize Bush's first six months in office as a success rather than a failure. These numbers are highly correlated with Bush's approval rating, of course, as 85% of those who approve of the president's job performance also characterize his presidency thus far as a success. Of those who disapprove of the president's job performance, just 15% see Bush's first six months as a success.
SurveyMethods
Results reported here are based on telephone interviews with approximately 1,017 national adults, aged 18+, conducted August 3-5, 2001. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the 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.
