GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, majorities of Americans cited each of four issue areas -- terrorism, military and defense, the economy, and foreign affairs -- as "extremely" important for the president and Congress to address. But according to the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, only terrorism is still mentioned by a majority of Americans as extremely important, while the percentages of people citing the other issues have dropped significantly. Other than terrorism, the most frequently cited issue areas now include education, and Social Security and Medicare, along with the economy and military/defense.
|
How important is it to you that the president and Congress deal with each of the following issues in the next year -- is it -- extremely important, very important, moderately important, or not that important? How about -- [RANDOM ORDER]?
|
|||
|
|
Jan 11-14, 2002 |
Oct 5-6, |
Jan 10-14, 2001 |
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
Terrorism |
62 |
70 |
N/A |
|
Education |
46 |
46 |
61^ |
|
The economy |
44 |
54 |
34 |
|
The Social Security and Medicare systems |
43 |
42 |
37 |
|
Military and defense issues |
42 |
57 |
26 |
|
Prescription drugs for older Americans |
37 |
37 |
49^ |
|
Foreign affairs |
34 |
52 |
17 |
|
Taxes |
30 |
N/A |
31 |
|
Immigration |
30 |
N/A |
17 |
|
The federal budget deficit |
30 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
A patient's bill of rights |
29 |
30 |
40^ |
|
Energy policies |
25 |
N/A |
26 |
|
An economic stimulus plan |
25 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
N/A --Not Asked |
|||
|
^ June 8-10, 2001 |
|||
The issues of foreign affairs and military/defense both surged in the public's priority list after the Sept.11 attacks. Only 26% of Americans had said that military and defense issues were extremely important in January 2001, but in a poll conducted Oct. 5-6, that percentage more than doubled to 57%. Foreign affairs jumped by an even greater margin, from 17% of Americans citing that issue before the attacks (also in January 2001) to 52% afterward.
These high priority levels have begun to fade, however, just months after Sept. 11. Thirty-four percent of Americans now mention foreign affairs as extremely important, still double the pre-Sept. 11 figures, but down by 18 percentage points since October. Similarly, 42% of Americans cite military and defense issues as extremely important in the latest poll, also higher than before the terrorist attacks, but down 15 percentage points since October.
The priority of the economy as an issue has also declined since October, as the public's expectations for the future have improved. A year ago, 34% cited the economy as extremely important, but by the fall that number had increased to 54% -- while the public's evaluation of the economy dropped significantly. Now, 44% of Americans say the economy is extremely important -- a drop of 10 percentage points -- at the same time that Americans are now more likely to see the economy as getting better than getting worse, for the first time in over a year.
In the meantime, the issue of education has maintained its importance in the public's view since October, mentioned as extremely important both then and now by 46% of Americans. Still, those percentages are considerably lower than the 61% figure measured in a Gallup poll before the terrorist attacks. Social Security and Medicare have also maintained their importance since October, with 43% of Americans mentioning that issue area as extremely important today, compared with 42% last fall and 37% a year ago.
Republicans More Likely to Be Seen as Better Able to Deal With Important Issues
The Republican Party is seen as better able than the Democratic Party to deal with the majority of a list of issues mentioned in the poll, but other questions suggest that the GOP advantage may be related more to President Bush personally than to his party. As shown in the table below, 61% of Americans see the Republican Party as better able to handle the issue of terrorism, while just 23% say that about the Democratic Party. The Democrats enjoy a substantial advantage on the issue of Social Security and Medicare, as well as prescription drugs for older Americans, but the GOP is the clear winner on military and defense issues, and foreign affairs.
|
Do you think the Republican Party or the Democratic Party would do a better job of dealing with each of the following issues and problems? How about -- [RANDOM ORDER]? |
|||
|
(sorted by overall % extremely important) 2002 Jan 11-14 |
Republican Party |
Democratic Party |
Republican |
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
Terrorism |
61 |
23 |
+38 |
|
Education |
42 |
46 |
-4 |
|
The economy |
47 |
41 |
+6 |
|
The Social Security and Medicare systems |
36 |
53 |
-17 |
|
Military and defense issues |
65 |
24 |
+41 |
|
Prescription drugs for older Americans |
32 |
56 |
-24 |
|
Foreign affairs |
56 |
30 |
+26 |
|
Taxes |
52 |
40 |
+12 |
|
Immigration |
50 |
33 |
+17 |
|
The federal budget deficit |
47 |
41 |
+6 |
|
A patient's bill of rights |
32 |
54 |
-22 |
|
Energy policies |
41 |
44 |
-3 |
|
An economic stimulus plan |
47 |
38 |
+9 |
|
+ indicates a Republican advantage |
|||
Overall, the Republican Party gets higher marks on eight of the issues tested, the Democratic Party on five. The margins for the Republicans are also higher than the margins for the Democrats, suggesting that the Republican Party has a clear edge in the public's perceptions.
This conclusion seems to be reinforced by the respective parties' favorability ratings. Overall, 61% of Americans rate the Republicans favorably and 30% unfavorably, compared with a 55% to 33% ratio for the Democrats. These numbers represent little change for the Democrats from a poll conducted immediately prior to the terrorist attacks, but a substantial improvement for the Republican Party.
Next, we'd like to get your overall opinion of some people in the news. As I read each name, please say if you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of this person -- or if you have never heard of him. How about –?
The Republican Party
|
|
|
|
Never |
No |
|
2002 Jan 11-14 |
61% |
30 |
* |
9 |
|
2001 Sep 7-10 |
47% |
48 |
* |
5 |
The Democratic Party
|
|
|
Never |
No |
|
|
2002 Jan 11-14 |
55% |
33 |
* |
12 |
|
2001 Sep 7-10 |
56% |
38 |
* |
6 |
|
* less than 0.5% |
||||
A different question, however, suggests that much of the GOP advantage in its image is related primarily to President Bush rather than to the members of Congress. As shown below, when asked specifically which party would be better for the country in controlling Congress, the public is evenly divided. The public is also split on which party should have the greater influence over the direction the country takes in the next year. At the same time, the public clearly prefers that Bush, rather than the Democrats in Congress, influence the direction the country takes in the next year.
Do you think the country would be better off if the Republicans controlled Congress, or if the Democrats controlled Congress?
[BASED ON -- 481 -- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B; ±5 PCT. PTS.]
|
|
|
NEITHER (vol.) |
SAME |
No |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2002 Jan 11-14 |
44 |
43 |
3 |
3 |
7 |
|
2001 Oct 5-6 |
38 |
37 |
11 |
7 |
7 |
|
2001 Aug 3-5 |
34 |
43 |
10 |
6 |
7 |
|
2001 Apr 20-22 |
41 |
43 |
6 |
3 |
7 |
|
2001 Jan 5-7 |
39 |
41 |
7 |
5 |
8 |
(vol.) Volunteered response
Who do you want to have more influence over the direction the nation takes in the next year -- [ROTATED: the Republicans in Congress (or) the Democrats in Congress]?
[BASED ON -- 481 -- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B; ±5 PCT. PTS.]
|
Republicans |
Democrats |
BOTH/ |
No |
|
|
2002 Jan 11-14 |
47% |
44 |
5 |
4 |
|
2001 Jul 10-11 |
41% |
44 |
9 |
6 |
|
2001 Jun 8-10 |
39% |
47 |
8 |
6 |
(vol.) Volunteered response
Who do you want to have more influence over the direction the nation takes in the next year – [ROTATED: George W. Bush (or) The Democrats in Congress]?
[BASED ON -- 527 -- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A; ±5 PCT. PTS.]
|
|
Democrats in Congress |
BOTH/ |
No |
|
|
2002 Jan 11-14 |
59% |
36 |
2 |
3 |
|
2001 Jul 10-11 |
50% |
38 |
9 |
3 |
|
2001 Jun 8-10 |
48% |
41 |
6 |
5 |
|
2001 Feb 9-11 |
48% |
41 |
8 |
3 |
(vol.) Volunteered response
Survey Methods
The current results reported here are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,008 adults, 18 years and older, conducted January 11-14, 2002. 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.
