GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- President Bush is currently on a 5-day trip to Eastern Europe, having already met with leaders of the 19 member countries of NATO in Prague. He is scheduled to meet in St. Petersburg with Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday, along with leaders of Lithuania and Romania Saturday. The American public rates Bush's handling of foreign affairs positively, but much of the boost in his ratings given by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has now disappeared. Still, Bush's ratings compare favorably to those of other recent presidents, matched only by his father's scores. More Americans have positive than negative views of Russian President Putin, and ratings of Russia are now among the most positive Gallup has recorded for that country.
Majority Approves of Bush's Handling of Foreign Affairs
A Nov. 8-11 CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll shows that 59% of Americans approve and 36% disapprove of President Bush's handling of foreign affairs. The ratings, though positive, are just slightly above those Bush received prior to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. His foreign affairs ratings soared after that point, and polls conducted between October 2001 and early March 2002 showed about 8 in 10 approving of his performance in this area.
| George W. Bush's Job of Handling Foreign Affairs |
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For his term as president so far, Bush has averaged a 65% approval rating on foreign affairs. Among recent presidents, only the elder George Bush scores at the same level, also with a 65% average. Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton all averaged between 43% and 48% approval ratings on foreign affairs.
Fifty-three percent of Americans say Bush is spending the "right amount of time" dealing with foreign-policy problems, according to an Oct. 21-22 Gallup Poll. Twenty-eight percent say he is spending too much time, while 15% say he is not spending enough time. These numbers compare favorably to recent presidents -- three 1994 polls showed an average of 47% of Americans believing Bill Clinton was spending the right amount of time on international problems, while a January 1992 poll showed just 40% saying this of the elder George Bush.
| Time Spent Dealing With Foreign Policy: Comparing Presidents |
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Putin, Russia Generally Viewed Favorably
Bush will spend time with Russian President Vladimir Putin discussing the effect that an expanding NATO will have on Russia, the situations in Iraq and Chechnya, as well as international terrorism. A May 20-22 Gallup Poll shows that more Americans have a favorable (41%) than an unfavorable (18%) view of Putin, while 41% express no opinion of the Russian president one way or the other.
Ratings of Russia are also very favorable, with 66% of Americans expressing positive views and only 27% negative in a February 2002 Gallup Poll. The 66% favorable rating is tied for the highest Gallup has measured since this question was first asked about Russia in 1989. The current positive rating also represents a complete turnaround from where the rating stood in April 1999, when 33% had favorable views of Russia and 59% had unfavorable views. At that time, Russia opposed U.S. military action in Kosovo.
| Opinion of Russia |
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A different version of a Gallup question asked as early as 1980 showed the vast majority of Americans giving negative ratings to the then-Soviet Union.
Survey Methods
These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,014 adults, 18 years and older, conducted Nov. 8-10, 2002. 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 -- [ROTATED]?
Foreign affairs
|
Approve |
Disapprove |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2002 Nov 8-10 |
59 |
36 |
5 |
|
2002 Oct 21-22 |
58 |
35 |
7 |
|
2002 Jul 26-28 |
63 |
30 |
7 |
|
2002 Jul 5-8 |
71 |
25 |
4 |
|
2002 Jun 28-30 |
66 |
27 |
7 |
|
2002 May 20-22 |
70 |
23 |
7 |
|
2002 Apr 5-7 ^ |
70 |
24 |
6 |
|
2002 Mar 22-24 |
71 |
22 |
7 |
|
2002 Mar 1-3 |
78 |
17 |
5 |
|
2002 Feb 4-6 |
79 |
16 |
5 |
|
2002 Jan 25-27 |
83 |
14 |
3 |
|
2001 Oct 5-6 |
81 |
14 |
5 |
|
2001 Jul 10-11 |
54 |
33 |
13 |
|
2001 May 18-20 |
55 |
35 |
10 |
|
2001 Apr 20-22 ^ |
56 |
31 |
13 |
|
2001 Mar 9-11 |
52 |
27 |
21 |
|
2001 Feb 1-4 |
46 |
21 |
33 |
|
^ Asked of half sample. |
|||
Do you think George W. Bush has spent too much time dealing with foreign policy problems, not enough time, or the right amount of time?
|
Too much |
Not enough |
Right amount |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
|
George W. Bush |
||||
|
2002 Oct 21-22 |
28 |
15 |
53 |
4 |
|
Bill Clinton |
||||
|
1994 Sep 23-25 |
27 |
25 |
44 |
5 |
|
1994 Jun 11-12 |
22 |
25 |
46 |
7 |
|
1994 Jan 6-8 |
19 |
28 |
50 |
3 |
|
George H.W. Bush |
||||
|
1992 Jan 3-6 |
50 |
7 |
40 |
3 |
Do you think George W. Bush has spent too much time dealing with domestic policy problems, not enough time, or the right amount of time?
BASED ON -- 527 -- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A
|
Too much |
Not enough |
Right amount |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
|
George W. Bush |
||||
|
2002 Oct 21-22 |
3 |
61 |
32 |
4 |
|
Bill Clinton |
||||
|
1994 Jan 6-8 |
8 |
47 |
43 |
3 |
|
George H.W. Bush |
||||
|
1992 Jan 3-6 |
5 |
68 |
23 |
4 |
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 – ?
Russian President, Vladimir Putin
|
Favorable |
Unfavorable |
Never heard of |
No opinion |
|
|
2002 May 20-22 |
41% |
18 |
13 |
28 |
Next, I'd like your overall opinion of some foreign countries. First, is your overall opinion of [RANDOM ORDER]very favorable, mostly favorable, mostly unfavorable, or very unfavorable? How about -- [INSERT NEXT ITEM]?
Russia
|
Very |
Mostly fav |
Mostly unfav |
Very unfav |
No |
Total |
Total unfav |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2002 Feb 4-6 |
11 |
55 |
20 |
7 |
7 |
66 |
27 |
|
2001 Feb 1-4 ^ |
6 |
46 |
27 |
15 |
6 |
52 |
42 |
|
2000 Nov 13-15 |
5 |
35 |
39 |
14 |
7 |
40 |
53 |
|
2000 Mar 17-19 |
5 |
35 |
39 |
12 |
9 |
40 |
51 |
|
1999 Nov 4-7 |
4 |
34 |
44 |
14 |
4 |
38 |
58 |
|
1999 May 7-9 |
4 |
42 |
36 |
13 |
5 |
46 |
49 |
|
1999 Apr 13-14 |
3 |
30 |
45 |
14 |
8 |
33 |
59 |
|
1999 Feb 8-9 |
6 |
38 |
34 |
10 |
12 |
44 |
44 |
|
1997 Nov 21-23 |
7 |
49 |
29 |
7 |
8 |
56 |
36 |
|
1996 Mar 8-10 |
6 |
46 |
29 |
10 |
9 |
52 |
39 |
|
1995 Apr 21-24 |
5 |
44 |
32 |
12 |
7 |
49 |
44 |
|
1994 Feb 26-28 |
8 |
48 |
28 |
11 |
5 |
56 |
39 |
|
1992 Feb 6-9 |
12 |
45 |
20 |
13 |
10 |
57 |
33 |
|
1991 Nov 21-24 |
7 |
45 |
24 |
12 |
12 |
52 |
36 |
|
1991 Aug 23-25 |
9 |
51 |
22 |
9 |
9 |
60 |
31 |
|
1991 Aug 8-11 |
11 |
55 |
19 |
6 |
9 |
66 |
25 |
|
1991 Mar 14-17 |
6 |
44 |
32 |
10 |
8 |
50 |
42 |
|
1991 Jan 30-Feb 2 |
8 |
49 |
26 |
9 |
8 |
57 |
35 |
|
1990 Sep 10-11 |
7 |
51 |
23 |
9 |
10 |
58 |
32 |
|
1990 May 17-20 |
7 |
48 |
24 |
8 |
13 |
55 |
32 |
|
1990 Aug 10-13 |
8 |
43 |
27 |
13 |
9 |
51 |
40 |
|
1989 Feb 28-Mar 2 |
7 |
55 |
20 |
9 |
9 |
62 |
29 |
|
1989-1992 WORDING: Soviet Union |
|||||||
Next, I'd like your overall opinion of some foreign countries. For each one we'd like you to indicate your opinion on a scale. If you have a favorable opinion of that country, name a number between PLUS ONE and PLUS FIVE -- the higher the number, the more favorable your opinion -- with plus five being the MOST FAVORABLE. If you have an unfavorable opinion of that country, name a number between MINUS ONE and MINUS FIVE -- the higher the number the more unfavorable your opinion -- with minus five being the MOST UNFAVORABLE. First, what is your opinion of [RANDOM ORDER] on this scale? (How about…)?
Russia
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No opinion |
|
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
||||
|
2001 Feb 1-4 |
2 |
3 |
13 |
12 |
22 |
17 |
7 |
9 |
3 |
8 |
4 |
0.0 |
|
|
1996 Mar 8-10 |
3 |
4 |
13 |
16 |
22 |
14 |
8 |
5 |
4 |
6 |
5 |
0.3 |
|
|
1979 Feb 23-26 |
3 |
3 |
8 |
8 |
12 |
10 |
5 |
11 |
7 |
27 |
6 |
-1.5 |
|
|
1976 Jun 25-28 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
9 |
10 |
7 |
9 |
9 |
37 |
7 |
-2.4 |
|
|
1983 Sep 16-19 ^ |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
7 |
6 |
9 |
8 |
59 |
3 |
-3.7 |
|
|
1982 Aug 13-16 ^ |
2 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
9 |
9 |
7 |
11 |
7 |
40 |
5 |
-2.5 |
|
|
1981 Jan 30-Feb 2 ^ |
1 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
8 |
10 |
6 |
14 |
9 |
38 |
3 |
-2.5 |
|
|
1980 Jan 25-Jan 28 ^ |
1 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
8 |
6 |
9 |
9 |
53 |
3 |
-3.2 |
|
|
^ |
WORDING: Soviet Union |
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