优蜜传媒

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- After 10 months of approval ratings in excess of 70%, two recent 优蜜传媒polls show President George W. Bush's job approval rating at 69%. A new CNN/USA Today/优蜜传媒poll shows that, in addition to his job approval, most other ratings of the president have declined in recent months, including his favorability rating, assessments of his handling of major issues, and perceptions of his character. Additionally, the poll shows a shift on the question of whether Bush is more likely to protect the interests of ordinary Americans or large corporations, with an increase in the latter. And while a slim majority of Americans say Bush is paying enough attention to the economy, a substantial minority of 45% say he is not. Nevertheless, Bush's ratings remain positive and higher than those he received prior to Sept. 11. Additionally, the ethics of his administration, which have been called into question recently, are viewed favorably when compared with those of other administrations.

The new poll, conducted July 26-28, updated a series of measures on Bush. For example, 71% now say they have a favorable opinion of the president, while 26% have an unfavorable view. As recently as May, when it was last measured, 80% had a favorable opinion, and in November 2001, 87% viewed the president favorably. Bush's favorability rating illustrates the general pattern in perceptions of Bush found in this poll -- while his ratings remain in very positive territory and higher than they were prior to the terrorist attacks, they are showing nearly universal decline, and are for the most part at their lowest points since Sept. 11.

Ratings of Bush on Issues

Bush's handling of the economy is coming under increased scrutiny as concerns about the economy grow. Now, just a bare majority of Americans -- 52% -- approve of his handling of this issue. Bush's approval rating on the economy has fallen 11 percentage points in just a month's time, after being in the low-to-mid 60s throughout 2002.

George W. Bush's Job of Handling the Economy

The current poll finds that 45% of Americans believe Bush is not paying enough attention to the economy, up from 35% in a January poll. Fifty-one percent of Americans say Bush is paying the right amount of attention to the issue. By comparison, just 15% say he is not paying enough attention to the war on terrorism while 68% say he is (15% say he is paying too much attention to the war). Additionally, 51% say Bush is not doing enough to deal with the problem of corporate corruption, while 42% say he is.

The decline in approval of Bush's handling of the economy coincides with a shift in attitudes about whose interests Bush is more likely to protect. Currently, 48% of Americans say Bush is inclined toward "protecting the interests of large corporations," while 41% indicate he is more interested in looking after the welfare of ordinary Americans. When the question was asked earlier this month, the public was divided on the issue. Prior to that, in late June, a majority of the public said Bush was more interested in protecting ordinary Americans' interests.

George W. Bush Interested in Protecting Ordinary Americans or Large Corporations?

Clearly, the war on terrorism has been a major factor in Bush's high approval ratings over the last 10 months. This has been evident in ratings of Bush's handling of foreign affairs, which have remained in the 70% range for the better part of 2002 and reached 83% in January. The current poll shows a decline in Bush's ratings on this issue, too, as 63% of Americans say they approve of the president's handling of foreign affairs.

George W. Bush's Job of Handling Foreign Affairs

One area where Bush's ratings have not changed is education. Currently, 62% approve of Bush's handling of education, a rating that has ranged between 62% and 65% since he took office.

Ratings of Bush's Character and Ethics

In general, most Americans hold positive views about Bush's personality and leadership qualities. However, all characteristics measured in the new poll show at least a six-percentage point decline from where they were in April and May. Still, the current ratings are generally as high or higher than they were prior to Sept. 11 (for the full trend on these data see the tables that follow this article).

Bush gets his highest scores on being a "strong and decisive leader" and for being "honest and trustworthy." About two-thirds of the public thinks Bush "can manage the government effectively" and "works well with both parties to get things done in Washington." About six in 10 say that Bush "cares about the needs of people like you," "shares your values," and "understands complex issues."

 

(Percent saying "applies")	Jul 26-28	Apr 29-May 1	Change
	%	%	%
Is a strong and decisive leader	70	77	-7
Is honest and trustworthy	69	77	-8
Inspires confidence	66	75*	-9
Can manage the government effectively	66	75	-9
Works well with both parties to get things done in Washington	65	73	-8
Cares about the needs of people like you	60	66	-6
Understands complex issues	60	68	-8
Shares your values	60	67	-7

*Oct 5-6, 2001

Recently, some critics have raised questions about Bush's ethics regarding his "activities at Harken Energy Corporation" in Texas in the late 1980s and early 1990s. As shown above, seven in 10 Americans still describe him as being honest and trustworthy. When asked for their opinion on his actions at Harken, only 7% of the public believes Bush did something illegal. About a third of Americans say Bush did something unethical but not illegal, and a similar proportion say he did not do anything wrong. A substantial percentage of Americans (28%) do not have an opinion on the matter.

More generally, Americans rate the ethical standards of the Bush administration very highly. Seventy-four percent say the ethical practices of Bush's top administration officials are either "excellent" or "good." These ratings are substantially more positive than the highest ratings given to recent administrations, including those of Bill Clinton (57%), the elder George Bush (59%), and Ronald Reagan (67%).

Rating the Ethical Standards of Administration Officials

When asked directly if the ethical practices of the Bush administration are worse than in previous administrations, only 16% say they are, while 80% say they are not. In October 1996, 41% of Americans said the ethical practices of the Clinton administration were worse than previous administrations, while 56% said they were not.

Survey Methods

These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,004 adults, 18 years and older, conducted July 26-28, 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 his job as president?

 

 

	Approve	Dis-approve	No opinion			Approve	Dis-approve	No opinion
	%	%	%			%	%	%
2002					2001
2002 Jul 26-28	69	26	5		2001 Nov 26-27	87	8	5
					2001 Nov 8-11	87	9	4
2002 Jul 22-24	69	24	7		2001 Nov 2-4	87	9	4
2002 Jul 9-11	73	21	6		2001 Oct 19-21	88	9	3
2002 Jul 5-8	76	18	6		2001 Oct 11-14	89	8	3
2002 Jun 28-30	76	19	5		2001 Oct 5-6	87	10	3
2002 Jun 21-23	73	21	6		2001 Sep 21-22	90	6	4
2002 Jun 17-19	74	20	6		2001 Sep 14-15	86	10	4
2002 Jun 7-8	74	18	8		2001 Sep 7-10	51	39	10
2002 Jun 3-6	70	23	7		2001 Aug 24-26	55	36	9
2002 May 28-29	77	17	6		2001 Aug 16-19	57	34	9
2002 May 20-22	76	17	7		2001 Aug 10-12	57	35	8
2002 May 6-9	76	19	5		2001 Aug 3-5	55	35	10
2002 Apr 29-May 1	77	20	3		2001 Jul 19-22	56	33	11
2002 Apr 22-24	77	17	6		2001 Jul 10-11	57	35	8
2002 Apr 8-11	75	20	5		2001 Jun 28-Jul 1	52	34	14
2002 Apr 5-7	76	19	5		2001 Jun 11-17	55	33	12
2002 Mar 22-24	79	17	4		2001 Jun 8-10	55	35	10
2002 Mar 18-20	79	16	5		2001 May 18-20	56	36	8
2002 Mar 8-9	80	14	6		2001 May 10-14	56	31	13
2002 Mar 4-7	77	18	5		2001 May 7-9	53	33	14
2002 Mar 1-3	81	14	5		2001 Apr 20-22	62	29	9
2002 Feb 8-10	82	14	4		2001 Apr 6-8	59	30	11
2002 Feb 4-6	82	14	4		2001 Mar 26-28	53	29	18
2002 Jan 25-27	84	13	3		2001 Mar 9-11	58	29	13
2002 Jan 11-14	83	13	4		2001 Mar 5-7	63	22	15
2002 Jan 7-9	84	12	4		2001 Feb 19-21	62	21	17
2001					2001 Feb 9-11	57	25	18
2001 Dec 14-16	86	11	3		2001 Feb 1-4	57	25	18
2001 Dec 6-9	86	10	4

Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling -- [ROTATED]?

A. The economy

 

	Approve	Disapprove	No opinion
	%	%	%
2002 Jul 26-28	52	43	5
2002 Jul 5-8	58	36	6
2002 Jun 28-30	63	33	4
2002 May 20-22	61	29	10
2002 Apr 5-7 ^	60	33	7
2002 Mar 22-24	65	29	6
2002 Mar 1-3	64	31	5
2002 Feb 4-6	66	30	4
2002 Jan 25-27	64	30	6
2001 Nov 2-4 ^	71	24	5
2001 Oct 5-6	72	23	5
2001 Jul 10-11	54	36	10
2001 May 18-20	51	41	8
2001 Apr 20-22 ^	55	38	7
2001 Mar 9-11	55	32	13
2001 Feb 1-4	53	27	20
^ Asked of half sample.

B. Foreign affairs

 

	Approve	Disapprove	No opinion
	%	%	%
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.

C. Healthcare policy

 

	Approve	Disapprove	No opinion
2002 Jul 26-28	47%	40	13
2002 Mar 22-24 ^	52%	37	11
^ Asked of half sample.

D. Education

 

	Approve	Disapprove	No opinion
	%	%	%
2002 Jul 26-28	62	27	11
2002 Mar 22-24 ^	63	26	11
2001 Jul 10-11	63	25	12
2001 Apr 20-22 ^	62	28	10
2001 Mar 9-11	65	22	13
^ Asked of half sample.

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 – ?

 

A. George W. Bush

	Favorable	Unfavor- able	No opinion			Favorable	Unfavor-able	No opinion
	%	%	%			%	%	%
2002					2000
(NA) 2002 Jul 26-28	71	26	3
					(RV) 2000 Sep 28-30	55	38	7
(NA) 2002 May 20-22	80	18	2		(RV) 2000 Sep 15-17	51	41	8
(NA) 2002 Apr 29-May 1	79	19	2		(NA) 2000 Aug 18-19	60	34	6
(NA) 2002 Jan 11-14	83	15	2		(NA) 2000 Aug 4-5	67	28	5
2001					(NA) 2000 Jul 25-26	63	31	6
(NA) 2001 Nov 26-27	87	11	2		(NA) 2000 Jul 14-16	64	29	7
(NA) 2001 Aug 3-5	60	35	5		(NA) 2000 Jun 23-25	60	31	9
(NA) 2001 Jun 8-10	62	36	2		(NA) 2000 Jun 6-7	64	29	7
(NA) 2001 Apr 20-22	65	32	3		(NA) 2000 Apr 28-30	61	33	6
(NA) 2001 Mar 9-11	63	32	5		(NA) 2000 Mar 10-12	63	32	5
(NA) 2001 Mar 5-7	69	28	3		(NA) 2000 Feb 25-27	57	35	8
(NA) 2001 Feb 19-21	67	27	6		(NA) 2000 Feb 20-21	58	35	7
(NA) 2001 Feb 1-4	64	33	3		(NA) 2000 Feb 4-6	63	31	6
(NA) 2001 Jan 15-16	62	36	2		(NA) 2000 Jan 17-19	66	26	8
2000					1999
(NA) 2000 Dec 15-17	59	36	5		(NA) 1999 Dec 9-12	68	25	7
(NA) 2000 Dec 2-4	56	40	4		(NA) 1999 Oct 21-24	71	21	8
(NA) 2000 Nov 13-15	53	43	4		(NA) 1999 Oct 8-10	70	25	5
(RV) 2000 Nov 13-15	54	43	3		(NA) 1999 Sep 23-26	71	22	7
(RV) 2000 Nov 4-5	55	39	6		(NA) 1999 Aug 16-18	68	21	11
(RV) 2000 Oct 24-26	62	33	5		(NA) 1999 Jun 25-27	69	16	15
(RV) 2000 Oct 23-25	60	35	5		(NA) 1999 Apr 13-14	73	15	12
(RV) 2000 Oct 20-22	59	37	4		(NA) 1999 Feb 19-21	69	12	19
(RV) 2000 Oct 5-7	58	36	6

Thinking about the following characteristics and qualities, please say whether you think it applies or doesn't apply to George W. Bush. How about – [ROTATED]?

A. Shares your values

 

	Applies	Doesn't apply	No opinion
	%	%	%
2002 Jul 26-28	60	36	4
2002 Apr 29-May 1	67	30	3
2001 Aug 10-12	56	41	3
2001 Jul 10-11	56	40	4
2001 Apr 20-22	58	39	3
2001 Feb 9-11	57	39	4
2000 Mar 10-12	52	41	7
2000 Jan 17-19	55	32	13
1999 Sep 10-14	56	34	10
1999 Mar 12-14	58	31	11

B. Cares about the needs of people like you

 

	Applies	Doesn't apply	No opinion
	%	%	%
2002 Jul 26-28	60	36	4
2002 Apr 29-May 1	66	31	3
2001 Oct 5-6	69	29	2
2001 Jul 10-11	57	40	3
2001 Apr 20-22	59	39	2
2001 Feb 9-11	56	39	5
2000 Mar 10-12	51	42	7
2000 Jan 17-19	56	33	11
1999 Sep 10-14	59	32	9
1999 Mar 12-14	59	32	9

C. Is a strong and decisive leader

 

	Applies	Doesn't apply	No opinion
	%	%	%
2002 Jul 26-28	70	27	3
2002 Apr 29-May 1	77	21	2
2001 Oct 5-6	75	23	2
2001 Aug 10-12	55	43	2
2001 Jul 10-11	57	40	3
2001 Apr 20-22	60	37	3
2001 Feb 9-11	61	34	5
2000 Mar 10-12	63	30	7
2000 Feb 25-27	61	32	7
2000 Feb 20-21	58	33	9
2000 Feb 4-6	62	30	8
2000 Jan 17-19	66	24	10
1999 Mar 4	60	14	26

D. Understands complex issues

 

	Applies	Doesn't apply	No opinion
	%	%	%
2002 Jul 26-28	60	36	4
2002 Apr 29-May 1	68	27	5
2001 Oct 5-6	69	27	4
2001 Apr 20-22	56	38	6
2001 Feb 9-11	55	38	7
2000 Jan 17-19	60	26	14

E. Can manage the government effectively

 

	Applies	Doesn't apply	No opinion
	%	%	%
2002 Jul 26-28	66	30	4
2002 Apr 29-May 1	75	21	4
2001 Oct 5-6	79	19	2
2001 Feb 9-11	61	31	8
2000 Mar 10-12	64	28	8
2000 Jan 17-19	66	22	12
1999 Sep 10-14	72	19	9
1999 Mar 12-14	77	15	8

F. Is honest and trustworthy

 

	Applies	Doesn't apply	No opinion
	%	%	%
2002 Jul 26-28	69	26	5
2002 Apr 29-May 1	77	20	3
2001 Jul 10-11	66	31	3
2001 Apr 20-22	67	29	4
2001 Feb 9-11	64	29	7
2000 Mar 10-12	64	28	8
1999 Sep 10-12	62	29	9

G. Inspires confidence

 

	Applies	Doesn't apply	No opinion
	%	%	%
2002 Jul 26-28	66	31	3
2001 Oct 5-6	75	24	1
2001 Apr 20-22	55	42	3
2001 Feb 9-11	57	39	4
2000 Mar 10-12	56	37	7
2000 Jan 17-19	60	29	11

H. Works well with both parties to get things done in Washington

 

	Applies	Doesn't apply	No opinion
2002 Jul 26-28	65%	30	5
2002 Apr 29-May 1	73%	23	4
2000 Feb 25-27	55%	37	8

Do you think George W. Bush is more interested in -- [ROTATED: protecting the interests of ordinary Americans (or is he more interested in) protecting the interests of large corporations]?

BASED ON --508-- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B

 

		Ordinary Americans	Large corporations	No opinion
2002 Jul 26-28		41%	48	11
2002 Jul 5-8 ^		47%	46	7
2002 Jun 28-30		53%	41	6
^	Asked of a full sample.

Do you think President Bush is paying -- [ROTATED: too much attention, about the right amount of attention, or not enough attention] -- to the war on terrorism?

 

	Too much	Right amount	Not enough	No opinion
2002 Jul 26-28	15%	68	15	2
2002 Jan 11-14	9%	82	8	1

Do you think President Bush is paying -- [ROTATED: too much attention, about the right amount of attention, or not enough attention] -- to the economy?

 

	Too much	Right amount	Not enough	No opinion
2002 Jul 26-28	1%	51	45	3
2002 Jan 11-14	2%	60	35	3

Do you think George W. Bush is -- or is not -- doing enough to deal with the problem of corporate corruption?

 

	Yes, is	No, is not	DOING TOO MUCH (vol.)	No opinion
2002 Jul 26-28	42%	51	1	6

Overall, how would you rate the ethical standards of top Bush administration officials -- excellent, good, not good, or poor?

 

		Excellent	Good	Not good	Poor	No opinion
		%	%	%	%	%
George W. Bush
2002 Jul 26-28		15	59	15	8	3
Bill Clinton
1994 Mar 7-8		4	53	20	21	2
1994 Jan 15-17		6	37	39	16	2
George H.W. Bush
1989 May 12-16 ^		5	54	20	7	13
Ronald Reagan
1984 Oct 22-23 ^ †		7	60	17	12	4
1984 Sep 7-11 ^ †		6	58	19	15	3
1983 Jul 28-Aug 1 ^		5	59	22	9	4
^	ABC/Washington Post Trend
†	Based on registered voters

Do you think the ethical practices of the Bush administration are worse than previous administrations, or not?

 

	Yes, worse	No, not worse	No opinion
George W. Bush
2002 Jul 26-28	16%	80	4
Bill Clinton
1996 Oct 16	41%	56	3
1996 WORDING: Do you think the ethical practices of the Clinton administration are worse than previous administrations, or not?

From what you have heard or read about George W. Bush's activities at Harken Energy Corporation, which of the following statements best describes your view of his actions in this matter -- [ROTATED: he did something illegal, he did something unethical but nothing illegal, or he did not do anything seriously wrong]?

BASED ON --496-- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A

 

	Something illegal	Something unethical but not illegal	Did not do anything seriously wrong	No opinion
2002 Jul 26-28	7%	32	33	28
2002 Jul 9-11	10%	29	31	30

From what you have heard or read about Dick Cheney's activities at the Halliburton Company, which of the following statements best describes your view of his actions in this matter -- [ROTATED: he did something illegal, he did something unethical but nothing illegal, or he did not do anything seriously wrong]?

BASED ON --508-- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B

 

	Something illegal	Something unethical but not illegal	Did not do anything seriously wrong	No opinion
2002 Jul 26-28	13%	31	23	33