Poll: Two-thirds of Hoosiers disapprove of Bush's job performance
The Courier-Journal
Friday, November 23, 2007
UPDATED: 1:48 PM
courier-journal.com
INDIANAPOLIS — Two-thirds of Hoosiers disapprove of President Bush’s job performance, with 74 percent saying the country is on the wrong track, according to a new statewide poll.
The Indianapolis Star-WTHR poll found that 28 percent of Hoosiers approved of Bush’s performance, a steep drop from the 55 percent approval rating he received in a similar March 2005 poll soon after he started his second term.
The results released today said more than two-thirds of Indiana residents disapprove of Bush’s handling of the war in Iraq, the economy, the federal budget and immigration policy.
Indiana voters also told pollsters that they were more likely to back a Democrat for president in next year’s election than a Republican — especially if Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh was the Democratic vice presidential nominee.
Forty-seven percent said they anticipated voting for the Democratic candidate if Bayh is on the ticket, compared with 33 percent who said they expected to vote GOP.
Without specific candidates to back, support for the Democratic nominee was 37 percent, compared with 32 percent who anticipate voting for the Republican. Nearly one-third of those surveyed said they were undecided.
The last time Indiana’s electoral votes went to a Democratic candidate was in 1964 during Lyndon Johnson’s landslide victory over Barry Goldwater.
Butler University political science Professor Terri Jett warned that much could change by the time the presidential election comes around next year.
She was not surprised that the presence of Bayh, a former two-term governor who has been in the Senate since 1999, on the Democratic ticket would make a big difference in Indiana. Bayh has endorsed New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination.
“For Clinton, having (Bayh) as a running mate would give the impression that she’s not as left-leaning as she is perceived to be,” Jett said.
Tom Falls, a 60-year-old retired police officer from Fort Wayne, said he usually votes Republican but would likely vote for the Democratic candidate next year if Bayh is on the ticket.
“He’s not a typical politician,” Falls said. “He takes a stance and stays with it, and he has voted with Republicans on some issues.”
The telephone poll of 600 Indiana residents ages 18 and older has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. It was taken Nov. 13-16 by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, Iowa.
Among other findings in the poll:
--56 percent said U.S. troops should leave Iraq sooner, instead of staying longer, even if it means disorder and potential civil war in that country. Thirty-eight percent favored staying longer. That is down from 58 percent support in the March 2005 poll for troops staying longer.
--48 percent approved of Bush’s handling of the war on terrorism, while 46 percent said they disapproved. That approval rate was 52 percent in a February 2006 poll.
--69 percent oppose a policy that would allow those in the country illegally to stay or earn citizenship. Twenty-eight percent support that proposal.
--60 percent support a universal health care system where everyone would pay into a national system, with 33 percent opposed. |
