Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (211970)	12/20/2001 11:07:38 PM
From: Thomas A Watson	Respond to of 769670

Westi I got post dat... Poll: Bush earning good marks across the board By Richard Benedetto, USA TODAY USATODAY/CNN/Gallup poll President Bush's success in fighting the war on terrorism is helping him avoid blame for the recession and boosting chances of Republicans running for Congress, a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup poll suggests. With Bush's job approval rating at 86% and public support for the war holding strong at 92%, Democrats are finding it difficult to score political points on domestic issues. Moreover, Americans' optimism that the economy will bounce back next year might benefit Bush. While 50% now rate the economy as good or very good, 76% expect it to be better a year from now. Among the findings: * Just 44% of those polled say the Bush administration shares blame for the recession. Three in four blame Congress; 62% blame the Clinton administration. And 79% say the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks played a role. * The public prefers Republican economic policies to Democratic plans, 44% to 35%, even though Democrats charge that the GOP favors corporate special interests at the expense of those out of work. * If the 2002 elections were held today, 48% of registered voters say they would vote for the GOP congressional candidate, and 43% for the Democrat. That's a dramatic change from last month, when the parties were deadlocked; in June, Democrats held a 4-percentage point advantage. "We're in the midst of a classic halo effect," says political analyst Stu Rothenberg. "Bush's success in dealing with terrorism is boosting the numbers of Republicans across the board." But analysts caution that halos in politics can fade quickly as events change. The war can go bad or the economy get worse, causing the public to reassess. "It's to Bush's advantage to keep the public focus on the war on terrorism," says independent pollster Ed Sarpolus. "Democrats have got to get the public back to domestic issues." Historically, the party that holds the White House loses congressional seats in off-year elections. The current numbers suggest Republicans would gain seats next year. Their last gains came in 1994, when they took over the House after 40 years in the minority - even though polls showed Democrats ahead. Other presidents with high wartime job approval ratings still saw their parties lose seats in the next congressional elections. Among them: Franklin Roosevelt in 1942 and George Bush in 1992. Unlike his son, however, Bush's father was unable during the Persian Gulf War to boost his party's chances in Congress. Despite his 89% job approval rating in March 1991, a Harris poll found voters preferred Democrats to Republicans, 51% to 42%. In 1992, Bush lost his presidency, and Democrats retained control of Congress. And while the elder Bush won high marks for his conduct of the war, he never got above 40% approval for his handling of the economy. The younger Bush scored 71% approval on the economy in October. Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg says his party's apparent advantage on domestic issues before Sept. 11 "has fallen back to parity" since the war began. Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe predicts however that Democrats will rebound next year as the glow from the war begins to fade. "When we get back to talking kitchen-table issues, we'll be fine," he says. Warns Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri, "We intend to spend part of January explaining to the American people how the economy got to where it is." But Bush pollster Matthew Dowd predicts that just as Democrats' attacks on the president's domestic policies haven't worked in recent weeks, they're not likely to work next year. "The public, in time of war, has little appetite for partisan attacks," Dowd says. "They want unifiers who will come together to find solutions." usatoday.com tom watson tosiwmee