New Zogby Poll on State of the Union
As President Bush heads to the floor of the United States House of Representatives Tuesday to deliver his annual State of the Union speech, his biggest challenge may be to reassure a nation shaken in its confidence that his government can protect it from another act of terror, a new Zogby Interactive survey shows.
The President, who once had large majorities saying the nation was safer from terrorism under his watch, will speak Tuesday to a country where less than half (46%) agree we are safer than when terrorists slammed airplanes into buildings in New York and Washington more than four years ago.
"This is going to be one of the most important speeches President Bush ever delivers," said John Zogby, President and CEO of Zogby International, "because it's going to be important for him to win back his own constituency. Right now, his numbers are very, very low. Support for the war in Iraq is low, support for his handling of the economy is low, and even support for his handling of the war on terrorism is not where it has traditionally been."
In September 2005, 51% said they felt safer with Bush as President, down from numbers above
60% in earlier polls. Now, just 43% said they feel safer with Bush as President, while 53% said they feel less safe, the survey shows. This decline comes as both the new Zogby Interactive survey and a Zogby America telephone survey conducted last week showed the President's job approval rating hovering at 39%.
Highlighting public fears about safety, 87% said they expect the U.S. to be hit by another terrorist attack inside our country, with 54% believing such an attack will come before the end of Bush's second term in office. Almost half of those expecting an attack said they think it will come in the form of a suicide bombing, probably in a major U.S. city. Eleven percent expect a blast at a shopping mall, while 9% expect terrorists to strike at a sporting or other entertainment event at an arena somewhere in the country.
The new poll shows little decline in peoples' concern over terrorism on American soil, despite billions spent on homeland security and the elevation of the department created in the wake of the 2001 attacks to presidential cabinet level prominence. In June 2002, 89% said it was likely America would suffer another terrorist attack on American soil resulting in the loss of life.
In a sign of widespread concerns over terror, more than one in four (27%) believe their hometown is a likely terrorist target.
The survey also finds widespread doubt about the federal government's ability to cope with terror or disaster. Asked to rate their perception of how well prepared the government was to deal with a range of scenarios, the federal government received failing marks on every front (see table). The questions, which included both man-made and natural calamities, find the public decidedly doubtful about government's ability to protect them – although respondents were, noticeably, more likely to predict government success dealing with another major hurricane than other disasters.
Meanwhile, in an indication of how weak public confidence in the federal government's ability to deal with catastrophe has become, when asked whether the government was more prepared to deal with another 9/11-type attack or another major hurricane like Katrina, a 46% plurality of likely voters said ‘neither.' Sixteen percent, meanwhile, selected the terror attack and 10% chose the hurricane.
Survey Finds Troubling News for Bush Critics as Well
Despite the negative news for President Bush in the survey, Democrats come in for criticism as well. When asked whether the federal government, the American people, and the two major parties had adopted a post-9/11 mentality or were living in a pre-9/11 world, respondents were only more likely to suggest the Democrats had not absorbed the lessons of 9/11, with 44% saying the party was still living in a pre-9/11 world – higher than the 27% who said the Democrats had adopted a post-9/11 mentality. This also places them well behind the Republican Party and the federal government, which 66% and 61%, respectively, said had adopted a post-9/11 mindset. Meanwhile, 38% said the American people had adopted a post-9/11 mindset, while 30% said they still have a pre-9/11 outlook.
The interactive survey of 13,456 likely voters nationwide was conducted Jan. 27 through 30. It has a margin of error of +/- 0.9 percentage points.
The President, who once had large majorities saying the nation was safer from terrorism under his watch, will speak Tuesday to a country where less than half (46%) agree we are safer than when terrorists slammed airplanes into buildings in New York and Washington more than four years ago.
"This is going to be one of the most important speeches President Bush ever delivers," said John Zogby, President and CEO of Zogby International, "because it's going to be important for him to win back his own constituency. Right now, his numbers are very, very low. Support for the war in Iraq is low, support for his handling of the economy is low, and even support for his handling of the war on terrorism is not where it has traditionally been."
In September 2005, 51% said they felt safer with Bush as President, down from numbers above
60% in earlier polls. Now, just 43% said they feel safer with Bush as President, while 53% said they feel less safe, the survey shows. This decline comes as both the new Zogby Interactive survey and a Zogby America telephone survey conducted last week showed the President's job approval rating hovering at 39%.
Highlighting public fears about safety, 87% said they expect the U.S. to be hit by another terrorist attack inside our country, with 54% believing such an attack will come before the end of Bush's second term in office. Almost half of those expecting an attack said they think it will come in the form of a suicide bombing, probably in a major U.S. city. Eleven percent expect a blast at a shopping mall, while 9% expect terrorists to strike at a sporting or other entertainment event at an arena somewhere in the country.
The new poll shows little decline in peoples' concern over terrorism on American soil, despite billions spent on homeland security and the elevation of the department created in the wake of the 2001 attacks to presidential cabinet level prominence. In June 2002, 89% said it was likely America would suffer another terrorist attack on American soil resulting in the loss of life.
In a sign of widespread concerns over terror, more than one in four (27%) believe their hometown is a likely terrorist target.
The survey also finds widespread doubt about the federal government's ability to cope with terror or disaster. Asked to rate their perception of how well prepared the government was to deal with a range of scenarios, the federal government received failing marks on every front (see table). The questions, which included both man-made and natural calamities, find the public decidedly doubtful about government's ability to protect them – although respondents were, noticeably, more likely to predict government success dealing with another major hurricane than other disasters.
Meanwhile, in an indication of how weak public confidence in the federal government's ability to deal with catastrophe has become, when asked whether the government was more prepared to deal with another 9/11-type attack or another major hurricane like Katrina, a 46% plurality of likely voters said ‘neither.' Sixteen percent, meanwhile, selected the terror attack and 10% chose the hurricane.
Survey Finds Troubling News for Bush Critics as Well
Despite the negative news for President Bush in the survey, Democrats come in for criticism as well. When asked whether the federal government, the American people, and the two major parties had adopted a post-9/11 mentality or were living in a pre-9/11 world, respondents were only more likely to suggest the Democrats had not absorbed the lessons of 9/11, with 44% saying the party was still living in a pre-9/11 world – higher than the 27% who said the Democrats had adopted a post-9/11 mentality. This also places them well behind the Republican Party and the federal government, which 66% and 61%, respectively, said had adopted a post-9/11 mindset. Meanwhile, 38% said the American people had adopted a post-9/11 mindset, while 30% said they still have a pre-9/11 outlook.
The interactive survey of 13,456 likely voters nationwide was conducted Jan. 27 through 30. It has a margin of error of +/- 0.9 percentage points.
posted by MovinMan at
1/31/2006 01:08:00 PM
2 Comments:
The President is a fallible human being. There is NO possible way Bush or any other government entity can guarantee the safety of every US Citizen. How can anyone possibly catch or monitor every terror-minded individual or prevent every act of violence? Can't!! I don't put my trust in Pres. Bush or any other world leader for my safety. I give them the respect afforded by their offices, but they are not gods- all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful. (Maybe they think they are- who knows?) LOL
By
Trailady, at 6:41 PM, January 31, 2006
I agree with Trailady. We need to put our trust in God, not man. I believe President Bush is doing the best he can, but he cant be all things to all people. Politics are real complicated.
By
Anonymous, at 7:21 PM, January 31, 2006
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