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NEWSWEEK POLL: Fifty Percent of Americans
Would Like Democrats to Take Control of Congress
Yahoo News/Newsweek March 18, 2006
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President's Approval Rating Remains Low;
65 Percent Disapprove Of Bush's Handling Of Iraq
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42 Percent Would Support Congressional Censure
CORRECTION:
The Newsweek Poll release earlier today reported: "According to the Oct.
8-9, 1998, Newsweek Poll, during which time Congress was moving to begin
impeachment procedures against President Bill Clinton, Clinton's approval
rating was 32 percent." It was not Clinton's approval rating. Instead, 32
percent supported Congress taking action to impeach Clinton. The full
correct release is below.
NEW YORK, March 18 /PRNewswire/ -- A majority of Americans polled would like to see Democrats take control of Congress in this year's elections, according to the new Newsweek Poll, while 34 percent would like Congress to remain in Republican hands. In light of recent events, such as the Dubai ports controversy and the upcoming third anniversary of the Iraq war, only 36 percent of Americans approve of the way the president is handling his job -- the lowest score George W. Bush has received in the Newsweek Poll. Sixty-four percent of Americans are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time, while only 30 percent are satisfied. A year ago, according to the March 17-18, 2005, Newsweek Poll, 57 percent of Americans polled approved of the of the way Bush handled terrorism and homeland security; 35 percent disapproved. Now only 44 percent of Americans polled approve, while 50 percent disapprove. Sixty-five percent disapprove of Bush's handling of the situation in Iraq; 29 percent approve. On domestic issues, 58 percent of those polled disapprove of the way he is handling the economy; 36 percent approve. Fifty-eight percent of Americans disapprove of Bush's energy policy and 62 percent disapprove of his health-care plans. A plurality, 47 percent, approve of Bush's appointments to the Supreme Court -- a 5-point increase since the last Newsweek Poll and the sole issue in the poll in which the public believes he is performing well. Sen. Russ Feingold recently called for Congress to censure -- or formally reprimand -- Bush for his warrantless wiretapping program. While Feingold's measure does not enjoy much support among his Senate colleagues, a significant percentage of those polled like the idea -- 42 percent of Americans say they would support a congressional censure of Bush while 50 percent would not. When divided by political party, the majority of Democrats, 60 percent, support formally reprimanding Bush, while just 20 percent of Republicans would support doing so. When asked about the reason why Senator Feingold and other Democrats in Congress are pushing for Bush's censure, 53 percent of those polled believe that the movement is for partisan political advantage; 33 percent believe it is the right thing to do. When asked if Congress should take action to impeach Bush and consider removing him from office, 26 percent of those polled say that they support such measures. When broken down by political party, 49 percent of Democrats and 5 percent of Republicans support impeachment; 48 percent of Democrats and 94 percent of Republicans are not in favor, although no movement toward impeachment has taken shape. According to the Oct. 8-9, 1998, Newsweek Poll, during which time Congress was moving to begin impeachment procedures against President Bill Clinton, 32 percent of those polled supported Congress taking action. When asked if they think that Bush should shake up his White House team, or if it would be better for Bush not to make major changes, 48 percent say it would be better not to make major changes; 40 percent would like the top advisers to step down, and 12 percent don't know. For this Newsweek Poll, Princeton Survey Research Associates International interviewed 1,020 adults age 18 and older on March 16-17, 2006. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points. This poll is part of the March 27 issue of Newsweek, on newsstands Monday, March 20. To interview Acting Chief of Correspondents Christopher Dickey on the poll, call Natalia Labenskyj at 212-445-4078 or Andrea Faville at 212-445-4859.
Newsweek Poll
Censure
Princeton Survey Research Associates International
Final Topline Results
(3/18/06)
N = 1,020 national adults, 18 and over
Margin of error: plus or minus 3
Interviewing dates: March 16-17, 2006
SAMPLE SIZE/MARGIN OF ERROR FOR REGISTERED VOTERS SUBGROUPS:
891 Registered voters (plus or minus 4)
263 Republicans (plus or minus 7)
310 Democrats (plus or minus 6)
294 Independents (plus or minus 7)
SAMPLE SIZE/MARGIN OF ERROR FOR KEY SUBGROUPS:
490 Men (plus or minus 5)
530 Women (plus or minus 5)
289 Republicans (plus or minus 7)
346 Democrats (plus or minus 6)
341 Independents (plus or minus 6)
121 18-29 (plus or minus 10)
313 30-49 (plus or minus 6)
309 50-64 (plus or minus 6)
238 65+ (plus or minus 7)
NOTES:
Data is weighted so that sample demographics match Census Current Population Survey parameters for gender, age, education, race, region, and population density. Reported sample sizes are unweighted and should not be used to compute percentages. An asterisk (*) indicates a value less than 1%. 1a/b. To begin, suppose the elections for U.S. CONGRESS were being held TODAY ... Would you vote for the Republican Party's candidate or the Democratic Party's candidate (ROTATE) for Congress in your district? [IF OTHER/UNDECIDED, RESPONDENTS WERE ASKED] As of TODAY, do you LEAN more toward... the Republican or the Democrat (ROTATE)?
BASED ON REGISTERED VOTERS
Rep/Lean Rep Dem/Lean Dem Undecided/Other
Current Total 39 50 11 =100
Republicans 90 4 6 =100
Democrats 3 94 3 =100
Independents 31 47 22 =100
2005 Trend (RVs)
(11/10-11/05) 36 53 11 =100
(9/29-30/05) 42 47 11 =100
(9/8-9/05) 38 50 12 =100
2002 Trends (RVs)
(10/24-25/02) 46 43 11 =100
(10/10-11/02) 43 43 14 =100
(9/26-27/02) 40 47 13 =100
(9/12-13/02) 43 41 16 =100
(8/28-29/02) 40 45 15 =100
June 2002(1) 44 46 10 =100
February 2002 46 45 9 =100
1998 Trends (RVs)
(10/8-9/98) 43 45 12 =100
(9/24-25/98) 43 48 9 =100
(9/10-11/98) 43 45 12 =100
(8/20-21/98) 41 47 12 =100
(1) June and February 2002 trends from Pew Research Center.
Questions 2 and 3 were asked in random order.
2. Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in the
United States at this time?
Satisfied Dissatisfied DK
Current Total 30 64 6 =100
Trends(2)
(11/10-11/05) 26 68 6 =100
(9/29-30/05) 31 61 8 =100
(9/8-9/05) Hurricane Katrina 28 66 6 =100
(8/2-4/05) 36 54 10 =100
(12/2-3/04) 46 46 8 =100
(10/27-29/04) 39 56 5 =100
(10/21-22/04) 40 56 4 =100
(10/14-15/04) 40 55 5 =100
(9/30-10/2/04) 38 57 5 =100
(9/9-10/04) 39 53 8 =100
(9/2-3/04) 43 49 8 =100
(7/29-30/04) 36 58 6 =100
(7/8-9/04) 40 54 6 =100
(5/13-14/04) Prisoner abuse
scandal 30 62 8 =100
(4/8-9/04) 36 59 5 =100
(1/22-23/04) 43 52 5 =100
(1/8-9/04) 46 47 7 =100
(12/18-19/03) Saddam's capture 46 47 7 =100
(10/9-10/03) 40 54 6 =100
(4/03) Iraq War 50 41 9 =100
(9/02) 41 55 4 =100
(7/02) 46 46 8 =100
(9/01) Terrorist attacks 57 34 9 =100
(6/01) 43 52 5 =100
(3/01) 47 45 8 =100
(1/01) 55 41 4 =100
(6/00) 47 45 8 =100
(3/00) 56 36 8 =100
(8/99) 56 39 5 =100
(9/98) 54 42 4 =100
(1/97) 38 58 4 =100
(3/96) 28 70 2 =100
(6/95) 25 73 2 =100
(8/94) 24 71 5 =100
(6/92) Recession 14 84 2 =100
(3/91) Gulf War Victory 66 31 3 =100
(9/90) 37 58 5 =100
(9/88) 56 40 4 =100
(11/85) 51 46 3 =100
(12/81) Recession 27 67 6 =100
(7/79) Energy/Economic Crisis 12 84 4 =100
(2) Trends from 4/03, 9/02, 6/00-6/01 and 6/95-8/99 from Pew Research
Center, 7/79-6/92 from Gallup
3. Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his
job as president?
Approve Disapprove DK
Current Total 36 58 6 =100
Trends(3)
(11/10-11/05) 36 58 6 =100
(9/29-30/05) 40 53 7 =100
(9/8-9/05) 38 55 7 =100
(8/2-4/05) 42 51 7 =100
(3/17-18/05) 45 48 7 =100
(2/3-4/05) 50 42 8 =100
(12/2-3/04) 49 44 7 =100
(10/27-29/04) 46 47 7 =100
(10/21-22/04) 46 47 7 =100
(10/14-15/04) 47 46 7 =100
(9/30-10/2/04) 46 48 6 =100
(9/9-10/04) 48 44 8 =100
(9/2-3/04) 52 41 7 =100
(7/29-30/04) 45 49 6 =100
(7/8-9/04) 48 46 6 =100
(5/13-14/04) 42 52 6 =100
(4/8-9/04) 49 45 6 =100
(3/25-26/04) 49 45 6 =100
(3/18-19/04) 48 44 8 =100
(2/19-20/04) 48 44 8 =100
(2/5-6/04) 48 45 7 =100
(1/29-30/04) 49 44 7 =100
(1/22-23/04) 50 44 6 =100
(1/8-9/04) 54 41 5 =100
(12/18-19/03) 54 38 8 =100
(11/6-7/03) 52 40 8 =100
(10/9-10/03) 51 42 7 =100
(8/21-22/03) 53 36 11 =100
(7/10-11/03) 55 37 8 =100
(5/29-30/03) 61 28 11 =100
(5/1-2/03) 65 26 9 =100
(4/10-11/03) 71 23 6 =100
(3/27-28/03) 68 26 6 =100
(3/13-14/03) 53 37 10 =100
(2/6-7/03) 61 31 8 =100
(1/16-17/03) 56 33 11 =100
(11/7-8/02) 60 30 10 =100
(10/11-12/02) 61 29 10 =100
(9/12-13/02) 70 23 7 =100
(8/28-29/02) 61 30 9 =100
(6/27-28/02) 70 19 11 =100
(3/21-22/02) 74 16 10 =100
(1/31-2/1/02) 83 12 5 =100
(12/13-14/01) 81 11 8 =100
(10/11-12/01) 88 8 4 =100
(9/20-21/01) 86 10 4 =100
(9/13-14/01) 82 11 7 =100
(8/25-9/5/01) 51 34 15 =100
(3) Full trendline from 1/04 to present; earlier trends selected. Approval
figures for 8/25-9/5/01 from Pew Research Center.
Lowest Approval Ratings for Past Presidents
President % Approve
Clinton 36 5/26-27/93 Newsweek
G.H.W. Bush 29 7/31-8/2/92 Gallup
Reagan 35 1/28-31/83 Gallup
Carter 28 6/29-7/2/79 Gallup
Ford 37 1/10-13/75 & 3/28-31/75
Gallup
Nixon 23 1/4-7/74 Gallup
Johnson 35 8/7-12/68 Gallup
Kennedy 56 9/12-17/63 Gallup
Eisenhower 48 3/27-4/1/58 Gallup
Truman 22 2/9-14/52 Gallup
Roosevelt 48 8/18-24/39 Gallup
Source: The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research iPoll database.
4. Which of the following outcomes would you most like to see for this year's Congressional elections? Would you rather see ... (RESPONSE CATEGORIES ROTATED) the Republicans keep control of Congress or the Democrats win enough seats to take over Congress?
Total Rep Dem Ind
34 Republicans keep control 86 3 22
50 Democrats take over 6 90 51
16 Don't know 8 7 27
100 100 100 100
5. Next, please tell me whether you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling certain aspects of his job... Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bush is handling... (INSERT-READ AND RANDOMIZE)?
Approve Disapprove DK
a. The economy
Current Total 36 58 6 =100
Trends(4)
(11/10-11/05) 32 60 8 =100
(9/29-30/05) 35 60 5 =100
(9/8-9/05) 35 60 5 =100
(8/2-4/05) 40 52 8 =100
(3/17-18/05) 42 51 7 =100
(4/8-9/04) 41 55 4 =100
(3/25-26/04) 40 54 6 =100
(2/19-20/04) 41 52 7 =100
(1/8-9/04) 46 48 6 =100
(12/18-19/03) 41 49 9 =100
(12/11-12/03) 45 46 9 =100
(11/6-7/03) 44 48 8 =100
(10/9-10/03) 38 56 6 =100
(9/11-12/03) 41 51 8 =100
(7/24-25/03) 43 48 9 =100
(5/29-30/03) 46 45 9 =100
(4/10-11/03) 44 46 10 =100
(3/27-28/03) 53 40 7 =100
(1/16-17/03) 45 46 9 =100
(10/10-11/02) 50 41 9 =100
(8/28-29/02) 48 45 7 =100
b. The situation in Iraq(5)
Current Total 29 65 6 =100
Trends
(11/10-11/05) 30 65 5 =100
(9/29-30/05) 33 62 5 =100
(9/8-9/05) 36 60 4 =100
(8/2-4/05) 34 61 5 =100
(3/17-18/05) 41 54 5 =100
(4/8-9/04) 44 51 5 =100
(3/25-26/04) 44 50 6 =100
(2/19-20/04) 45 47 8 =100
(1/8-9/04) 50 43 7 =100
(12/18-19/03) 53 39 8 =100
(12/11-12/03) 45 50 5 =100
(11/6-7/03) 42 51 7 =100
(10/9-10/03) 44 49 7 =100
(9/11-12/03) 51 42 7 =100
(7/24-25/03) 58 36 6 =100
(5/29-30/03) 65 29 6 =100
(4/10-11/03) 74 22 4 =100
(3/27-28/03) 70 27 3 =100
c. Terrorism and homeland
security(6)
Current Total 44 50 6 =100
Trends
(11/10-11/05) 45 49 6 =100
(9/29-30/05) 51 44 5 =100
(9/8-9/05) 46 48 6 =100
(8/2-4/05) 51 41 8 =100
(3/17-18/05) 57 35 8 =100
(4/8-9/04) 59 35 6 =100
(3/25-26/04) 57 38 5 =100
(2/19-20/04) 65 28 7 =100
(1/8-9/04) 70 22 8 =100
(12/18-19/03) 67 24 9 =100
(12/11-12/03) 64 28 8 =100
(11/6-7/03) 64 27 9 =100
(10/9-10/03) 66 26 8 =100
(9/11-12/03) 65 27 8 =100
(7/24-25/03) 68 26 6 =100
(5/29-30/03) 72 20 8 =100
(4/10-11/03) 78 17 5 =100
(9/26-27/02) 73 21 6 =100
(8/28-29/02) 72 23 5 =100
(5/16-17/02) 71 23 6 =100
(1/31-2/1/02) 82 14 4 =100
d. Appointments to the
Supreme Court(7)
Current Total 47 36 17 =100
Trends
(11/10-11/05) 42 42 16 =100
(9/29-30/05) 57 28 15 =100
(9/8-9/05) 48 33 19 =100
(8/2-4/05) 47 35 18 =100
e. Energy policy
Current Total 28 58 14 =100
Trends
(9/20-30/05) 28 59 13 =100
(9/8-9/05) 28 60 12 =100
(8/2-4/05) 34 46 20 =100
(3/17-18/05) 35 45 20 =100
(9/11-12/03) 42 35 23 =100
(7/24-25/03) 44 35 21 =100
(5/29-30/03) 42 30 28 =100
(5/1-2/03) 44 32 24 =100
(4/10-11/03) 43 32 25 =100
(9/26-27/03) 48 30 22 =100
(8/28-29/02) 47 33 20 =100
(5/3-5/4/01) 44 39 17 =100
(4/12-13/01) 41 38 21 =100
f. Health care, including Medicare
Current Total 28 62 10 =100
Trends
(3/17-18/05) 34 56 10 =100
(2/19-20/04) 37 50 13 =100
(1/8-9/04) 37 50 13 =100
(12/18-19/03) 37 49 14 =100
(12/11-12/03) 35 52 13 =100
(11/6-7/03) 36 50 14 =100
(10/9-10/03) 34 51 15 =100
(9/25-26/03) 38 47 15 =100
(9/18-19/03) 37 51 12 =100
(9/11-12/03) 38 47 15 =100
(7/24-25/03) 39 45 16 =100
(5/29-30/03) 40 43 17 =100
(5/1-2/03) 39 46 15 =100
(4/10-11/03) 40 45 15 =100
(9/26-27/02) 44 43 13 =100
(4) Full trendline from 1/04 to present for items a through c; earlier
trends selected.
(5) Trend wording from 3/03 and 4/03 read "The War with Iraq."
(6) Trend wording from January 2002 to January 2004 read "Policies to
prevent and minimize terrorism at home."
(7) Trend wording through 5/05 read "Appointments to the Supreme Court and
other federal courts."
6. Some people think it is time for President Bush to ask some of the top people on his White House staff to step down and bring in new people from the outside to replace them. Others think it would be better for Bush not to make major changes in his White House team right now. Which comes closer to your view?
Total Rep Dem Ind
40 Ask top people to step down 18 56 43
48 Better not to make major changes 74 32 44
12 Don't know 8 12 13
100 100 100 100
7. As you may know, Senator Russ Feingold has called for Congress to censure or formally reprimand President Bush over the issue of his warrantless wiretapping program. Censure is a way for Congress to express strong disapproval of a President's actions without going so far as impeachment. Would you support the CENSURE of President Bush by Congress, or not?
Total Rep Dem Ind
42 Yes, would support 20 60 42
50 No would not 75 30 51
8 Don't know 5 10 7
100 100 100 100
8. Do you think Feingold and other Democrats who support censuring Bush are doing it more for partisan political advantage, or more because they believe it is the right thing to do?
Total Rep Dem Ind
53 More for partisan political advantage 79 33 55
33 More because it is right 14 51 31
14 Don't know 7 16 14
100 100 100 100
9. Do you think Congress should take action to IMPEACH President Bush and consider removing him from office, or not?
Yes No DK
Current Total 26 69 5 =100
Republicans 5 94 1 =100
Democrats 49 48 3 =100
Independents 23 69 8 =100
Trends
(10/8-9/98) Clinton 32 61 7 =100
(6/1-4/74) Nixon 52 35 13 =100
Note: 1998 question wording read "Do you think President Clinton should be
impeached and forced to leave the presidency, or not?" 1974 figures
from Harris survey, question wording read "Do you think President
Nixon should or should not be impeached by Congress and removed from
office?"
D2. Now I have just a few more questions so we can describe the people who took part in our survey ... Regardless of how you might have voted in recent elections, in politics TODAY, do you consider yourself a Republican, Democrat, or Independent?
28 Republican
34 Democrat
34 Independent
2 No party/Not interested in politics (Vol.)
* Other party (Vol.)
2 Don't know
100
END OF INTERVIEW. THANK RESPONDENT: That completes the interview. Thank you very much for your cooperation. 3/25/06 Commentary: |