December 16, 2004 - American Voters Oppose War, Split On Bush Approval, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; 17% Say They Are 'Angry' With President American voters give President George W. Bush a split 47 - 48 percent approval rating, with 52 percent who like the President "a lot" or "a little," 28 percent who dislike him "a lot" or "a little," and 17 percent who say they are "angry," according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today. While 92 percent of Republicans like President Bush, 34 percent of Democrats are angry with him, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. In contrast, only 4 percent of American voters, including 9 percent of Republicans, are angry with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. The 57 percent of all voters who like her a lot or a little includes 91 percent of Democrats. "Even though he won re-election, President Bush gets a mediocre approval rating and still sparks dislike or anger among 45 percent of voters," said Maurice Carroll, Director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Despite the fact that she is a favorite target of the far right, New York Sen. Clinton doesn't spark nearly as much anger among voters." In a long look at the 2008 campaign, voters say 50 - 43 percent that they would not like to see Sen. Clinton run for president. Voters say 45 - 41 percent that they would like to see former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani run. In a hypothetical matchup, Giuliani gets 45 percent to 43 percent for Clinton. "An all-New York election? Democrats and Republicans - separately - endorse the idea: 68 percent of Republicans for Mayor Giuliani and 67 percent of Democrats for Sen. Clinton," Carroll said. American voters say 52 - 42 percent that going to war in Iraq was the wrong thing to do, the first Quinnipiac University national poll to show a majority in opposition to the war. Those who attend religious services weekly say 53 - 42 percent that the war is right, while those who never attend say 60 - 34 percent that the war is wrong. Asked how long the U.S. should keep troops in Iraq; 43 percent say as long as necessary; 25 percent say 1 year; 11 percent say 2 years; 2 percent say 3 years; 2 percent say 4 years; 11 percent say withdraw now. By a 53 - 36 percent margin, voters say elections in Iraq should be held January 30, 2005, as scheduled, rather than be postponed. "Attitudes on Iraq clearly divide the nation, especially between those who do and don't attend religious services. Americans overall don't think we should have gone in and they are very divided about getting out," Carroll said. Bush's approval for handling key areas is: Negative 42 - 53 percent for the economy; 53 - 43 percent for handling terrorism; Negative 55 - 41 for handling Iraq. Overall approval for Bush and his handling of issues also is linked to 'religiosity,' with the President's strongest support among those who attend services weekly. From December 7 - 12, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,529 registered voters nationwide. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida and nationwide as a public service and for research. For additional data -- www.quinnipiac.edu or call (203) 582-5201 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as President? App Dis DK/NA Dec 16, 2004 47 48 5 Jul 24, 2004 46 46 8 May 26, 2004 45 50 5 May 5, 2004 46 47 7 Mar 24, 2004 49 44 7 Feb 2, 2004 48 45 7 Jan 26, 2004 53 40 8 Dec 10, 2003 51 43 6 Oct 29, 2003 51 42 7 Sep 17,2003 53 39 7 Jul 24, 2003 53 41 6 Jun 11, 2003 57 35 8 Apr 16, 2003 73 22 5 Mar 6, 2003 53 39 8 Feb 4, 2003 54 39 7 Nov 13, 2002 62 30 8 Feb 22, 2002 76 16 8 Dec 11, 2001 83 11 6 TREND: In general how satisfied are you with the way things are going in the nation today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Very Smwht Smwht Very sat sat dis dis DK/NA Dec 16, 2004 8 35 27 29 1 Jul 24, 2004 9 37 28 25 1 May 26, 2004 8 33 24 34 1 May 5, 2004 10 34 29 26 1 Mar 24, 2004 12 36 27 24 1 Feb 2, 2004 14 35 26 24 1 Jan 26, 2004 15 36 25 23 1 Dec 10, 2003 12 33 27 26 1 Oct 29, 2003 10 38 25 26 1 Sep 17, 2003 12 38 22 28 1 Jul 24, 2003 13 34 27 24 2 Jun 11, 2003 17 38 22 22 1 Apr 17, 2003 19 46 20 14 1 Mar 6, 2003 9 35 28 26 1 Feb 4, 2003 11 36 27 25 1 Nov 13, 2002 12 43 27 17 1 Feb 22, 2002 15 52 21 11 1 Dec 11, 2001 21 47 19 10 3 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the economy? App Dis DK/NA Dec 16, 2004 42 53 5 May 26, 2004 42 52 6 May 5, 2004 41 52 7 Dec 10, 2003 46 50 4 Oct 29, 2003 39 55 6 Sep 17,2003 44 50 6 Jul 24, 2003 42 53 5 Jun 11, 2003 45 50 5 Apr 17, 2003 53 41 7 Feb 4, 2003 43 52 5 Feb 22, 2002 62 30 8 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling terrorism? App Dis DK/NA Dec 16, 2004 53 43 4 May 26, 2004 51 43 6 May 5, 2004 54 37 8 Dec 10, 2003 59 36 5 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the situation with Iraq? App Dis DK/NA Dec 16, 2004 41 55 4 May 26, 2004 41 54 5 May 5, 2004 42 51 6 Dec 10, 2003 46 48 6 Oct 29, 2003 45 50 5 Sep 17,2003 51 43 6 Jul 24, 2003 52 43 5 TREND: Do you think going to war with Iraq was the right thing for the United States to do or the wrong thing? Right Wrong DK/NA Dec 16, 2004 42 52 6 May 26, 2004 50 44 6 May 5, 2004 48 45 7 Mar 24, 2004 54 39 7 Feb 2, 2004 52 42 6 Jan 26, 2004 52 40 7 Dec 10, 2003 54 40 6 Oct 29, 2003 53 42 6 Sep 17, 2003 58 37 5 1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as President? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 47% 91% 13% 42% 51% 43% Disapprove 48 7 82 52 43 52 DK/NA 5 2 6 7 5 6 ATTEND SERVICES.............. Attend Weekly...... Weekly Monthly Yearly Never Rep Dem Ind Approve 58% 38% 43% 36% 95% 16% 51% Disapprove 36 56 52 60 4 76 41 DK/NA 6 7 4 5 2 8 8 2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 37% 62% 19% 33% 40% 34% Disapprove 51 23 69 59 50 51 DK/NA 13 15 12 8 10 15 4. Would you like Hillary Rodham Clinton to run for President in 2008 or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes 43% 18% 67% 42% 39% 47% No 50 75 28 51 55 45 DK/NA 7 7 5 7 6 7 5. Would you like Rudolph Giuliani to run for President in 2008 or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes 45% 68% 26% 46% 45% 45% No 41 19 61 37 41 40 DK/NA 15 13 13 18 14 16 6. If the 2008 election for president were being held today, and the candidates were Hillary Rodham Clinton the Democrat and Rudolph Giuliani the Republican for whom would you vote? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Clinton 43% 5% 80% 41% 37% 49% Giuliani 45 88 12 42 50 41 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 3 2 1 5 4 2 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 2 2 3 3 2 DK/NA 6 4 5 9 6 7 7. How would you describe your overall opinion of George W. Bush? Would you say you -- like Bush a lot, like him a little, dislike him a little, or dislike Bush a lot? IF 'DISLIKE A LOT' ASK: Would you say you are angry with Bush, or would you say you dislike Bush but are not angry with him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Like a lot 31% 68% 6% 22% 32% 31% Like a little 21 24 13 28 24 17 Dislike a little 13 3 19 17 13 14 Dislike a lot/not angry 15 2 26 14 15 15 Angry 17 1 34 16 14 20 DK/NA 3 1 2 3 3 2 8. How would you describe your overall opinion of Hillary Rodham Clinton? Would you say you -- like Clinton a lot, like her a little, dislike her a little, or dislike Clinton a lot? IF 'DISLIKE A LOT' ASK: Would you say you are angry with Hillary Rodham Clinton, or would you say you dislike Clinton but are not angry with her? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Like a lot 31% 7% 57% 28% 23% 40% Like a little 26 18 34 27 27 26 Dislike a little 16 24 5 19 20 12 Dislike a lot/not angry 19 38 2 18 21 16 Angry 4 9 - 3 4 3 DK/NA 4 4 2 5 5 4 9. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in the nation today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Very satisfied 8% 19% 2% 3% 10% 5% Smwht satisfied 35 61 14 33 38 32 Smwht dissatisfied 27 13 34 33 25 29 Very dissatisfied 29 5 49 31 26 32 DK/NA 1 2 - 1 1 2 10. Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling -- the economy? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 42% 81% 11% 40% 46% 38% Disapprove 53 13 87 54 49 57 DK/NA 5 6 3 6 5 6 11. Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling -- terrorism? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 53% 91% 22% 50% 61% 45% Disapprove 43 7 73 46 36 49 DK/NA 4 3 5 4 3 6 12. Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling -- the situation with Iraq? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 41% 81% 10% 37% 46% 36% Disapprove 55 15 87 58 52 58 DK/NA 4 4 3 6 2 6 ATTEND SERVICES.............. Attend Weekly...... Weekly Monthly Yearly Never Rep Dem Ind Approve 51% 26% 37% 36% 83% 16% 45% Disapprove 45 68 59 60 14 80 47 DK/NA 4 6 4 4 3 4 8 13. Do you think going to war with Iraq was the right thing for the United States to do or the wrong thing? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Right thing 42% 80% 13% 37% 46% 38% Wrong thing 52 16 81 55 47 56 DK/NA 6 5 6 8 7 6 ATTEND SERVICES.............. Attend Weekly...... Weekly Monthly Yearly Never Rep Dem Ind Right thing 53% 27% 39% 34% 83% 18% 46% Wrong thing 42 66 53 60 14 75 48 DK/NA 5 7 7 6 3 7 6 14. Should the United States commit to keep troops in Iraq for as long as necessary or should it set a deadline? IF 'DEADLINE' ASK: When should US troops be withdrawn from Iraq? In 1 year, in 2 years, in 3 years, or in 4 years? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Long as necessary 43% 63% 22% 45% 52% 34% Withdraw 1yr 25 15 34 25 20 30 Withdraw 2yrs 11 7 12 12 10 11 Withdraw 3yrs 2 3 2 - 2 2 Withdraw 4yrs 2 2 2 2 3 1 WITHDRAW NOW(VOL) 11 2 20 8 9 13 MORE THAN 4 YRS(VOL) 1 1 1 - 1 - DK/NA 7 7 7 7 5 10 15. Should there be elections in Iraq as scheduled on January 30, 2005 or should elections be postponed until the situation is more stable? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes/As scheduled 53% 68% 39% 53% 57% 49% No/Postponed 36 24 47 37 36 37 DK/NA 11 8 14 10 7 14
