Americans Show Clear Concerns on Bush Agenda
November 23, 2004
By ADAM NAGOURNEY and JANET ELDER
Americans are optimistic about the next four years under
President Bush, but have reservations about central
elements of the second-term agenda he presented in
defeating Senator John Kerry, according to the latest New
York Times/CBS News Poll.
Americans are at best ambivalent about Mr. Bush's plans to
reshape Social Security, rewrite the tax code, cut taxes
and appoint conservative judges to the bench. There is
continuing disapproval of Mr. Bush's handling of the war in
Iraq, with a plurality now saying it was a mistake to
invade in the first place.
Nearly two-thirds of all respondents - including 51
percent of Republicans - said it was more important to
reduce deficits than to cut taxes, a central element of Mr.
Bush's economic agenda.
The poll reflected the electoral feat of the Bush campaign
this year. He won despite the fact that Americans
disapproved of his handling of the economy, foreign affairs
and the war in Iraq. There has been a slight increase in
the number of Americans who believe the nation should never
have gone into Iraq. A majority of Americans continue to
believe the country is going in the wrong direction,
traditionally a warning sign for an incumbent.
Even as two-thirds of respondents said they expected Mr.
Bush to appoint judges who would vote to outlaw abortion, a
majority continue to say they want the practice to remain
either legal as it is now, which was Mr. Kerry's position,
or to be legal but under stricter limits.
Americans said they opposed changing the Constitution to
ban same-sex marriage, which Mr. Bush campaigned on in the
final weeks of his campaign. A majority continue to support
allowing either same-sex marriages or legally recognized
domestic partnerships for gay people.
The public appears ambivalent about the two proposals that
Mr. Bush has identified as his major domestic initiatives
for a second term: rewriting the Social Security system and
reshaping the tax code, including more tax cuts.
In the poll, more than 6 in 10 of the respondents said people
with higher incomes should pay a greater proportion of
their income in taxes.
The poll also found little confidence among
Americans that Mr. Bush would assure the future solvency of
the program: 51 percent said that Mr. Bush was unlikely to
"make sure Social Security benefits are there for people
like me."
In this poll, when allowed freely to name the issue that
was most important in their vote, 6 percent chose moral
values, although smaller numbers named issues like abortion
and same-sex marriage. 5 percent chose
abortion, 4 percent chose stem cell research and 2 percent
chose same-sex marriage.
The top issue was the economy and jobs, which was cited by
29 percent of respondents.
Pat Gilbert, a Republican from Battle Creek, Mich., said,
"The two sides will be as far apart as can be forever.''
By 48 percent to 40 percent, respondents said they believed
four more years of a Bush presidency would divide the
nation more than it would unite it.
31 percent of respondents said they thought that evangelical
Christians had too much influence over the administration.
By contrast, 66 percent said they thought big business had
too much influence over the administration.
Americans now have a better opinion
of the Democratic Party than of the Republican Party: 54
percent said they had a favorable view of Democrats,
compared with 39 percent with an unfavorable view. By
contrast, 49 percent have a favorable view of Republicans,
compared with 46 percent holding an unfavorable one.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/23/national/23poll.html?ex=1102489087&ei=1&en=3de951699d0a0886