Posted on 02/21/2004 11:27:51 AM PST by ambrose
NEWSWEEK POLL: Campaign 2004
Saturday February 21, 12:43 pm ET
Sixty-Eight Percent Say Jobs, Foreign Competition Very Important In Determining Vote for President; Bush, Kerry Nearly Even on Who Would Be Better at Protecting U.S. Jobs and Creating New Ones
Kerry Keeps Lead Over Bush; Edwards Ties Bush in Test Match-Up; 52 Percent Say No to Re-Electing Bush
NEW YORK, Feb. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Sixty-eight percent of registered voters polled say American jobs and foreign competition will be very important in determining their vote for president this year; 22 percent say it will be somewhat important, according to the latest Newsweek Poll. When asked which presidential candidate would do the best job of protecting American jobs and creating new ones, regardless of the candidate they may support, 35 percent of registered voters say President George W. Bush would do the better job, but Democratic contender John Kerry gets 31 percent of the vote; 18 percent say it would be Kerry's opponent John Edwards. And 55 percent of all those polled disapprove of the way Bush is handling American jobs and foreign competition; just 32 percent approve.
Eighty percent of those polled say a major reason for the loss of American jobs to foreign competitors, is that people in other countries are willing work for lower pay and 77 percent say a major reason is investors and CEOs want profits and don't care where they come from. Sixty-one percent say it's because other countries have lower environmental and worker health standards; 56 percent say it's because consumers in this country want everything at the lowest possible price and 42 percent say it's because of weak corporate leadership in this country.
As the Democratic presidential campaign winds down to a race between Kerry and Edwards, Kerry maintained a big lead as the preferred Democratic nominee with 54 percent of the vote among registered Democrats and Democratic leaners, the poll shows. Edwards received 19 percent of the vote. In test match-ups, Kerry maintained his lead over President Bush from one week ago in the Newsweek Poll and Edwards ties Bush, the closest showing yet for the Democratic contender. But with the margin of error of 3 percentage points, the candidates are in a statistical dead heat. Among registered voters, 48 percent say they would vote for or lean toward voting for Kerry, compared to 45 percent who say the would vote for or lean toward voting for Bush. (In the February 5-6 Newsweek Poll, Kerry lead Bush 50 to 45 percent). Edwards ties Bush at 46 percent among registered voters. (In the February 5-6 Newsweek Poll, Bush lead Edwards 49 to 44 percent). If the election were held today with a Bush/Cheney ticket v. a Kerry/Edwards ticket, Kerry/Edwards leads by 49 to 45 percent among registered voters. And when asked if they'd like to see Bush re-elected to another term as president, 52 percent of registered voters say no; 43 percent say yes. And 38 percent of registered voters say Bush is somewhat likely (31% say very likely) to be re-elected this year. Forty-eight percent of Americans polled approve of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president, the same as one week ago in the Newsweek Poll.
In the wake of the controversy over Bush's obligations for military service in the National Guard at the time of the Vietnam War, 49 percent of those polled say they're inclined to believe that Bush fulfilled the obligations; 33 percent have serious doubts about it. And 58 percent of all those polled say they think of Bush as an honest person by nature; 34 percent do not see him this way.
In deciding which Democratic presidential candidate to support this year, 49 percent of registered Democrats and Democratic leaners say they are personally more inclined to vote for the candidate who comes closest to their way of thinking on major issues; 42 percent say they are inclined to support the candidate with the best chance of defeating Bush in November. Regardless of the Democratic presidential candidate they may support, 57 percent say Kerry would do a better job leading the war on terrorism (10% say Edwards) and 45 percent say Kerry better understands the concerns of people like them (30% say Edwards).
On the topic of free trade and jobs, 35 percent of all those polled say NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) and the WTO (World Trade Organization) have been a bad thing for the United States; 28 percent say they've been a good thing. Sixty-eight percent disagree with a statement from a government official who recently said that "outsourcing" of American service jobs to other countries is not only inevitable but is good for Americans; only 23 percent agree with that statement.
On the topic of legalizing gay marriage, 45 percent of all those polled says they oppose any legal recognition for gay and lesbian couples; 23 percent support full marriage rights for the couples and 24 percent support civil unions or partnerships, but not gay marriage, the poll shows.
Thirty-nine percent of those polled say they would support a Constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage in all 50 states; 33 percent say it should be left up to individual states to pass their own laws about gay marriage and 23 percent support full marriage rights for gays. While 23 percent of registered voters say the issue of gay marriage will be very important and the same number say it's somewhat important in determining their vote for president this year, 20 percent say it's not too important and 32 percent say it's not at all important, the poll shows.
This poll is part of the March 1 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, February 23.) For this Newsweek Poll, Princeton Survey Research Associates International interviewed 1,019 adults aged 18 and older on February 19-20, 2004. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Let's see, 45 plus 24 is 69 percent who oppose gay marriage.....
If Bush had a 3% lead over Kerry in this poll, it would be billed as a "statistical dead head"...
These scumbags are so transparent at times.
This is what will doom the rat campaign.
As long as you get one more vote than your opponent in crucial states, that is all that matters.
If Kerry or Edwards mop up California and NY, it still is the same as winning by just one vote.
A good 35 states are probably out of play for both sides. The numbers that really matter are what the polls say in Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Nevada, West Virginia, New Mexico, etc...
California, New York, and Illinois are over 20% of the country for example. They went Gore in 2000, and are likely to go Democrat again. Bush won anyways. So, if Bush is leading by 51 to 49% in every other state, yet is getting creamed in those 3 by 60% to 40%. The national poll will show him losing 51 to 49%, even though he would absolutely kill in the electoral college.
He would have 47 states, and still lose the popular vote and the polls.
We are not running a national election here people. We are running a state by state one. These national polls are not only a waste of time, but extremely counter productive. I wish a decent polling unit would just do a state by state poll of battle ground states, and then give us the break down. That is all that will matter come November.
Not even registered voters - next time try taking the poll on Sunday morning to be sure to exclude people who go to church.
1,019 people just a little over 20 prople per state. LOL.
Like Rush says, polls are now used by the media to "make news".
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