Posted on 10/15/2005 11:35:00 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Now that hurricanes have left the Gulf Coast in ruins and gasoline has spiked to $3 a gallon, Americans are more likely to name domestic problems as the most important ones facing the United States these days, AP-Ipsos polling found.
Homegrown problems — including worries about fuel costs and political leadership — now rank about even with overseas concerns such as the terror threat and war. Public concerns about Iraq remain high.
"Things at home are in peril, and we're spread thin throughout the world," said Nick Tepsic, a surgical technician in Boynton Beach, Fla., who is a political independent. "We need to be worrying about things at home. We have a terrible debt going on; we need to improve education; we had two terrible natural disasters here. Our money could best be spent in other ways."
People were asked in an open-ended question last week to name the nation's most important problem.
Just over a third named domestic issues, including energy costs, political leadership and morality, and just over a third named foreign affairs, especially the war in Iraq and the threat of terrorism. About a fourth said the economy.
In July, four in 10 named foreign affairs, about a quarter of those polled named the economy and a quarter named domestic affairs.
Concerns about terrorism have eased just slightly and worries about energy prices and political leadership are among the top domestic concerns, the poll found.
Public opinion analysts say the shift of attention toward the homefront is no surprise. Hurricane reconstruction, high gas prices and political scandals in Washington have been dominating the news this fall.
"The hurricane issue has refocused people on government's response to big domestic problems," said Robert Blendon, a public opinion analyst at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. "Gas prices are the big change over the last four months. It's really impacting families, and they are worried about it for the impact this winter."
Gasoline prices had topped $2 a gallon by midsummer, but three months later were close to $3 per gallon. Consumer confidence has been lagging.
People on the West coast were more likely to name fuel prices as a top concern than people in other regions. Married men were more likely than those who are unmarried to name the economy. People with a high school education or less were more likely to name the war in Iraq than those with more education.
Democrats and independents were more likely than Republicans to name the economy as the top problem.
"The interest in domestic issues has been intensified by gas prices, which have gotten people to focus on where the economy is right now — and that leads to jobs," said David Winston, a Republican pollster.
The worries about Iraq remain high — with almost a fourth of those polled naming the war as their top concern.
"I do feel like we give too much to other countries, rather than spending money here on poverty, education and AIDS," said Amy Bergstrom, a bartender in Newport News, Va. and a Republican. "But the war has split the nation in two. It's tearing the country apart. People aren't standing behind President Bush, and other countries see that."
The focus on Iraq has intensified with this weekend's vote on an Iraqi constitution.
Karlyn Bowman, a polling analyst at the American Enterprise Institute said Iraq remains central to public attitudes these days, but she's noticed a shift of attention homeward in recent weeks.
"The hurricanes did focus the public on a lot of domestic needs," she said. "Iraq is still there as a big issue, but these domestic issues now loom larger."
The poll of 499 adults was conducted Oct. 3-5 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
Really AP, for a new organization you are about 3 weeks behind the curve. Just paid 2.39 a gallon this morning.
I find crappy news reporting very troubling.
Fact is: No one with half a brain believes any of this poll stuff!!! These guys and the MSM have not gotten one thing right in the last five years!!! End of story!!!
Nailed it. 100% in 1 sentence.
I stopped reading after they LIED about "spiked" gas prices. Gas prices have been falling steadily for weeks. I just filled up for $2.52 per gallon.
This is just one more CLASSIC example of liberal media bias.
The most troubling concern is the collapse of the integrity, credibility and viability of the mainstream media. Everything else is Ok. The situation with the mass media seems hopeless though
I don't think they have one competent and honest person left among them. Does anybody know?
To which I say, let 'em implode. :-)
"you sold your credibility down the river last year."
Anytime you see the IPSOS tag on any poll...remember, it's a French-owned marketing firm that is funded, I suspect..by leftwing interest groups. IPSOS is FRENCH..they aren't even American.
The DNC is outsourcing it's pollsters.
HAAA! Oh man, GREAT! Perfect! What frauds!
This just get better and better! AP OUTSOURCES polling to French firm! Reads like something in The Onion.
Registrant:
IPSOS
35 rue du Val de Marne
PARIS 75013
FR
Domain Name: IPSOS.COM
Administrative Contact, Technical Contact:
IPSOS marianne.peene@ipsos.com
35 rue du Val de Marne
PARIS 75013
FR
+33 1 70 99 55 00
IPSOS has also gathered up all the other IPSOS domains..us, org..etc. They are all connected to AP-IPSOS and IPSOS-NPD and run by a select group of French.
Check out their "Who we are" on the IPSOS.com website:
Welcome to Ipsos
"Welcome to Ipsos, a company of inquiring minds and passionate people giving a voice and shape to the thoughts of millions of individuals around the world.
We explore, probe and challenge conventional wisdom. We assess market potential and interpret market trends. We test products and advertising, and help our clients build long-term relationships with customers. We study audiences and their responses to various media. We measure public opinion around the globe.
We are an independent company whose sole focus is survey-based market research. Research rooted in reality. Jean-Marc Lech, Didier Truchot."
Pay attention to "we measure public opinion around the globe"..which is CODE for "we skew opinions to suit our neoMarxist goals".
In other words, they're the world's premier propaganda machine.
Bingo! The dumbed down people across the globe read IPSOS garbage and think...ooh..they must be onto something.
IPSOS is not polling American voters....so I don't know who they are polling. Nonetheless, their polls are as useless to us as birth control is to Hitlery.
No shame for the American mainstream media.
If the American pollsters are not going to come up with the results they want, they'll find somebody who will.
Amy Bergstrom is a REPUBLICAN!!!!?? who says that we don't spend enough on poverty, education, and AIDS for crying out loud? A Republican? What planet is she from, and how can a Republican be that ignorant?
Liberal Big Media spends all its time trying to convince Americans, who live in the richest country in the world, that they are miserable. According to Big Media 98% of Americans live in hovels, eat dirt for lunch, and are oppressed by the elite one percent who have all the goodies. If 98% of Americans were millionaires, Big Media would spend all its time writing stories about the two percent who "only" had half a million.
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