Posted on 11/18/2005 3:30:15 PM PST by seastay
If the 2008 presidential election were held today, Republican Rudy Giuliani would beat Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton according to a nationwide poll conducted by Canisius College. Of the 455 respondents who volunteered an answer regarding the 2008 match-up, Giuliani received 54 percent of the vote to Clinton’s 38 percent.
Michael V. Haselswerdt, PhD, professor of political science at Canisius and co-director of the poll, notes “Clinton loses among voters in the red states, which is no surprise, but Giuliani breaks even in the blue states.”
The Canisius poll also shows that only 27 percent of Americans think the nation is going in the right direction, only 42 percent view President Bush favorably, and the Bush administration is having trouble getting a “gentleman’s C” on its performance.
While 27 percent think the nation is going in the right direction, 63 percent say it is on the wrong track, including six out of 10 of those who live in red states and four out of 10 Republicans. President Bush’s 42 percent favorability rating is countered by the 55 percent who view him unfavorably.
But despite this dissatisfaction, if a presidential recall election were possible, only 42 percent would vote to fire President Bush, while 53 percent would vote to have him remain in office.
“It is a good thing for President Bush that his support has always been personal rather than performance based,” says Haselswerdt. “In addition, among the people who are critical toward President Bush and his administration are some who do not think that a recall election is an appropriate mechanism.”
The Bush administration gets its best grade, a grade of C, for its performance on the war on terror. It gets grades of C- for its performance on the economy, the war in Iraq and energy policy, and it receives a D+ for its performance on improving health care. While the war in Iraq does not get the lowest overall grade, it gets the highest percentage of failing grades, with 36 percent of the public giving the Bush administration an F.
Other highlights from the Canisius College Poll include:
*Fifty-one percent (51 %) of the public believe that the U.S. should announce a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops, while 41 percent agree with President Bush that the United States should stay in Iraq “as long as it takes.”
*Former Majority Leader Tom DeLay is seen as favorable by 18 percent and unfavorable by 40 percent, while 43 percent do not know his name. Neither are other congressional leaders household names, with majorities polled not recognizing names including Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (52 percent), Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (58 percent) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (51 percent). Evaluations of these congressional leaders were split.
*Recent legal and ethical issues in Washington, DC, are seen as “business-as-usual” by 51 percent, including a strong majority of Republicans (67 percent), and a smaller majority of Independents (59 percent). These issues are seen as “more of a problem now than before” by 43 percent of the public, including 59 percent of Democrats.
*Almost two-thirds (65 percent) of the public and 58 percent of Republicans prefer the governmental system to be divided between Republicans and Democrats, while only two in 10 Americans favor one-party control.
*Sixty-two percent (62 %) would oppose amending the Constitution to allow foreign-born citizens such as Arnold Schwarzenegger or Madeline Albright to run for president, and 53 percent would oppose an amendment to provide for recall elections for the president and members of Congress.
The poll has a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of +/-4.4 percent. Five hundred one (501) American citizens over the age of 18 from the continental U.S. were contacted between November 13-15, 2005. The poll was co-directed by Haselswerdt and Kevin R. Hardwick, PhD, associate professor of political science and utilized Canisius College students as interviewers.
In addition to providing excellent educational experiences for students, recent Canisius College polls have proved to be extremely accurate. The college’s survey of New York Democrats conducted on February 17-20, 2004 showed John Kerry leading John Edwards 57 percent – 16 percent in the state’s Democratic primary with a +/- 4.8 percent margin of error. Kerry eventually beat Edwards 61 percent – 20 percent two weeks later in the March 2 contest. A general election poll of Pennsylvania voters on October 17-18, 2004, also with a +/- 4.8 percent margin of error, gave Kerry a 53 percent – 45 percent lead. On November 2, Kerry did indeed win Pennsylvania with 50 percent of the vote to George Bush’s 48 percent.
To view complete results of the Canisius College poll, go to http://www.canisius.edu/poll.
Canisius College is one of 28 Jesuit colleges in the nation and the premier private college in Western New York. Canisius prepares leaders – intelligent, caring, faithful individuals – able to pursue and promote excellence in their professions, their communities and their service to humanity.
Giuliani will never be nominated. He's not just too liberal, he's way, way too liberal.
And I actually have met him and like him personally.
Never say never. If the GOP is desperate enough for a winner by then, he might get nominated.
Giulani is for gun control. Condi is AGAINST it. Waaaaay against it.
"I am a 2nd Amendment absolutist!" -- Condoleezza Rice
And "blah, blah". Sounds like some political hack pollster who'd like to see Hilary win in '08 because it's a "cast in stone, take it to the bank" fact that the conservative base sits that one out.
Guiliani is a winner - I would take him over McCain, who I would never be able to trust
Great, another election where the candidates battle over the title of "Who SUCKS the Least".
A liberal beating a liberal?
"Giulani is for gun control. Condi is AGAINST it."
And for abortion and U.N. sell-outs like LOST. We can do so much better than Rice, Giuliani, McCain and that ilk.
Well. I can say that I would never vote for either one of them, and you can take that to the bank.
In NYCity and maybe NYState. But Rudi could never win the GOP nomination for Prez. Never.
How does he become a winner before he's even nominated? He can't win anyway. People who are looking for a proabortion, progay, gun control candidate have the real thing to choose from in Hillary. Meanwhile Republicans who are Republicans becasue of abortion, moral decay and the second amendment will simply stay home.
To win the presidency you need your party's base. Giuliani simply can't get moral conservatives.
Rice/Honore '08!
I don't know. I've heard some speeches and interviews. I would not say he is a true conservative but I also don't think he's a RINO. He makes Bloomberg look like Ted Kennedy. And anything less than a RINO these days is worth looking at.
Winning ticket in 2008: Allen/Giuliani
It was the Jesuit College affiliation that
struck me. I'd prefer to see the same questions
asked by different private organizations (not
colleges!) across the nation. How about polling
employees of companies like Motorola, GE, Microsoft,
Sears, etc.? That's the REAL man on the street...not
students at a religious college.
MY FRiend, Rudi Guiliani is an Ahnold Schwarzy type politico. Pro-abortion, pro-gun control, pro-homo rights, pro-big govt and pro-envirowackoism. Rudi is also pro-illegal immigrant. Neither Rudi or Ahnold are anywhere near being a Reagan conservative.
I second the motion.
Executives are the ones who the Presidency - incumbent or former governors, and sometimes a former general. It is very, very rare for someone without government executive experience to win the Presidency, and they must first be nominated. Which means that the 2008 GOP nominee, to win, will either be or have been governor of a state, or something equivalent to that, i.e., Guiliani's experience (highly successful mayor of the biggest city in the country). There aren't any former generals on the horizon.
The more I see of Jeb Bush, though, the more I like him.
But Rudi Giuliani is a national hero - he combines the attractive political qualities of a successful general AND a successful governor.
Senator McCain is more than a Senator - he has some military hero quality too, but it's personal and not associated with successful leadership like Giuliani's.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.