Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Case Against Iraq: Public Opinion

Aired December 12, 2002 - 06:36   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Just about everybody you talk to has an opinion about Iraq. We want to find out what people are saying now, and for that, we turn to Gallup Poll editor-in-chief Frank Newport. He joins us live this morning from Princeton, New Jersey.
Good morning. Interesting numbers for us?

FRANK NEWPORT, GALLUP POLL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Indeed. Our latest poll shows Americans have, I would say, a little paradoxical attitude about all of this, but a couple of things are clear. They're skeptical of whatever is going on in Iraq, but at the same time, they want the United States to wait and be really sure before military action begins.

Let me show you very interesting -- a couple of questions we combined for you here. This is the basic concept of should we take -- that is, the United States -- take military action against Iraq? We followed up and said, are you sure about what you think, or are you willing to wait? We only had 15 percent of Americans who said they absolutely favored military action regardless of what happens, and only 12 percent who say they opposed, Carol.

The big deal is here, two-thirds of Americans say there are contingencies. Most of them tend to favor military action at some point, but this big bar here represents the fact that Americans say it really depends on what happens over the next couple of weeks.

Now, the skepticism, and this is amazing, no question about it. We've always found this. Was the dossier, the resume, the big stack of information that was sent over to the United Nations by Iraq accurate and complete? Seven percent of Americans say yes, they don't buy into that at all.

At the same time, we gave them some contingencies and said, military action, when should it begin? Should the United States wait for other things to happen? And that's where we get all of this kind of wait-and-see attitude. This is two-thirds of Americans say even if the Bush administration thinks it has evidence that there are weapons of mass destruction, they should still wait for absolute evidence to be shown, and show that evidence themselves. They should also wait for additional intelligence to come from the inspectors before military action begins. In other words, everybody is saying, wait and see.

At the same time, Carol, one final point is, we gave Americans the chance to say how much do you trust the Bush administration to do what's right in Iraq? How much do you trust the United Nations? Just look over here, a great deal of trust is 32 percent for the Bush administration, just 13 for the U.N.

So, in all, it comes down to push vs. shove, perhaps, Bush gets more trust than the U.N. -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Hey, Frank, are there any difference by political party?

NEWPORT: Fascinating and importantly yes. This is still -- perhaps it shouldn't be, Carol -- but it's very much a partisan issue. Even that last question I showed you about whom do you trust? Democrats say they trust the U.N. a lot more than the Bush administration. Republicans naturally overwhelmingly say they trust the Bush administration more than the U.N.

There's even a difference by party in terms of military action. Democrats much less likely to favor the idea than are Republicans -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Frank, thanks for bringing us up-to- date. We appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired December 12, 2002 - 06:36   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Just about everybody you talk to has an opinion about Iraq. We want to find out what people are saying now, and for that, we turn to Gallup Poll editor-in-chief Frank Newport. He joins us live this morning from Princeton, New Jersey.
Good morning. Interesting numbers for us?

FRANK NEWPORT, GALLUP POLL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Indeed. Our latest poll shows Americans have, I would say, a little paradoxical attitude about all of this, but a couple of things are clear. They're skeptical of whatever is going on in Iraq, but at the same time, they want the United States to wait and be really sure before military action begins.

Let me show you very interesting -- a couple of questions we combined for you here. This is the basic concept of should we take -- that is, the United States -- take military action against Iraq? We followed up and said, are you sure about what you think, or are you willing to wait? We only had 15 percent of Americans who said they absolutely favored military action regardless of what happens, and only 12 percent who say they opposed, Carol.

The big deal is here, two-thirds of Americans say there are contingencies. Most of them tend to favor military action at some point, but this big bar here represents the fact that Americans say it really depends on what happens over the next couple of weeks.

Now, the skepticism, and this is amazing, no question about it. We've always found this. Was the dossier, the resume, the big stack of information that was sent over to the United Nations by Iraq accurate and complete? Seven percent of Americans say yes, they don't buy into that at all.

At the same time, we gave them some contingencies and said, military action, when should it begin? Should the United States wait for other things to happen? And that's where we get all of this kind of wait-and-see attitude. This is two-thirds of Americans say even if the Bush administration thinks it has evidence that there are weapons of mass destruction, they should still wait for absolute evidence to be shown, and show that evidence themselves. They should also wait for additional intelligence to come from the inspectors before military action begins. In other words, everybody is saying, wait and see.

At the same time, Carol, one final point is, we gave Americans the chance to say how much do you trust the Bush administration to do what's right in Iraq? How much do you trust the United Nations? Just look over here, a great deal of trust is 32 percent for the Bush administration, just 13 for the U.N.

So, in all, it comes down to push vs. shove, perhaps, Bush gets more trust than the U.N. -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Hey, Frank, are there any difference by political party?

NEWPORT: Fascinating and importantly yes. This is still -- perhaps it shouldn't be, Carol -- but it's very much a partisan issue. Even that last question I showed you about whom do you trust? Democrats say they trust the U.N. a lot more than the Bush administration. Republicans naturally overwhelmingly say they trust the Bush administration more than the U.N.

There's even a difference by party in terms of military action. Democrats much less likely to favor the idea than are Republicans -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Frank, thanks for bringing us up-to- date. We appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.