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CNN Live At Daybreak
America's Voice: Concern Over Iraq
Aired July 15, 2003 - 06:34 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: We've got some interesting numbers for you now on all of that talk about those 16 little words and those as of yet undiscovered weapons of mass destruction. Well, Americans are moving on.
Live to Gallup and editor-in-chief Frank Newport.
Frank -- what does top the worry list?
FRANK NEWPORT, GALLUP POLL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Well, Carol, it's fascinating. As you mentioned, a lot of the attention is on international affairs, but it's the economy. We've asked every month now for many, many months -- many, many years, actually -- what's the most important problem facing the country.
Here's our July numbers from the American public without prompting. The No. 1 issue is the economy, 27 percent. Below that it's unemployment, 13 percent. Finally you get down to war and war with Iraq, but only 9 percent mentioned that. Terrorism down to 8 percent, and then ethics in general, that's 7 percent.
Clearly it's the economy that's No. 1 on Americans' minds.
Now, we have a problem. Greenspan -- that is the chairman of the Fed -- Alan Greenspan will be on the Hill today testifying. The economy is still, according to the public, not on its way up. This bottom line is the percent of Americans, Carol, who said the economy was getting better. And, see, it had been creeping up through last month, a little optimism. This month it stayed really flat.
So, we're not seeing any continuing improvement in Americans' thinking the economy is getting better -- Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, so the natural question: Is President Bush being hurt by the economy?
NEWPORT: Well, his approval rating on the economy is the lowest of the major areas that we test Bush on. His overall approval is at 62 percent. Handling Iraq, all of the criticism, he's still coming in at 58 percent on Iraq. How is he doing on the economy? Down to 48 percent, Carol. That's the lowest, 14 points below his overall rating.
COSTELLO: OK, so how is the talk on Iraq affecting American opinion now?
NEWPORT: Well, a lot of focus on that. There have been, you know, three or four, including our own CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll on that issue coming out over the weekend.
Here is, Carol, one measure that I think is a key. Was it a mistake to have sent troops to Iraq? I like this, because we were asking this in Korea, in Vietnam and in the first Persian Gulf war, which is what I showed you on the left. By the summer of 1991, 15 percent of Americans said it was a mistake. Now, 27 percent look back and say it was a mistake.
So, there is more retroactive concern now than there was then, but that 27 percent is still a fairly low number all in all, Carol. In the Vietnam war that jumped up way above 50 percent after several years of fighting.
COSTELLO: Frank Newport with some interesting numbers for us this morning, many thanks.
NEWPORT: You bet.
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 July 15, 2003 - 06:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We've got some interesting numbers for you now on all of that talk about those 16 little words and those as of yet undiscovered weapons of mass destruction. Well, Americans are moving on.
Live to Gallup and editor-in-chief Frank Newport.
Frank -- what does top the worry list?
FRANK NEWPORT, GALLUP POLL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Well, Carol, it's fascinating. As you mentioned, a lot of the attention is on international affairs, but it's the economy. We've asked every month now for many, many months -- many, many years, actually -- what's the most important problem facing the country.
Here's our July numbers from the American public without prompting. The No. 1 issue is the economy, 27 percent. Below that it's unemployment, 13 percent. Finally you get down to war and war with Iraq, but only 9 percent mentioned that. Terrorism down to 8 percent, and then ethics in general, that's 7 percent.
Clearly it's the economy that's No. 1 on Americans' minds.
Now, we have a problem. Greenspan -- that is the chairman of the Fed -- Alan Greenspan will be on the Hill today testifying. The economy is still, according to the public, not on its way up. This bottom line is the percent of Americans, Carol, who said the economy was getting better. And, see, it had been creeping up through last month, a little optimism. This month it stayed really flat.
So, we're not seeing any continuing improvement in Americans' thinking the economy is getting better -- Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, so the natural question: Is President Bush being hurt by the economy?
NEWPORT: Well, his approval rating on the economy is the lowest of the major areas that we test Bush on. His overall approval is at 62 percent. Handling Iraq, all of the criticism, he's still coming in at 58 percent on Iraq. How is he doing on the economy? Down to 48 percent, Carol. That's the lowest, 14 points below his overall rating.
COSTELLO: OK, so how is the talk on Iraq affecting American opinion now?
NEWPORT: Well, a lot of focus on that. There have been, you know, three or four, including our own CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll on that issue coming out over the weekend.
Here is, Carol, one measure that I think is a key. Was it a mistake to have sent troops to Iraq? I like this, because we were asking this in Korea, in Vietnam and in the first Persian Gulf war, which is what I showed you on the left. By the summer of 1991, 15 percent of Americans said it was a mistake. Now, 27 percent look back and say it was a mistake.
So, there is more retroactive concern now than there was then, but that 27 percent is still a fairly low number all in all, Carol. In the Vietnam war that jumped up way above 50 percent after several years of fighting.
COSTELLO: Frank Newport with some interesting numbers for us this morning, many thanks.
NEWPORT: You bet.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
