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Polls Support Prescription Drug Plan, Death Penalty
Aired November 25, 2003 - 14:47 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, ANCHOR: President Bush got some real bragging rights when that prescription drug benefit for Medicare patients passed the Senate with room to spare.
But any politician knows you can't please all the people all the time.
So, who's celebrating this particular decision and who better to ask than Frank Newport, who is the editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll? He joins us from Princeton, N.J. Our friend all of the time.
Hello, Frank.
FRANK NEWPORT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GALLUP POLL: Hello, friend Miles.
Indeed, three conclusions on Medicare and prescription drugs. We've been studying the data a lot today. There's a lot of data, by the way. A lot of us pollsters have been asking it.
Conclusion number one, it's a real big issue for older Americans. Look at these fascinating figures. We just asked, "Do you take prescription drugs?" We broke it out by age and when you get to be 65 and over, an amazing 86 percent of Americans are regularly taking prescription drugs. So you can see how germane an issue this is.
And second, out of three, when you just ask Americans, "Do you favor a prescription drug plan?" I've seen this across a number of polls, even with $400 billion in it like we did in a CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup Poll a little earlier, 75 percent of Americans say yes.
That's why they're all scurrying around to do something, because there's this big approval level for this kind of thing on the part of the record.
Third point, though, Miles, is it's unclear what's going to happen now because the devil's in the details. And some other data really suggests that senior citizens, in particular, are going to be carefully looking at the details. And this is so complex, I don't think we know yet how it's going to play out.
So that's my third point. Let's wait and see when these details start coming out about what's really involved in this very complex plan -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right, Frank. Let's shift gears significantly. We've been talking about the death penalty this week, John Allen Muhammad receiving that very sentence as the D.C. sniper, his alleged accomplice facing the possibility of death. Did the crime as a juvenile.
What are Americans thinking right now about the death penalty?
NEWPORT: Well, it's down a little. Now support for the death penalty has been above the majority level since the '70s. And actually, it was about what it is now, believe it or not, back in 1936. That's what I'm graphing for you.
Now that was one of the first questions George Gallup started asking Americans way back then. It dipped in the '60s when executions were stopped. Up to 81 percent in the '90s. Most recently 64 percent. That's the number on the right-hand side.
So not quite as high support as -- not quite as it's been, Miles, but still very high. Even when we ask Americans if the death penalty should be applied more often or less often, the majority say it should be applied more often.
So probably Americans in general are supportive of what happened at that Virginia City courtroom.
O'BRIEN: All right. Frank Newport with the Gallup Poll, always a pleasure to have you drop by. Thanks very much.
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 November 25, 2003 - 14:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, ANCHOR: President Bush got some real bragging rights when that prescription drug benefit for Medicare patients passed the Senate with room to spare.
But any politician knows you can't please all the people all the time.
So, who's celebrating this particular decision and who better to ask than Frank Newport, who is the editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll? He joins us from Princeton, N.J. Our friend all of the time.
Hello, Frank.
FRANK NEWPORT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GALLUP POLL: Hello, friend Miles.
Indeed, three conclusions on Medicare and prescription drugs. We've been studying the data a lot today. There's a lot of data, by the way. A lot of us pollsters have been asking it.
Conclusion number one, it's a real big issue for older Americans. Look at these fascinating figures. We just asked, "Do you take prescription drugs?" We broke it out by age and when you get to be 65 and over, an amazing 86 percent of Americans are regularly taking prescription drugs. So you can see how germane an issue this is.
And second, out of three, when you just ask Americans, "Do you favor a prescription drug plan?" I've seen this across a number of polls, even with $400 billion in it like we did in a CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup Poll a little earlier, 75 percent of Americans say yes.
That's why they're all scurrying around to do something, because there's this big approval level for this kind of thing on the part of the record.
Third point, though, Miles, is it's unclear what's going to happen now because the devil's in the details. And some other data really suggests that senior citizens, in particular, are going to be carefully looking at the details. And this is so complex, I don't think we know yet how it's going to play out.
So that's my third point. Let's wait and see when these details start coming out about what's really involved in this very complex plan -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right, Frank. Let's shift gears significantly. We've been talking about the death penalty this week, John Allen Muhammad receiving that very sentence as the D.C. sniper, his alleged accomplice facing the possibility of death. Did the crime as a juvenile.
What are Americans thinking right now about the death penalty?
NEWPORT: Well, it's down a little. Now support for the death penalty has been above the majority level since the '70s. And actually, it was about what it is now, believe it or not, back in 1936. That's what I'm graphing for you.
Now that was one of the first questions George Gallup started asking Americans way back then. It dipped in the '60s when executions were stopped. Up to 81 percent in the '90s. Most recently 64 percent. That's the number on the right-hand side.
So not quite as high support as -- not quite as it's been, Miles, but still very high. Even when we ask Americans if the death penalty should be applied more often or less often, the majority say it should be applied more often.
So probably Americans in general are supportive of what happened at that Virginia City courtroom.
O'BRIEN: All right. Frank Newport with the Gallup Poll, always a pleasure to have you drop by. Thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
