Welcome to the Business Journal Archives
Search for articles below, or continue to the all new BusinessJournalDaily.com now.
Search
Economy Tops Iraq as Election Issue
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- A new Harris Poll brings President George Bush two pieces of good news: Some political analysts believe that if Bush is re-elected in November it will be because of the strengthening economy; but if he loses, it will be because of the war in Iraq.Currently, a majority of the public thinks the economy and jobs are more important election issues than Iraq and the war on terrorism, the poll found. Further, President Bush is currently preferred over Sen. John Kerry as likely to do the best job of handling both Iraq and the economy.When asked which is the more important election issue -- the economy and jobs, or Iraq and the war on terror -- a 52% to 41% majority chose the economy. Rather larger majorities of Democrats (by 59% to 37%) and of independents picked the economy as more important to them. Among Republicans, a 50% to 41% plurality picked Iraq and the war on terror.When asked which of the three candidates -- George Bush, John Kerry or Ralph Nader -- would best handle these issues, Bush was preferred over Kerry by 44% to 38% on the economy and jobs, and by a much larger 54% to 29% majority on Iraq and the war on terror.Most important issues for government to addressOne of the oldest rules in polling is that if you ask a different question, you get a different answer. When this same cross section of adults were asked to say in their own words which two issues they thought were most important for the government to address (without a list or any other prompting), 39% said "the war," a further 5% said "terrorism," compared to 28% who said "the economy," and 10% who said "employment" or "jobs." By far the biggest change since April, in replies to this question, is the increase -- from 20% to 39% -- in those saying "the war."Other top issues, all of which garnered 10% or less votes, include education, terrorism, the federal budget surplus/deficit, Social Security, taxes, the environment, drugs, ethics in government, homelessness, gun control, immigration and programs for the elderly (other than Medicare).Harris Interactive is a worldwide market research and consulting firm best known for The Harris Poll.Visit Harris Interactive: www.harrisinteractive.com"