The Harris Poll^® #28, April 14, 2005

President’s Job Ratings Fall to Lowest Point of His Presidency

Social Security seen as the top issue to address by U.S. adults

The last month has not been a good one for President Bush and the Republicans. Most people have opposed the President’s proposals for reforming Social Security and most were unhappy with the positions taken by Republicans in the Terri Schiavo case. The result is that the president’s job ratings have fallen to 44 percent positive, 56 percent negative, the worst numbers of his presidency, and a drop from 48 percent positive, 51 percent negative in February (and 50% positive, 49% negative last November).

This is one of the results of a new Harris Poll of 1,010 U.S. adults surveyed by telephone by Harris Interactive^® between April 5 and 10, 2005.

Ratings of Other Cabinet Members

While Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is not nearly as popular as her predecessor, Colin Powell, she is the only cabinet member currently enjoying positive ratings – by 54 to 39 percent.

Vice President Dick Cheney’s ratings are currently 37 percent positive, 60 percent negative, down sharply from 45 percent positive, 52 percent negative in February.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s ratings are 42 percent positive, 56 percent negative, identical to his February ratings.

Congress and Congressional Leaders

Large majorities continue to give negative marks to both Congressional Democrats (64% negative) and Republicans (61% negative).

Fewer people have opinions about Senate Majority leader Bill Frist and House Speaker Dennis Hastert, but those who do tend to be negative on both Frist (32% positive, 51% negative) and Hastert (30% positive, 50% negative).

Social Security Tops the List of Important Issues

When asked to name the two most important issues for the government to address – without prompting or using a list – more people (31%) mentioned Social Security than any other issue, but this is down from 37 percent in February.

The only other issue mentioned by more than 14 percent of the public is "the war" (23%) but this is also down (from 30%) from February. The next most important issues are healthcare (14%), the economy (13%) and education (9%).

The most interesting change over the last few months is that seven percent now mention oil prices or energy as important, up sharply from only one percent in February.

TABLE 1

CURRENT RATINGS OF PRESIDENT, SENIOR CABINET MEMBERS AND PARTIES IN CONGRESS

"How would you rate the job (READ ITEM) are/is doing – excellent, pretty good, only fair, or poor?"

Base: All Adults

	Excellent	Pretty Good	Only Fair	Poor	Not Sure	Positive*	Negative**
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice	17	37	27	12	6	54	39
President George W. Bush	14	30	27	28	*	44	56
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld	12	30	29	28	2	42	56
Vice President Dick Cheney	10	27	31	29	3	37	60
Republicans in Congress	5	31	40	22	3	36	61
Democrats in Congress	4	29	44	20	3	34	64
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist	3	29	35	16	17	32	51
House Speaker Dennis Hastert	3	26	37	13	20	30	50

*Positive = excellent or pretty good.

**Negative = only fair or poor

TABLE 2
POSITIVE RATINGS TRENDS SINCE 9/11/01: SUMMARY

Base: All Adults

POSITIVE RATINGS	%	Soon After 9/11	Feb. 2003	April 2003	Aug. 2003	Dec. 2003	Feb. 2004	April 2004	June 2004	Sept. 2004	Oct. 2004	Nov. 2004	Feb. 2005	Now
President George W. Bush	%	88	52	70	57	50	51	48	50	45	51	50	48	44
Vice President Dick Cheney	%	69	45	55	42	42	41	36	42	40	47	48	45	37
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice	%	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	52	54
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld	%	78	56	71	55	57	50	45	47	43	46	47	42	42

** N/A

TABLE 3
PRESIDENT BUSH'S OVERALL JOB RATING

(Not Sure’s Excluded)

"How would you rate the job President George W. Bush isdoing as president – excellent, pretty good, only fair, or poor?"

Base: All Adults

	TREND	%	Positive*	Negative**
2005	April	%	44	56
	February	%	48	51
2004	November	%	50	49
	October	%	51	49
	September	%	45	54
	August	%	48	51
	June	%	50	49
	April	%	48	51
	February	%	51	48
2003	December	%	50	49
	October	%	59	40
	August	%	57	41
	June	%	61	36
	April	%	70	29
	February	%	52	46
2002	December	%	64	35
	November	%	65	33
	October	%	64	35
	September	%	68	30
	August	%	63	37
	July	%	62	37
	June	%	70	28
	May	%	74	25
	April	%	75	23
	March	%	77	22
	February	%	79	20
	January	%	79	19
2001	December	%	82	17
	November	%	86	12
	October	%	88	11
	August	%	52	43
	July	%	56	39
	June	%	50	46
	May	%	59	35
	March	%	49	38
	February	%	56	26

*Positive = excellent or pretty good.

**Negative = only fair or poor.

TABLE 4
RATINGS OF VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY

(Not Sure's Excluded)

"And how would you rate the job Vice President Cheney isdoing – excellent, pretty good, only fair or poor?"

Base: All Adults

	TREND	%	Positive*	Negative**
2005	April	%	37	60
	February	%	45	52
2004	November	%	48	50
	October	%	47	51
	September	%	40	54
	August	%	40	54
	June	%	42	49
	April	%	36	52
	February	%	41	48
2003	December	%	42	47
	October	%	42	44
	August	%	42	45
	June	%	49	40
	April	%	55	36
	February	%	45	44
2002	December	%	50	37
	November	%	52	39
	October	%	54	37
	September	%	52	37
	August	%	45	43
	July	%	46	41
	June	%	55	34
	May	%	55	33
	April	%	55	31
	March	%	59	29
	February	%	57	31
	January	%	55	31
2001	October	%	69	20
	July	%	39	52

*Positive = excellent or pretty good.

**Negative = only fair or poor.

TABLE 5
RATINGS OF SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZZA RICE

(Not Sure's Excluded)

"And how would you rate the job Secretary of StateCondoleezza Rice is doing – excellent, pretty good, only fair or poor?"

Base: All Adults

	TREND		Positive*	Negative**
2005	April	%	54	39
	February	%	52	40

*Positive = excellent or pretty good.

**Negative = only fair or poor.

TABLE 6
RATINGS OF SECRETARY OF DEFENSE DONALD RUMSFELD

(Not Sure’s Excluded)

"And how would you rate the job Secretary of DefenseDonald Rumsfeld is doing – excellent, pretty good, only fair or poor?"

Base: All Adults

	TREND		Positive*	Negative**
2005	April	%	42	56
	February	%	42	56
2004	November	%	47	50
	October	%	46	50
	September	%	43	50
	August	%	45	49
	June	%	47	47
	April	%	45	47
	February	%	50	43
2003	December	%	57	38
	October	%	47	44
	August	%	55	36
	June	%	60	32
	April	%	71	22
	February	%	56	35
2002	December	%	59	30
	November	%	59	30
	October	%	60	30
	September	%	61	27
	August	%	60	29
	July	%	56	33
	June	%	65	24
	May	%	67	22
	April	%	70	18
	March	%	71	18
	February	%	70	17
	January	%	77	16
2001	December	%	75	14
	October	%	78	12

*Positive = excellent or pretty good.

**Negative = only fair or poor.

TABLE 7
RATINGS OF HOUSE SPEAKER DENNIS HASTERT

(Not Sure's Excluded)

"And how would you rate the job House Speaker DennisHastert is doing – excellent, pretty good, only fair or poor?"

Base: All Adults

	TREND		Positive*	Negative**
2005	April	%	30	50
2004	September	%	29	33
	August	%	29	33
	June	%	29	32
	April	%	25	35
	February	%	26	35
2003	December	%	24	30
	October	%	29	35
	August	%	29	36
	June	%	34	31
	April	%	41	29
	February	%	33	34
2002	December	%	26	33
	November	%	30	31
	October	%	30	29
	September	%	35	29
	August	%	29	35
	July	%	28	36
	June	%	34	31
	May	%	33	25
	April	%	32	26
	March	%	33	25
	February	%	37	25
	January	%	40	24
2001	October (high)	%	52	16
	August (low)	%	27	29
2000	August (high)	%	29	28
	July (low)	%	23	31
1999	October (low)	%	25	34
	April (high)	%	36	39

*Positive = excellent or pretty good.

**Negative = only fair or poor.

TABLE 8
RATINGS OF SENATE MAJORITY LEADER BILL FRIST

(Not Sure's Excluded)

"And how would you rate the job Senate Majority LeaderBill Frist is doing – excellent, pretty good, only fair or poor?"

Base: All Adults

	TREND		Positive*	Negative**
2005	April	%	32	51
2004	September	%	27	40
	August	%	28	38
	June	%	30	36
	April	%	26	36
	February	%	31	36
2003	December	%	27	38
	October	%	29	34
	August	%	32	35
	June	%	38	32
	April	%	39	29
	February	%	37	30

*Positive = excellent or pretty good.

**Negative = only fair or poor.

TABLE 9
RATINGS OF REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS

(Not Sure’s Excluded)

"And how would you rate the job Republicans in Congressare doing – excellent, pretty good, only fair or poor?"

Base: All Adults

	TREND		Positive*	Negative**
2005	April	%	36	61
2004	September	%	38	56
	August	%	40	54
	June	%	39	53
	April	%	35	55
	February	%	40	52
2003	December	%	37	51
	October	%	40	50
	August	%	41	51
	June	%	45	47
	April	%	52	41
	February	%	43	49
2002	December	%	47	47
	November	%	47	45
	October	%	46	45
	September	%	47	42
	August	%	41	49
	July	%	39	52
	June	%	46	45
	May	%	48	44
	April	%	49	39
	March	%	50	41
	February	%	50	40
	January	%	58	34
2001	October (high)	%	67	24
	August (low)	%	37	52
2000	May (low)	%	33	60
	February (high)	%	38	55
1999	October (low)	%	32	58
	September (high)	%	39	55
1998	June (low)	%	31	62
	February (high)	%	44	53
1997	June (low)	%	31	67
	February (high)	%	38	58
1996	May (low)	%	29	69
	January (high)	%	33	66
1995	November (low)	%	35	63
	April (high)	%	42	56

*Positive = excellent or pretty good.

**Negative = only fair or poor.

TABLE 10
RATINGS OF DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS

(Not Sure’s Excluded)

"And how would you rate the job Democrats in Congress aredoing – excellent, pretty good, only fair or poor?"

Base: All Adults

	TREND		Positive*	Negative**
2005	April	%	34	64
2004	September	%	34	60
	August	%	35	58
	June	%	31	59
	April	%	32	57
	February	%	33	58
2003	December	%	28	61
	October	%	34	56
	August	%	30	60
	June	%	41	51
	April	%	39	52
	February	%	38	54
2002	December	%	36	55
	November	%	40	52
	October	%	40	52
	September	%	42	49
	August`	%	38	54
	July	%	41	49
	June	%	45	46
	May	%	45	45
	April	%	47	42
	March	%	48	43
	February	%	49	41
	January	%	52	40
2001	October (high)	%	68	24
	May (low)	%	40	51
2000	September (high)	%	48	44
	June (low)	%	38	52
1999	October (low)	%	42	50
	January (high)	%	50	47
1998	September (high)	%	49	47
	June (low)	%	41	53
1997	June (low)	%	36	60
	February (high)	%	43	54
1996	May (high)	%	36	62
	January (low)	%	31	68
1995	November (high)	%	34	64
	July (low)	%	30	66
1994	December	%	28	70

*Positive = excellent or pretty good.

**Negative = only fair or poor.

TABLE 11
MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES FOR GOVERNMENT to address

(Spontaneous, Unprompted Replies)

"What do you think are the two most importantissues for the government to address?"

Base: All Adults

	‘93	‘94	‘95	‘96	‘97	‘98	‘99	‘00	‘01	‘02	‘03	‘03	‘04	‘04	‘04	‘05	‘05
	Jan	Feb	Feb	April	May	Jan	Feb	Aug	Dec	Dec	Jun	Oct	Feb	Aug	Oct	Feb	April
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Social security	x	x	x	X	6	6	24	16	3	2	4	2	2	5	4	37	31
(The) war	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	12	18	8	18	13	24	35	30	23
Healthcare (not Medicare)	31	45	25	16	10	11	12	15	5	10	14	13	16	17	18	14	14
The economy (non-specific)	26	12	7	14	8	9	7	5	32	34	25	30	31	32	28	11	13
Energy/oil prices	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	1	1	*	1	1	1	9
Education	10	6	10	14	15	14	21	25	12	11	13	11	11	9	7	7	9
Iraq / (Saddam Hussein)	*	*	*	*	*	*	1	-	-	11	3	10	6	6	9	11	6
Federal budget surplus/deficit	19	8	22	22	20	12	5	4	1	1	4	5	5	2	2	10	6
Employment/jobs	19	14	10	9	5	3	4	4	7	8	8	12	16	10	10	6	6
Taxes	7	6	12	11	14	16	12	13	6	5	11	5	5	4	8	5	6
Immigration	*	*	2	2	2	1	*	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	2	2	4
Terrorism	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	22	17	11	7	4	11	7	4	4
National security	X	X	X	X	X	X	2	2	6	3	6	7	4	6	5	4	4
Homeland/domestic security/public safety	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	8	9	3	3	8	5	6	3	3
Medicare	X	X	X	3	4	5	5	6	1	1	4	3	2	3	3	3	3
Foreign policy (non-specific)	6	4	2	3	3	5	4	3	2	4	2	4	6	2	3	3	3
Domestic/social issues (non-specific)	10	4	4	4	2	3	2	2	2	2	1	2	4	2	2	2	3
Abortion	9	3	3	4	2	2	2	6	1	1	1	2	3	3	4	2	2
(Programs for) the poor/ poverty	7	8	10	2	3	2	2	3	1	2	3	2	2	1	*	2	2
Same sex marriage/rights	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	1	2	1	1	2
Welfare	2	7	16	13	14	8	4	2	1	1	3	2	2	1	*	1	2
Crime/violence	3	36	21	16	19	13	8	10	1	2	3	1	3	1	1	*	2
Military/defense	x	2	1	1	2	2	2	4	4	1	5	2	5	4	3	3	1
Honesty/Integrity/Moral Values	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	2	1	1
Prescription drug prices	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Environment	3	1	1	1	3	2	3	3	1	3	2	1	4	2	1	1	1
Human/civil/women's rights	X	1	1	2	2	1	*	1	1	1	*	1	*	*	1	1	1
Peace/world peace/nuclear arms	2	1	1	3	1	3	3	1	2	2	3	2	1	2	*	1	1
Issues involving children	X	X	X	X	2	1	2	1	*	*	*	1	1	*	*	1	1
Homelessness	-	-	-	3	4	4	3	3	2	2	1	1	1	2	*	1	1
Downsizing government	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	1	*	X	X	1	1	*	1	*	1
Medical research	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	2	1	*	1	2	1	*
Religion (decline of)	*	*	1	*	*	1	*	1	2	1	1	1	*	*	1	*	*
Family values (decline of)	*	*	2	2	2	1	2	1	*	*	1	1	2	1	1	-	*
School safety	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	2	1	*	2	*	-	*
Middle East peace process between Palestinians and Israel	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	2	2	2	1	*	1	*	*	*
Drugs	3	6	3	4	8	6	2	5	2	3	3	3	3	2	*	*	*
Corporate fraud/scandals	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	1	1	*	*	*	*	*	*
Race relations	X	X	X	X	X	2	*	1	1	*	*	*	*	*	X	*	*
Programs for the elderly (not Medicare/Social Security)	3	2	5	6	1	1	1	2	1	1	3	2	1	1	1	1	-
Morality/sex on TV	X	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	X	X	*	1	1	1	-	-
Ethics in government	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	1	1	1	1	1	*	1	*	-
Gun control	*	3	2	1	1	1	1	4	*	*	*	1	1	*	1	-	-
Housing	-	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	1	1	1	*	1	*	*	-
Other1	5	8	7	7	8	19	2	19	3	8	8	3	3	5	8	21	4
Not sure/refused/no issue	5	8	7	7	9	12	16	18	11	10	12	10	15	12	9	7	1

* = Less than 0.5%.

X = Not mentioned as specific issue.

^{1 Including judicial and legal issues, inflation, defense, church and
state

Methodology

The Harris Poll^® was conducted by telephone within the United
States between April 5 and 10, 2005 among a nationwide cross section of 1,010
adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race, education, region and
household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with
their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also
used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.
In theory, with probability samples of this size, one could say with 95
percent certainty that the results have a sampling error of plus or minus 3
percentage points. Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of
error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical
calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (nonresponse),
question wording and question order, and weighting. It is impossible to quantify
the errors that may result from these factors.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National
Council on Public Polls.

J23845
Q410, Q417, Q425}

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