PRINCETON, N.J. - George W. Bush was inaugurated as the 43rd president of the United States Jan. 20, 2001. As he prepared to take the oath of office, Bush was viewed positively by the majority of the American public - 62 percent of whom, in the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, said they have a favorable opinion of the former Texas governor. Additionally, the public generally approved of the way he has handled his presidential transition (61 percent) and his cabinet appointments (59 percent).
The latest poll, conducted Jan. 15-16, 2001, and based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,055 adults, 18 years and older, suggested that the public believes Bush’s promise of "compassionate" conservatism is more than just campaign rhetoric. Additionally, Americans expected that Bush will set a strong moral example for the country. The public is, however, less confident in Bush’s ability to handle foreign policy matters and in how successful he will be in working with Congress to get things done. A slight majority of Americans are concerned that Bush will allow other members of his administration to make decisions that he, as president, should make on his own.
COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATIVE? Bush made the ideological philosophy of compassionate conservatism a centerpiece of his presidential campaign. This philosophy combines typical conservative beliefs in individualism and traditional moral values with a recognition that government has a role to play in helping the less fortunate in society. Many critics of Bush believed that this slogan was largely campaign rhetoric, but 58 percent of Americans believed that Bush will govern in a way that is "truly compassionate," while 39 percent do not. Perhaps not surprisingly, those who voted for Bush in the 2000 election overwhelmingly believed that he will govern compassionately (91 percent), while only about a quarter (23 percent) of Al Gore’s supporters accepted this view.
PUBLIC VIEWS BUSH AS A UNITER. Another common theme of the Bush presidential campaign was his insistence that he was a uniter who could bring people of various backgrounds and political leanings together to accomplish common goals, as opposed to a "divider" who would make no attempt at bringing people together. When asked to choose which of the two words better described Bush, 58 percent chose "uniter" while 36 percent chose "divider." Again, there are stark differences between Bush and Gore voters, as 95 percent of Bush voters described him as a uniter while only 26 percent of Gore voters did so. Interestingly, even a majority - 52 percent - of people who viewed the country as more divided today than in recent years thought of Bush as a uniter, while 43 percent considered him to be a divider. Among those who did not think the country is more divided, 70 percent characterized Bush as a uniter while only 24 percent termed him a divider.
WHO WILL MAKE THE DECISIONS IN THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION? One of the criticisms of Bush is that he may rely too much on others to make decisions, rather than making the decisions himself. Indeed, Bush’s harshest critics suggested that he may be less authoritative than most presidents, allowing Vice President Dick Cheney to make many of the decisions of consequence (Bush himself has admitted that he will rely heavily on his staff and advisors to help with his decision-making.) The public tilts toward the view that Bush may go too far in delegating decision-making, as 52 percent said that other people in the administration will make "decisions a president should make," while 45 percent believed Bush himself will be responsible for them. There are predictable partisan differences on this matter, as a strong majority of Republicans think Bush will make the decisions himself (72 percent compared to 26 percent who believed others will make the decisions), while Democrats believed others (73 percent) rather than Bush (24 percent) will make the decisions. Independents tended to believe that others will make the important decisions in the Bush administration (56 percent) instead of the president (41 percent).
WHAT DOES THE PUBLIC EXPECT FROM THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION? Few would doubt that Bush faces a tough political environment as he enters office, having won a close and very controversial election. Indeed, in the latest poll, 31 percent of Americans think Bush "won on a technicality" and 24 percent think he "stole the election," while 45 percent said he "won fair and square." Thirty-eight percent of Americans still considered Gore to be the "real winner of the election."
Nevertheless, Americans are optimistic for the Bush presidency in many regards. In fact, a majority of the public is at least somewhat confident that Bush can successfully accomplish a list of seven presidential objectives included in the most recent poll.
For the entire results of the poll click here: www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr010119.asp.
The author is a writer for Gallup News Service (www.gallup.com).
