Copyright 2000 The National Journal, Inc.
The National Journal
September 23, 2000
SECTION: POLITICS; Vol. 32, No. 39
LENGTH: 574 words
HEADLINE:
Poll Track: Views on policy and politics
BYLINE:
Deborah L. Acomb
BODY:
Congress Watch
Fighting for Control
Americans are closely divided over which party should
control
Congress, a Peter Hart (D)/Bob Teeter (R) poll for NBC and The
Wall Street Journal finds, with 43 percent favoring Republican
control
and 42 percent favoring Democratic control. Fifty-eight
percent described
the Republican Congress's effect on the country
as "very" or "somewhat"
positive, while 31 percent responded with
"somewhat" or "very" negative.
When the question was last asked,
in September 1996, 49 percent of
respondents held the positive
opinion, 44 percent the negative.
Looking at the issues, respondents favored a Democratic
majority in Congress when it comes to dealing with prescription
drugs
(52 percent to 27 percent), strengthening Social Security
and Medicare (49
percent to 34 percent), improving the quality of
education (42 percent to 36
percent), and passing a patients'
bill of rights (54
percent to 27 percent). A Democratic-
controlled Congress was favored to
provide a middle-class tax cut
(44 percent to 41 percent), while a
Republican one was favored to
handle the budget surplus (42 percent to 41
percent), but neither
advantage was outside the poll's margin of error.
(9/10/00; 2,017
adults; plus or minus 2.2%)
What
is your preference for the outcome of this
November's congressional
elections--a Congress controlled by
Republicans, or a Congress controlled by
Democrats?
Republican 43%
Democrat
42
Not Sure 15
Issue Spotlight
Media-ting Kids and Violence
In the wake of a Federal Trade Commission
report charging that
Hollywood is targeting violent entertainment to youth,
a Newsweek
survey finds that more than nine in 10 parents of children ages
5-17 say limiting the violence that children are exposed to is an
important factor in reducing crime. And while both George W. Bush
and Al
Gore have been critical of Hollywood, just 5 percent of
all respondents say
the government should be "responsible for
limiting the amount of violence
that children are exposed to in
entertainment media." The onus, say 70
percent, should fall on
parents, while 11 percent call on media distributors
such as TV
networks and movie theaters to take responsibility. When it comes
to advertising for R-rated movies and media with violent content,
a
plurality of parents-59 percent-say they have a "big problem"
with the
"violent content in the ads themselves" and "the
pressure the ads might put
on kids to buy or see violent
entertainment." (9/16/00; 853 registered
voters, 272- parent
subsample; margin of error plus or minus 4% overall,
plus or
minus 6% among subsample)
Which ONE of the following do you
think should be MAINLY
responsible for limiting the amount of violence that
children are
exposed to in entertainment media?
Parents
70%
Sellers and
distributors of the material
(movie theaters and tv networks)
11
Artists and studios that create the
material 7
The government
5
Other/None of these
2
Don't know
5
(Princeton Survey Research
Associates for Newsweek; 9/16/00; 853
registered voters; plus or minus 4%)
LOAD-DATE: September 26, 2000
