05-18-2002

POLLING: Poll Track for May 18, 2002

In the News


Our Man in Havana


Former President Carter was in Cuba this week to meet with Fidel Castro
and address the Cuban people. Americans are fairly evenly divided over
relations between the United States and its island neighbor: According to
an ABCNews.com poll, 47 percent of those surveyed said they support
establishing diplomatic relations with Cuba, and 45 percent oppose it.
Forty-nine percent said restrictions on travel to Cuba should be lifted,
and 45 percent said they should not. And 44 percent favored ending the
trade embargo against Cuba and allowing U.S. companies to do business
there. Forty-eight percent opposed lifting the embargo. (5/12/02; 1,028
adults; margin of error plus or minus 3%)


The Death Penalty


Sixty-five percent of the Americans polled by ABCNews.com favor the death
penalty for persons convicted of murder, and 26 percent oppose it. The
question was posed to a split sample.


The other half of the sample was asked whether they preferred capital
punishment or life in prison without parole for someone convicted of
murder. Forty-six percent chose the death penalty, and 43 percent favored
life in prison. (5/5/02; 1,021 adults; plus or minus 4.5%)


A Gallup poll on the same topic asked respondents whether they thought the
death penalty was imposed too often, about the right amount, or not often
enough.


Too often		22%


About the right amount	24%


Not often enough	47%


No opinion		 7%


(5/9/02; 1,012 adults; plus or minus 3%)


The Economy


Workers Without Worries


Employees of the nation's privately held companies are feeling positive
about their employers' prospects, a Gallup survey finds. Seventy-nine
percent of those who work for companies with five or more employees rated
their employer's personal financial situation as "excellent" or
"good," and 76 percent of respondents said their employer's
overall financial outlook is improving. Confidence in growth and
profitability was also high: Eighty-three percent said they expect
corporate growth in the next six months, and 91 percent said they were
confident of profitability during the same period. Expectations for a pay
raise were high, but not quite as high: 73 percent said they expect to see
more dollars in their paychecks over the next year. (4/24/02; 663 adults
employed at privately held companies; margin of error plus or minus
4%)


How much do you trust the people who handle the finances and accounting at
your company?


A great deal	      51%


Moderate amount       36


Not much	       9


Not at all	       3


No opinion	       1


The Approval Game


Bush's Report Card


President Bush's job-approval ratings continue to hover in the low 70s,
according to the latest Ipsos-Reid poll for the Cook Political Report.
Overall, 72 percent of the adults surveyed said they approved of the job
the president is doing, and 23 percent disapproved.


Asked to rate Bush's handling of the economy, foreign policy, and domestic
issues, registered voters remain generally satisfied-the numbers have
changed little over the past six weeks. Sixty-two percent said they
approved of Bush's handling of the economy, and 35 percent disapproved.
Domestic issues, which the poll defined as health care, energy, the
environment, and education, garnered a 56 percent approval rating and a 40
percent disapproval rating. Bush's handling of foreign policy and the war
on terrorism drew the highest ratings: Seventy-four percent said they
approved of the job the president is doing, and 23 percent did not
approve. (5/6/02; 2,000 adults, plus or minus 2.2%; 1,579 registered
voters, plus or minus 2.5%)


Grading Capitol Hill


Although Republican and Democratic congressional leaders each received
approval ratings in the mid-40s from respondents to a Bloomberg News poll,
63 percent said they have "only some" confidence in the people
who run Congress. Seventeen percent said they have "hardly any"
confidence, 14 percent had a "great deal," and 9 percent said
they didn't know.


Asked to assess how much Congress has accomplished this year, only 10
percent of respondents thought legislators had accomplished more than
usual, 17 percent said it was less than usual, and 62 percent said it was
the same as usual. (5/5/02; 1,200 adults; plus or minus 3%)


Deborah L. Acomb

National Journal