Friday, December 15, 2006 : Today's National Polls

Today's polls are compiled by NationalJournal.com staff
and gathered in conjunction with The Hotline.
Questions and polling press releases should be directed
to polls@nationaljournal.com.

Please click here for links to other recently released national polls.

NBC NEWS/WALL STREET JOURNAL
President Bush, Congress, WH 2008, Iraq

Conducted 12/8-11/06; surveyed 1,006 adults; margin of error +/-3.1% (release, 12/15).

All in all, do you think that things in the nation are generally headed in the right direction, or do you feel that things are off on the wrong track?

Headed in the right direction               28%
Off on the wrong track                      58
Mixed (vol.)                                11
Not sure                                     3

In general, do you approve or disapprove of the job that George W. Bush is doing as president?

Approve                     34%
Disapprove                  61
Not sure                     5

Do you generally approve or disapprove of the job that George W. Bush is doing in handling the economy?

Approve                     40%
Disapprove                  54
Not sure                     6

(Asked of Form A half-sample) In general, do you approve or disapprove of the job that George W. Bush is doing in handling our foreign policy?

Approve                     30%
Disapprove                  64
Not sure                     6

(Asked of Form B half-sample) In general, do you approve or disapprove of the job that George W. Bush is doing in handling the situation in Iraq?

Approve                     23%
Disapprove                  71
Not sure                     6

Now I'm going to read you the names of several public figures and organizations, and I'd like you to rate your feelings toward each one as either very positive, somewhat positive, neutral, somewhat negative, or very negative. If you don't know the name, please just say so.

George W. Bush:

Very positive               19%
Somewhat positive           19
Neutral                     10
Somewhat negative           15
Very negative               37
Don't know name/Not sure     0

The Democratic Party:

Very positive               17%
Somewhat positive           29
Neutral                     23
Somewhat negative           19
Very negative               10
Don't know name/Not sure     2

The Republican Party:

Very positive               11%
Somewhat positive           22
Neutral                     19
Somewhat negative           22
Very negative               24
Don't know name/Not sure     2

Robert Gates:

Very positive                6%
Somewhat positive           19
Neutral                     29
Somewhat negative            7
Very negative                2
Don't know name/Not sure    37

(Asked of Form A half-sample) Nancy Pelosi:

Very positive                9%
Somewhat positive           16
Neutral                     21
Somewhat negative            8
Very negative               15
Don't know name/Not sure    31

(Asked of Form A half-sample) Newt Gingrich:

Very positive                9%
Somewhat positive           17
Neutral                     23
Somewhat negative           15
Very negative               20
Don't know name/Not sure    16

(Asked of Form A half-sample) John Edwards:

Very positive               11%
Somewhat positive           23
Neutral                     26
Somewhat negative           13
Very negative                8
Don't know name/Not sure    19

(Asked of Form A half-sample) John McCain:

Very positive               13%
Somewhat positive           33
Neutral                     22
Somewhat negative           16
Very negative                4
Don't know name/Not sure    12

(Asked of Form A half-sample) Barack Obama:

Very positive               17%
Somewhat positive           18
Neutral                     18
Somewhat negative            7
Very negative                6
Don't know name/Not sure    34

(Asked of Form A half-sample) Michael Bloomberg:

Very positive                5%
Somewhat positive           16
Neutral                     30
Somewhat negative            7
Very negative                3
Don't know name/Not sure    39

(Asked of Form B half-sample) Hillary Clinton:

Very positive               21%
Somewhat positive           22
Neutral                     17
Somewhat negative           12
Very negative               26
Don't know name/Not sure     2

(Asked of Form B half-sample) Mitt Romney:

Very positive                3%
Somewhat positive            8
Neutral                     22
Somewhat negative            7
Very negative                4
Don't know name/Not sure    56

(Asked of Form B half-sample) John Kerry:

Very positive                7%
Somewhat positive           20
Neutral                     25
Somewhat negative           17
Very negative               27
Don't know name/Not sure     4

(Asked of Form B half-sample) Rudy Giuliani:

Very positive               19%
Somewhat positive           36
Neutral                     22
Somewhat negative            9
Very negative                5
Don't know name/Not sure     9

(Asked of Form B half-sample) Joe Biden:

Very positive                3%
Somewhat positive           14
Neutral                     23
Somewhat negative           10
Very negative                6
Don't know name/Not sure    44

(Asked of Form B half-sample) Joe Lieberman:

Very positive                7%
Somewhat positive           24
Neutral                     32
Somewhat negative           14
Very negative                6
Don't know name/Not sure    17

Let me list some issues that have been proposed for the federal government to address. Please tell me which one of these items you think should be the top priority for the federal government.

The war in Iraq                             30%
Job creation and economic growth            14
Terrorism                                   14
Health care                                 14
Illegal immigration                         11
Energy and the cost of gas                   5
Reducing the federal budget deficit          5
Environment                                  4
Other (vol.)                                 1
All equally (vol.)                           2
None of these (vol.)                         0
Not sure                                     0

Some people say that in the November elections Americans were sending a message to President Bush that he needs to change some of his programs and policies. Which of the following statements comes closest to your point of view on this? Statement A: President Bush has gotten the message from the elections and is making the necessary adjustments. Statement B: President Bush has gotten the message from the elections but is not making the necessary adjustments. Statement C: President Bush has not gotten the message from the elections. Statement D: The elections were not a message to President Bush to change his programs and policies.

Statement A, has gotten message, is
 making adjustments                         24%
Statement B, has gotten message, not
 making adjustments                         41
Statement C, has not gotten message         18
Statement D, elections were not a message   13
Not sure                                     4

As a result of November's elections, how much change do you think there will be in the direction of the country -- a great deal, quite a bit, just some or not that much?

A great deal of change      10%
Quite a bit of change       15
Just some change            41
Not that much change        30
No change (vol.)             2
Not sure                     2

Who do you want to see take the lead role in setting policy for the country -- George W. Bush or the Congress?

George W. Bush              21%
Congress                    59
Shared/Equal role (vol.)    13
Neither (vol.)               4
Not sure                     3

(Asked of Form A half-sample) Do you expect the new Congress to be more honest and ethical than it has been in the past, less honest and ethical or about the same in terms of its honesty and ethics?

More honest and ethical                     33%
Less honest and ethical                     12
About the same honesty and ethics           53
Not sure                                     2

(Asked of Form B half-sample) Do you expect the new Congress to be more partisan and divided than it has been in the past, less partisan and divided or about the same in terms of its partisanship and division?

More partisan and divided       26%
Less partisan and divided       23
About the same in terms of its
 partisanship and division      46
Not sure                         5

I'm going to read you several actions the next Congress could take. For each one, please tell me whether you would strongly support this action, mildly support it, feel neutral about it, mildly oppose it or strongly oppose this action.

Raising the minimum wage:

Strongly support            60%
Mildly support              17
Feel neutral                12
Mildly oppose                4
Strongly oppose              7
Not sure                     0

(Asked of Form A half-sample) Making the federal
 government directly responsible for negotiating
 with drug companies for lower prescription drug
 prices for Medicare recipients:

Strongly support            59%
Mildly support              17
Feel neutral                 9
Mildly oppose                4
Strongly oppose             10
Not sure                     1

Cutting interest rates on student loans:

Strongly support            57%
Mildly support              19
Feel neutral                14
Mildly oppose                4
Strongly oppose              4
Not sure                     2

(Asked of Form B half-sample) Continuing to have
 multiple private companies under contract to
 Medicare so that they can compete to provide
 lower prices for prescription drugs as they do
 now:

Strongly support            51%
Mildly support              23
Feel neutral                12
Mildly oppose                3
Strongly oppose              7
Not sure                     4

Putting pressure on the White House to begin to
 bring some troops home from Iraq within the next
 four to six months:

Strongly support            54%
Mildly support              14
Feel neutral                 9
Mildly oppose                6
Strongly oppose             15
Not sure                     2

(Asked of Form A half-sample) Eliminating tax
 cuts for oil companies:

Strongly support            47%
Mildly support              12
Feel neutral                13
Mildly oppose                8
Strongly oppose             17
Not sure                     3

Expanding federal funding for embryonic stem
 cell research:

Strongly support            39%
Mildly support              17
Feel neutral                15
Mildly oppose                7
Strongly oppose             19
Not sure                     3

(Asked of Democrats) Let me mention some people who might seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2008. If the next Democratic primary for president were being held today, for which one of the following candidates would you vote?

Hillary Clinton             37%
Barack Obama                18
John Edwards                14
John Kerry                  11
Joe Biden                    4
Evan Bayh                    3
Bill Richardson              2
Tom Vilsack                  0
Other (vol.)                 3
None (vol.)                  3
Not sure                     5

(Asked of Democrats) Regardless of which candidate you would vote for, which one do you think would have the best chance of winning the general election to become president?

Hillary Clinton             35%
John Edwards                18
Barack Obama                13
John Kerry                  12
Joe Biden                    5
Evan Bayh                    2
Bill Richardson              1
Tom Vilsack                  0
Other (vol.)                 1
None (vol.)                  1
Not sure                    12

(Asked of Republicans) Let me mention some people who might seek the Republican nomination for president in 2008. If the next Republican primary for president were being held today, for which one of the following candidates would you vote?

Rudy Giuliani               34%
John McCain                 29
Newt Gingrich               10
Mitt Romney                  8
Sam Brownback                2
Mike Huckabee                2
George Pataki                1
Tommy Thompson               1
Other (vol.)                 2
None (vol.)                  3
Not sure                     8

(Asked of Republicans) Regardless of which candidate you would vote for, which one do you think would have the best chance of winning the general election to become president?

Rudy Giuliani               40%
John McCain                 32
Mitt Romney                  5
Newt Gingrich                5
Sam Brownback                1
George Pataki                1
Mike Huckabee                0
Tommy Thompson               0
Other (vol.)                 1
None (vol.)                  1
Not sure                    14

(Asked of registered voters) If the next election for president were held today, and John McCain were the Republican candidate and Hillary Clinton were the Democratic candidate, for whom would you vote?

John McCain                 47%
Hillary Clinton             43
Depends (vol.)               1
Neither/Other (vol.)         5
Not sure                     4

(Asked of registered voters) If the next election for president were held today, and John McCain were the Republican candidate, Hillary Clinton were the Democratic candidate, and Michael Bloomberg were an independent candidate, for whom would you vote?

John McCain                 39%
Hillary Clinton             40
Michael Bloomberg           10
Depends (vol.)               1
Neither/Other (vol.)         4
Not sure                     6

(Asked of registered voters) If the next election for president were held today, and John McCain were the Republican candidate and Barack Obama were the Democratic candidate, for whom would you vote?

John McCain                 43%
Barack Obama                38
Depends (vol.)               3
Neither/Other (vol.)         6
Not sure                    10

(Asked of registered voters in Form A half-sample) If the next election for president were held today, and Mitt Romney were the Republican candidate and Hillary Clinton were the Democratic candidate, for whom would you vote?

Mitt Romney                 37%
Hillary Clinton             47
Depends (vol.)               2
Neither/Other (vol.)         5
Not sure                     9

(Asked of registered voters in Form B half-sample) If the next election for president were held today, and John McCain was the Republican candidate and John Edwards was the Democratic candidate, for whom would you vote?

John McCain                 41%
John Edwards                43
Depends (vol.)               2
Neither/Other (vol.)         7
Not sure                     7

Not thinking about any specific candidates, I'm going to list several types of people who might run for president. For each one, please tell me whether that type of candidate is someone you would (a) be enthusiastic about, (b) be comfortable with, (c) have some reservations about, or (d) be very uncomfortable with.

(Asked of Form A half-sample) Someone with a
 military background :

Enthusiastic                24%
Comfortable                 61
Have some reservations       8
Very uncomfortable           3
Not sure                     4

An African American:

Enthusiastic                15%
Comfortable                 68
Have some reservations       8
Very uncomfortable           4
Not sure                     5

(Asked of Form A half-sample) A woman :

Enthusiastic                21%
Comfortable                 59
Have some reservations       8
Very uncomfortable           8
Not sure                     4

(Asked of Form B half-sample) A senator who has
 experience in legislative and international
 matters:

Enthusiastic                18%
Comfortable                 61
Have some reservations      14
Very uncomfortable           3
Not sure                     4

(Asked of Form A half-sample) A Jewish person:

Enthusiastic                10%
Comfortable                 66
Have some reservations      10
Very uncomfortable           9
Not sure                     5

(Asked of Form A half-sample) A governor who has
 experience as a government executive and in
 state matters:

Enthusiastic                14%
Comfortable                 60
Have some reservations      18
Very uncomfortable           5
Not sure                     3

A Hispanic:

Enthusiastic                12%
Comfortable                 61
Have some reservations      14
Very uncomfortable           9
Not sure                     4

A gay or lesbian person:

Enthusiastic                 5%
Comfortable                 38
Have some reservations      19
Very uncomfortable          34
Not sure                     4

(Asked of Form B half-sample) An evangelical
 Christian:

Enthusiastic                 7%
Comfortable                 34
Have some reservations      26
Very uncomfortable          28
Not sure                     5

(Asked of Form B half-sample) Someone who has
 experience as a member of George W. Bush's
 cabinet:

Enthusiastic                 6%
Comfortable                 32
Have some reservations      25
Very uncomfortable          34
Not sure                     3

(Asked of Form A half-sample) A Mormon:

Enthusiastic                 4%
Comfortable                 34
Have some reservations      27
Very uncomfortable          26
Not sure                     9

(Asked of Form B half-sample) Someone over 
 age seventy:

Enthusiastic                 3%
Comfortable                 30
Have some reservations      37
Very uncomfortable          29
Not sure                     1

As you may know, President Bush has proposed to allow foreigners who have jobs but are staying illegally in the United States to apply for legal, temporary-worker status. Do you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose this proposal?

Strongly favor              19%
Somewhat favor              27
Somewhat oppose             18
Strongly oppose             32
Depends (vol.)               2
Not sure                     2

When it comes to China, is the United States too tough, about right, or not tough enough in our business and economic negotiations with China?

Too tough                    4%
About right                 18
Not tough enough            61
Not sure                    17

Now I would like to mention several proposals that have been made to help solve America's energy problems. For each one, please tell me whether you would favor or oppose that proposal.

(Asked of Form B half-sample) Require automakers
 to build cars and trucks that are more fuel-
 efficient:

Strongly favor              75%
Somewhat favor              18
Somewhat oppose              3
Strongly oppose              3
Not sure                     1

(Asked of Form B half-sample) Increase spending
 on developing new sources of energy, such as
 wind and solar energy:

Strongly favor              66%
Somewhat favor              25
Somewhat oppose              3
Strongly oppose              4
Not sure                     2

(Asked of Form A half-sample) Require automakers
 to build cars and trucks that are more fuel-
 efficient, even if this raises automobile
 prices:

Strongly favor              55%
Somewhat favor              25
Somewhat oppose             11
Strongly oppose              6
Not sure                     3

(Asked of Form A half-sample) Increase spending
 on finding ways to burn coal cleanly:

Strongly favor              47%
Somewhat favor              31
Somewhat oppose             11
Strongly oppose              7
Not sure                     4

(Asked of Form A half-sample) Make permitting and
 building new power plants easier:

Strongly favor              40%
Somewhat favor              31
Somewhat oppose             15
Strongly oppose              7
Not sure                     7

(Asked of Form B half-sample) Build additional
 nuclear power plants:

Strongly favor              19%
Somewhat favor              29
Somewhat oppose             22
Strongly oppose             25
Not sure                     5

And do you feel more confident or less confident that the war in Iraq will come to a successful conclusion?

More confident              19%
Less confident              69
Depends/Some of both (vol.)  7
Not sure                     5

When it comes to the governing of Iraq, do you think the current Iraqi leadership is competent and capable enough to effectively govern the country, is not competent and not capable enough to effectively govern the country, OR is the situation in Iraq too difficult for any Iraqi leaders to effectively govern the country? If you do not know enough about the situation to have an opinion please just say so.

Current leadership is capable and 
 competent                                  14%
Current leadership is not capable and 
 not competent                              27
Situation too difficult for any Iraqi
 leaders                                    40
Don't know enough to have an opinion        14
Not sure                                     5

As you may have heard, the Iraq Study Group, which is led by former secretary of state James Baker and former congressman Lee Hamilton, recently released recommendations for the course of action the United States should take in Iraq. From what you have heard, do you support, feel neutral toward, or oppose these recommendations, or do you not know enough to say?

Support recommendations                     27%
Feel neutral toward recommendations         13
Oppose recommendations                       9
Do not know enough to say                   49
Not sure                                     2

Do you think the report from the Iraq Study Group will come to something and produce a new direction in Iraq or come to nothing and not produce a new direction in Iraq?

Come to something/Produce a new direction   36%
Come to nothing/Not produce a new direction 39
Depends/Some of both (vol.)                 11
Not sure                                    14

Which of the following three alternatives would you most like to see the American military in Iraq take? A) Continue working toward establishing a secure Iraqi government using American troops in all aspects of the war. B) Re-deploy American troops so that they only train and support Iraqi forces, but do not leave the secure American bases. C) Have a phased withdrawal of American troops beginning immediately.

A) continue using American troops
 in all aspects of the war                  16%
B) American troops only train
 and support Iraqi forces                   44
C) phased withdrawal of troops
 beginning immediately                      35
Not sure                                     5

Do you think the United States has an obligation to the Iraqi people to remain in Iraq until the country is stable, or not?

United States has an obligation to the
 Iraqi people                               46%
United States does not have an obligation
 to the Iraqi people                        47
Not sure                                     7

Do you think the United States has an obligation to American soldiers who have been killed or wounded in Iraq to remain in Iraq until the mission there is completed, or not?

United States has an obligation to
 killed/wounded American soldiers           39%
United States does not have an obligation
 to killed/wounded American soldiers        53
Not sure                                     8

Thinking about the situation today in Iraq, do you think the violence in that country is better described as Iraqis fighting against each other in a civil war, OR Iraqis and foreign terrorists fighting against American soldiers?

Iraqis fighting against each other in a
 civil war                                  42%
Iraqis and foreign terrorists fighting
 against American soldiers                  30
Some of both (vol.)                         23
Not sure                                     5

(Asked of Form B half-sample) Much of the violence in Iraq right now is among Iraqis from different ethnic and religious groups. Do you think the United States is able to do more to reduce this violence, or do you think the United States is already doing everything it can to reduce this violence?

United States is able to do more            25%
United States is already doing 
 everything it can                          65
Not sure                                    10

(Asked of Form A half-sample) I have a question for you about the holidays. Are you envious of the kinds of toys and presents for children that are available today, or do you think the toys and presents you received as a child were better?

Envious of children's toys
 and presents today                         30%
Toys and presents received
 as a child were better                     55
Not sure                                    15