|
|
TIME Poll Results: Hurricane Katrina
TIME Magazine: Online Edition
USA
September 10, 2005
. Six in ten (61%) Americans surveyed think the U.S. should cut spending in Iraq to fund rebuilding areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina
. More than Half (57%) Worried That Government Will Not Provide Relief to Their Communities in Event of Natural Disaster or Terrorist Attack
. Three Quarters (74%) Think a President Has Some Control In Keeping Gas Prices Down; 69% Think President Bush Has Not Done Much to Keep Gas Prices Down
. Everyone Blamed for Relief Problems: 73% Blame State and Local Officials,
. 70% Blame Federal Agencies, 61% Blame President Bush, and 57% Blame the Victims Themselves
. Almost Half (48%) Think John Roberts Should Be Confirmed as Chief Justice
Six in ten Americans (61%) surveyed think the U.S. should cut back on spending in Iraq to help pay the immense bill for the rebuilding of the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina, according to the latest TIME magazine poll. A majority (58%) favors the partial withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq to help with the recovery efforts. Democrats (77% favor - 20% oppose) are much more likely to favor this idea than Republicans (39% favor - 59% oppose). Poll results will appear in the upcoming issue of TIME (on newsstands Monday, Sept. 12).
Concerns about Preparedness: Over half (52%) said the government at all levels did a "poor" job preparing for Hurricane Katrina before it hit the Gulf Coast. With Americans closely watching the aftermath of Katrina, they are concerned about their own security during times of crisis. More than half (57%) say they are "very" (27%) or "somewhat" (30%) worried that the government will not be able to provide relief and assistance to their community if a national disaster or terrorist attack were to occur. About two in five (42%) say they are not worried.
Slow Response: A majority (62%) say the government responded too slowly, and more than a third (35%) say it responded as quickly as it could, given the circumstances,
President Can Keep Gas Prices Down: Three quarters (74%) believe the President has some control over gas prices (39% say a great deal of control, 36% say he has some control). Seven in ten (69%) think President Bush has not done much to keep gas prices down.
Officials At All Levels Responsible: Majorities of those surveyed believe officials at all levels, including the victims themselves, are responsible for what went wrong in the hurricane's aftermath. Almost three quarters (73%) blame state and local officials, 70% blame Federal agencies, such as
FEMA, 61% blame President Bush, and 57% blame the victims themselves.
Racial and Partisan Divide on Response Time: Although 3 in 5 (60%) Americans do not believe that race or low income level slowed down the government's initial relief efforts, there is a racial and partisanship divide. About three-quarters (73%) of blacks believe race and income level played a role (73% - 25%) compared to only 29% of whites. Democrats are more likely to believe race/income level played a role (54% - 44%) compared to Republicans (17% - 80%).
President Bush Approval Rating: President Bush's overall approval rating has dropped to 42%, his lowest mark since taking office. And while 36% of respondents said they were satisfied with Bush's explanation of why the government was not able to provide relief to hurricane victims sooner, 57% said they were dissatisfied.
Most Favor Rebuilding New Orleans: Almost two-thirds (63%) believe New Orleans should be rebuilt with a better levee system to control flooding, with less than a third (29%) saying the city should not be rebuilt.
Energy Profit Gouging Concerns: Three in five Americans (60%) say the increase in gas prices post Hurricane Katrina resulted more from the oil companies and gas stations looking to make more profit. One third (33%) attributed the rise more to the damage to oil supplies in the Gulf Coast.
John Roberts Confirmation: Almost half (48%) think John Roberts should be confirmed as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, while 26% oppose his confirmation.
Methodology: This TIME poll was conducted by telephone between September 7 and 8, 2005 among a national random sample of 1,000 adults, age 18 and older throughout America. Areas devastated by the Hurricane (less than 1.5% of the American population) are underrepresented. The margin of error for the entire sample is approximately +/- 3 percentage points. The margin of error is higher for subgroups. Surveys are subject to other error sources as well, including sampling coverage error, recording error, and respondent error. Schulman,
Ronca, & Bucuvalas (SRBI) Public Affairs designed the survey and conducted all interviewing.
|
|
