Poll: Katrina Shakes Confidence

Bush's Ratings On Handling The Crisis Improve, But Remain Negative

(CBS) 
CONCERNED ABOUT PAYING HEATING BILLS THIS WINTER?
A lot
All
36%
Northeast
41%
Midwest
39%
South
37%
West
26%

Some
All
28%
Northeast
27%
Midwest
33%
South
29%
West
22%

Not much/not at all
All
34%
Northeast
25%
Midwest
26%
South
33%
West
50%

A sizable majority of Americans think the Bush Administration has no clear plan yet for keeping gas prices low. 81 percent think the Administration has not yet formed a clear plan, 12 percent think they do have one.

DOES BUSH ADMINISTRATION HAVE CLEAR PLAN FOR DEALING WITH GAS PRICES?
Yes 12%
No 81%

This is an area in which the President receives some doubt from members of his own party; only one in five Republicans thinks the Administration has a clear plan for dealing with gas prices.

But 64 percent of Americans think gas prices are something the president can do a lot about, while 29 percent think that is beyond a president's control.

The economy (14 percent) and the war in Iraq (13 percent) top the list of the most important problems facing the country. Hurricane Katrina, at 10 percent, remains in the top tier of problems -- but this is lower than the number who cited it last week. 9 percent also name gas prices as the most important problem facing the country.

U.S. MOST IMPORTANT PROBLEM
Economy and jobs
Now 14%
Last week 13%
8/29-31 13%

War in Iraq
Now 13%
Last week 18%
8/29-31 24%

Hurricane
Now 10%
Last week 18%
8/29-31 5%

Gas/oil crisis
Now 9%
Last week 7%
8/29-31 14%

Terrorism
Now 6 %
Last week 5%
8/29-31 7%

PRESIDENT BUSH OVERALL JOB RATINGS
Despite the negative views on his handling of the hurricane, President Bush's overall job rating has held mostly steady since Hurricane Katrina hit. Today, 41 percent of Americans approve of the job Bush is doing as President -- not much different from last week.

The President's rating on fighting terrorism -- traditionally his strongest area -- has taken a hit in recent weeks. It stands at 50 percent now; last week 51 percent approved and it was at 55 percent in July.

BUSH JOB APPROVALS
Overall
Now 41%
Last week 42%
8/29-31 41%
July 45%

Terrorism
Now 50%
Last week 51%
8/29-31 54%
July 55%

Foreign policy
Now 38%
Last week --
8/29-31 --
July 42%

Iraq
Now 36%
Last week 35%
8/29-31 38%
July 41%

Economy
Now 35%
Last week --
8/29-31 37%
July 42%

Most Americans don't think the President shares their priorities for the country -- this has been the case since the spring of this year. 36 percent now say he does, while 61 percent say he does not.

DOES BUSH SHARE YOUR PRIORITIES FOR THE COUNTRY?Yes
Now 36%
6/2004 35%
5/2005 34%

No
Now 61%
6/2005 61%
5/2005 61%

Bush does get higher marks for compassion in the wake of the hurricane: a large majority -- 68 percent -- say he cares at least somewhat about the needs and problems of those left homeless as a result of it. Over half of Americans say he cares about the needs and problems of people like them, and a similar number say he cares about the needs and problems of blacks, specifically. When asked whether Bush cares about poor people, however, the public is more mixed: 49 percent say he does, while 50 percent say he does not.

HOW MUCH DOES BUSH CARE ABOUT NEEDS AND PROBLEMS OF…
Hurricane Katrina victims
A lot/some 68%
Not much/none 29%

People like you
A lot/some 55%
Not much/none 44%

Black people
A lot/some 54%
Not much/none 41%

Poor people
A lot/some 49%
Not much/none 50%

President Bush's leadership ratings have suffered some in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Today, 53 percent of Americans say Bush has strong qualities of leadership -- up slightly from last week but still historically low for this President.

DOES BUSH HAVE STRONG QUALITIES OF LEADERSHIP?
Yes
Now 53%
Last week 48%
9/2004* 64%
9/2001 83%

No
Now 45%
Last week 49%
9/2004* 34%
9/2001 14%

*among registered voters

CONGRESS
The overall approval rating for Congress continues to be low. 34 percent approve of the job Congress is doing, while 54 percent disapprove. This has changed little since March 2005.

CONGRESS' JOB APPROVAL
Approve
Now 34%
7/2005 33%
5/2005 29%
3/2005 34%

Disapprove
Now 54%
7/2005 50%
5/2005 55%
3/2005 49%

Historically, ratings of Congress in this poll have rarely risen above 50 percent.

The public is somewhat divided on Congress' response to Hurricane Katrina. 46 percent approve of the way Congress has responded, but 40 percent disapprove.

As has been the case since the spring, most Americans say that Congress does not share their priorities for the country. However, this is an improvement from June, when just 19 percent said Congress shared their priorities.

DOES CONGRESS SHARE YOUR PRIORITIES FOR THE COUNTRY?
Yes
Now 29%
6/2005 19%

No
Now 63%
6/2005 71%

Americans are more likely to prefer divided government than a President and legislature of the same party. These views have not varied much in the past few years.

DIRECTION OF THE COUNTRY

Today, 63 percent of Americans say things in this country are off on the wrong track. Only 31 percent now think the country is headed in the right direction.

Majorities of the public have consistently said the U.S. is off on the wrong track since the fall of 2003. The last time more than half of Americans said the country was headed in the right direction was in the very early days of the war with Iraq.

COUNTRY'S DIRECTION
Right direction
Now 31%
7/2005 37%
5/2004 30%
3/2003 52%

Wrong track
Now 63%
7/2005 57%
5/2004 65%
3/2003 41%

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This poll was conducted among a nationwide random sample of 1167 adults, interviewed by telephone September 9-13, 2005. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. An oversample of African Americans was also conducted for this poll, for a total of 211 interviews among this group. The margin of error for African Americans is plus or minus seven points.

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