Bush Speech: How Did It Go Over?

CBS News Poll: President Scored Some Points With Speech Watchers

(CBS)  When President Bush discussed the ongoing war on terrorism, including his wiretapping program, he called for the renewal of the Patriot Act.
Among speech viewers participating in our survey, 58 percent said they were concerned the government's anti-terror laws won't be made strong enough; 42 percent said their concern is that civil liberties will be restricted. These percentages are nearly the same as in a survey done last week.

Americans overall have been mostly divided on this issue since the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Among survey participants who watched the State of the Union speech, 59 percent said they think the President will protect their civil liberties; 41 percent said he will not.

WILL BUSH PROTECT YOUR CIVIL LIBERTIES?
(Among speech viewers)

Yes
59%
No
41%

On the war in Iraq, Mr. Bush said violence there has not stopped the progress of a new democracy.

Last week, 45 percent of speech viewers said the results of the war in Iraq had been worth the costs, including the loss of life. Following the speech, 52 percent feel that way – an increase of seven points.

After last year's State of the Union speech, the number of viewers who said the Iraq war was worth the costs rose 12 points from opinions the week before.

More viewers now think the U.S. is winning the war in Iraq. Last week, four in 10 said the U.S. was winning but after the speech 52 percent of viewers were convinced the U.S. is winning in Iraq.

In early January, 48 percent of Americans nationwide said neither side was winning the war in Iraq.

In his speech, President Bush said "we are on the offensive in Iraq, with a clear plan for victory."

Tuesday night, more speech watchers said Mr. Bush has a clear plan for Iraq than said so last week, but almost as many watchers said he doesn't have a plan.

More than half of speech watchers say going into Iraq was the right thing to do – a similar number said so last week.

WHO IS WINNING THE WAR IN IRAQ?
(Among speech viewers)

After speech
U.S.
52%
Insurgents
8%
Neither side
40%

Last week
U.S.
40%
Insurgents
8%
Neither side
52%

On Iran, 69 percent of speech watchers said they view Iraq's neighbor as a threat that can be contained through diplomacy, as the President suggested; 15 percent said Iran is a threat requiring immediate military action; and another 15 percent said Iran is not a threat.

On health care, 56 percent of speech viewers say President Bush will make the right decisions about reforming the health care system – a turnaround from last week when fewer than half thought he would make the right decisions.

President Bush announced a plan called the Advanced Energy Initiative which would increase funding for research on alternative energy sources. Viewers seemed to like what the President had to say on energy: 64 percent said he will make the right decisions when it comes to energy conservation and consumption.

About half of the State of the Union speech watchers, interviewed a week ago, said the president shared their priorities for the country. Now, 56 percent say that he does.

The president mentioned the commitment the government has made to help the people of the Gulf Coast and New Orleans devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Just 39 percent of viewers think Mr. Bush has a clear plan for finding housing and jobs for Hurricane Katrina victims, but that is up 11 points from last week.

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This CBS News Poll was conducted online by Knowledge Networks among a nationwide random sample of 734 State of the Union viewers. Knowledge Networks, a Silicon Valley company, conducted the poll among a sample of adult members of its household panel who said in recent days that they intended to watch the speech. The Knowledge Networks panel is a nationally representative sample given access to the Internet via Web TV. This is a scientifically representative poll of viewers' reaction to the speech. The margin of sampling error could be plus or minus 4 percentage points for the entire sample of speech watchers.

Click here for more details on how CBS News conducts public opinion surveys.