Public opinion polls are a lot less plentiful (and a lot less interesting) now that the election is over, but a slew of new data does offer insight into one important truth: the public is not on board for Bush’s second term agenda.
At a time when the White House has portrayed Mr. Bush’s 3.5-million-vote victory as a mandate, the poll found that Americans are at best ambivalent about Mr. Bush’s plans to reshape Social Security, rewrite the tax code, cut taxes and appoint conservative judges to the bench. There is continuing disapproval of Mr. Bush’s handling of the war in Iraq, with a plurality now saying it was a mistake to invade in the first place.
While Democrats, not surprisingly, were the staunchest opponents of many elements of Mr. Bush’s second-term agenda, the concerns extended across party lines in some cases. Nearly two-thirds of all respondents – including 51 percent of Republicans – said it was more important to reduce deficits than to cut taxes, a central element of Mr. Bush’s economic agenda.
Indeed, newly released data, from a variety of outlets, reflected a public that is no where near ready to embrace the agenda the Republicans are about to fight for. From the New York Times poll:
* Americans are opposed changing the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage, which Mr. Bush campaigned on in the final weeks of his campaign. A majority continue to support allowing either same-sex marriages or legally recognized domestic partnerships for gay people.
* When asked what was their most important issue, the economy and jobs was easily number one (29%). “Moral values” was cited by only 6% of respondents.
* Americans now have a better opinion of the Democratic Party than of the Republican Party: 54% said they had a favorable view of Democrats, 49% have a favorable view of Republicans.
From the latest Wall Street Journal poll:
* 82% support legalizing the importation of brand name prescription drugs from Canada and other countries. This includes 76% of self-identified Bush voters.
From the latest USA Today poll:
* A 48% plurality said religion has too much political influence.
* A 2-to-1 majority wants Bush to pursue “programs that both parties support” rather than a Republican agenda.
If Republicans are still convinced they’ve been given a mandate to pursue an aggressive, right-wing agenda, the 2006 elections should get pretty interesting.