Newsweek poll: Majority think Hastert tried to cover up scandal; Bush approval drops to 33 percent

RAW STORY
Published: Saturday October 7, 2006

A new Newsweek poll reveals that a majority of Americans think that House Speaker Dennis Hastert tried to cover up the Foley scandal.

Also, President Bush's approval rate has now dropped to thirty-three percent, a new all-time low for the Newsweek poll.

Full results of the poll that RAW STORY obtained from Newsweek:

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Newsweek Poll

Congressional Republicans and Election '06

Princeton Survey Research Associates International

Final Topline Results

(10/7/06)

N = 1,004 national adults, 18 and over Margin of error: plus or minus 4 Interviewing dates: 10/5-6/06

SAMPLE SIZE/MARGIN OF ERROR FOR KEY SUBGROUPS:

483 Men (plus or minus 6) 581 Women (plus or minus 5)

841 Whites (plus or minus 4) 145 Non-whites (plus or minus 9)

296 Republicans (plus or minus 7) 332 Democrats (plus or minus 6) 338 Independents (plus or minus 7)

SAMPLE SIZE/MARGIN OF ERROR FOR REGISTERED VOTERS SUBGROUPS: 899 Registered voters (plus or minus 4)

624 Likely voters (plus or minus 5) (definition noted below)

278 Republicans (plus or minus 7) 302 Democrats (plus or minus 7) 291 Independents (plus or minus 7)

NOTES:

Data is weighted so that sample demographics match Census Current Population Survey parameters for gender, age, education, race, region, and population density.

Reported sample sizes are unweighted and should not be used to compute percentages.

Likely voters are determined based on response to a series of questions about voting intentions, voting history, general interest in politics, interest in the 2006 election, and knowledge of the voting process. Likely voters are the 62% of registered voters with the highest score on an index summarizing response to the likely voter questions.

An asterisk (*) indicates a value less than 1%.

LV1, LV2, LV4-LV9 ARE FOR CLASSIFICATION PURPOSES ONLY. RESULTS ARE NOT SHOWN.

LV3. How much thought have you given to this November's elections for U.S. CONGRESS- quite a lot, or only a little?

BASED ON REGISTERED VOTERS

    Quite a lot/Some        Only a little/None      DK

Current 47 52 1 =100

Republicans 48 51 1 =100
Democrats 47 52 1 =100
Independents 46 53 1 =100

Trends
(8/24-25/06) 34 65 1 =100
(8/10-11/06) 30 68 2 =100

        Note: "Some" and "None" are volunteered responses.

1a/b Suppose the elections for U.S. CONGRESS were being held TODAY... Would you vote for the Republican Party's candidate or the Democratic Party's candidate (ROTATE) for Congress in your district? [IF OTHER/ UNDECIDED, RESPONDENTS WERE ASKED] As of TODAY, do you LEAN more toward... the Republican or the Democrat (ROTATE)?

BASED ON REGISTERED VOTERS

    Rep/Lean Rep    Dem/Lean Dem    Undecided/Other

Current Total 38 51 11 =100

Likely voters 39 51 10 =100

Republicans 88 7 5 =100
Democrats 6 90 4 =100
Independents 32 47 21 =100

2006 Trends (RVs)
(8/24-25/06) 38 50 12 =100
(8/10-11/06) 39 51 10 =100
(5/11-12/06) 39 50 11 =100
(3/16-17/06) 39 50 11 =100

2005 Trends (RVs)
(11/10-11/05) 36 53 11 =100
(9/29-30/05) 42 47 11 =100
(9/8-9/05) 38 50 12 =100

2002 Trends (RVs)
(10/24-25/02) 46 43 11 =100
(10/10-11/02) 43 43 14 =100
(9/26-27/02) 40 47 13 =100
(9/12-13/02) 43 41 16 =100
(8/28-29/02) 40 45 15 =100
June 2002 44 46 10 =100
February 2002 46 45 9 =100

1998 Trends (RVs)
(10/8-9/98) 43 45 12 =100
(9/24-25/98) 43 48 9 =100
(9/10-11/98) 43 45 12 =100
(8/20-21/98) 41 47 12 =100

Questions 2 and 3 were asked in random order.

2 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time?

    Satisfied       Dissatisfied    DK

Current Total 25 67 8 =100

Trends
(8/24-25/06) 28 65 7 =100
(8/10-11/06) 26 67 7 =100
(5/11-12/06) NSA wiretapping 23 71 6 =100
(3/16-17/06) 30 64 6 =100
(11/10-11/05) 26 68 6 =100
(9/29-30/05) 31 61 8 =100
(9/8-9/05) Hurricane Katrina 28 66 6 =100
(8/2-4/05) 36 54 10 =100
(12/2-3/04) 46 46 8 =100
(10/27-29/04) 39 56 5 =100
(10/21-22/04) 40 56 4 =100
(10/14-15/04) 40 55 5 =100
(9/30-10/2/04) 38 57 5 =100
(9/9-10/04) 39 53 8 =100
(9/2-3/04) 43 49 8 =100
(7/29-30/04) 36 58 6 =100
(7/8-9/04) 40 54 6 =100
(5/13-14/04) Prisoner abuse scandal 30 62 8 =100
(4/8-9/04) 36 59 5 =100
(1/22-23/04) 43 52 5 =100
(1/8-9/04) 46 47 7 =100
(12/18-19/03) Saddam's capture 46 47 7 =100
(10/9-10/03) 40 54 6 =100
(4/03) Iraq War 50 41 9 =100
(9/02) 41 55 4 =100
(7/02) 46 46 8 =100
(9/01) Terrorist attacks 57 34 9 =100
(6/01) 43 52 5 =100
(3/01) 47 45 8 =100
(1/01) 55 41 4 =100
(6/00) 47 45 8 =100
(3/00) 56 36 8 =100
(8/99) 56 39 5 =100
(9/98) 54 42 4 =100
(1/97) 38 58 4 =100
(3/96) 28 70 2 =100
(6/95) 25 73 2 =100
(8/94) 24 71 5 =100
(6/92) Recession 14 84 2 =100
(3/91) Gulf War Victory 66 31 3 =100
(9/90) 37 58 5 =100
(9/88) 56 40 4 =100
(11/85) 51 46 3 =100
(12/81) Recession 27 67 6 =100
(7/79) Energy/Economic Crisis 12 84 4 =100

3 Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president?

    Approve Disapprove      DK

Current Total 33 59 8 =100
Trends
(8/24-25/06) 36 56 8 =100
(8/10-11/06) 38 55 7 =100
(5/11-12/06) 35 59 6 =100
(3/16-17/06) 36 58 6 =100
(11/10-11/05) 36 58 6 =100
(9/29-30/05) 40 53 7 =100
(9/8-9/05) 38 55 7 =100
(8/2-4/05) 42 51 7 =100
(3/17-18/05) 45 48 7 =100
(2/3-4/05) 50 42 8 =100
(12/2-3/04) 49 44 7 =100
(10/27-29/04) 46 47 7 =100
(10/14-15/04) 47 46 7 =100
(9/30-10/2/04) 46 48 6 =100
(9/9-10/04) 48 44 8 =100
(9/2-3/04) 52 41 7 =100
(7/29-30/04) 45 49 6 =100
(7/8-9/04) 48 46 6 =100
(5/13-14/04) 42 52 6 =100
(4/8-9/04) 49 45 6 =100
(3/25-26/04) 49 45 6 =100
(3/18-19/04) 48 44 8 =100
(2/19-20/04) 48 44 8 =100
(2/5-6/04) 48 45 7 =100
(1/22-23/04) 50 44 6 =100
(1/8-9/04) 54 41 5 =100
(12/18-19/03) 54 38 8 =100
(11/6-7/03) 52 40 8 =100
(10/9-10/03) 51 42 7 =100
(8/21-22/03) 53 36 11 =100
(7/10-11/03) 55 37 8 =100
(5/29-30/03) 61 28 11 =100
(5/1-2/03) 65 26 9 =100
(4/10-11/03) 71 23 6 =100
(3/27-28/03) 68 26 6 =100
(3/13-14/03) 53 37 10 =100
(2/6-7/03) 61 31 8 =100
(1/16-17/03) 56 33 11 =100
(11/7-8/02) 60 30 10 =100
(9/12-13/02) 70 23 7 =100
(8/28-29/02) 61 30 9 =100
(6/27-28/02) 70 19 11 =100
(3/21-22/02) 74 16 10 =100
(1/31-2/1/02) 83 12 5 =100
(10/11-12/01) 88 8 4 =100
(9/20-21/01) 86 10 4 =100
(9/13-14/01) 82 11 7 =100
(8/25-9/5/01) 51 34 15 =100
Lowest Approval Ratings for Past Presidents
President % Approve
Clinton 36 5/26-27/93 Newsweek G.H.W. Bush 29 7/31-8/2/92 Gallup
Reagan 35 1/28-31/83 Gallup
Carter 28 6/29-7/2/79 Gallup
Ford 37 1/10-13/75 & 3/28-31/75 Gallup
Nixon 23 1/4-7/74 Gallup
Johnson 35 8/7-12/68 Gallup
Kennedy 56 9/12-17/63 Gallup
Eisenhower 48 3/27-4/1/58 Gallup
Truman 22 2/9-14/52 Gallup
Roosevelt 48 8/18-24/39 Gallup

Source: The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research iPoll database.

4 Which of the following outcomes would you most like to see for this year's Congressional elections? Would you rather see... (RESPONSE CATEGORIES ROTATED) the Republicans keep control of Congress or the Democrats win enough seats to take over Congress?

    Reps Keep Control       Dems Take Over  DK

Current Total 35 53 12 =100

Republicans 87 10 3 =100
Democrats 6 90 4 =100
Independents 27 51 22 =100

Trends (Total)
(8/10-11/06) 34 53 13 =100
(5/11-12/06) 35 52 13 =100
(3/16-17/06) 34 50 16 =100

5 In deciding your vote for Congress this year, which ONE of the following issues is most important to you...(READ AND ROTATE 1-6, THEN READ 7)

BASED ON REGISTERED VOTERS

Total Rep Dem Ind 8/10-11/06
33 The situation in Iraq 19 43 33 22
20 The economy 17 24 17 18
12 Health care 13 13 10 15
12 Terrorism 23 5 11 14
9 Immigration 15 3 11 9
6 Gas and oil prices 5 6 8 12
4 OR local issues in your area 2 4 5 5
1 Other/None of these (VOL.) 3 * 1 2
3 Don't know 3 2 4 3
100 100 100 100 100

6 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Condoleezza Rice is handling her job as Secretary of State?

    Approve Disapprove      Don't know

Current Total 48 32 20 =100

Men 50 32 18 =100
Women 46 31 23 =100

White 50 29 21 =100
Non-white 44 39 17 =100

Republicans 79 8 13 =100
Democrats 35 47 18 =100
Independents 43 32 25 =100

Trends (Total)
(8/10-11/06) 54 29 17 =100

7 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Rumsfeld is handling his job as Secretary of Defense?

    Approve Disapprove      Don't know

Current Total 30 55 15 =100

Republicans 60 28 12 =100
Democrats 10 77 13 =100
Independents 30 54 16 =100

Trend (Total)
(4/28-30/06) 33 49 18 =100

8 Do you think Donald Rumsfeld should resign his position as Secretary of Defense, or not?

    Yes, resign     No, not resign  Don't know

Current Total 48 37 15 =100

Republicans 24 66 10 =100
Democrats 66 19 15 =100
Independents 47 36 17 =100

Trend (Total)
(9/15-17/06) 46 44 10 =100

9 On another subject... Please tell me which political party...the Republicans or the Democrats you trust to do a better job handling each of the following. (ORDER OF PARTIES ROTATED) (First,) what about...(INSERT ITEMS--READ AND RANDOMIZE)? Which party do you trust to do a better job handling this issue...

    Reps    Dems    Both    Neither DK

a The war against terrorism at home and abroad
Current Total 37 44 2 7 10 =100
Republicans 77 7 3 6 7 =100
Democrats 9 78 2 3 8 =100
Independents 37 36 3 11 13 =100

Trends (Total)
(8/10-11/06) 44 39 4 6 7 =100
(10/24-25/02) 47 24 9 8 12 =100
(8/2-9/1/02) 51 26 7 5 11 =100

b The situation in Iraq
Current Total 34 47 1 9 9 =100
Republicans 77 12 1 6 4 =100
Democrats 7 79 1 5 8 =100
Independents 33 39 1 14 13 =100

Trends (Total)
(8/10-11/06) 39 45 1 7 8 =100
(10/24-25/02) 43 28 7 7 15 =100

c The economy
Current Total 31 53 2 7 7 =100
Republicans 67 13 5 7 8 =100
Democrats 5 89 * 3 3 =100
Independents 28 48 4 12 8 =100

Trends (Total)
(8/10-11/06) 34 53 1 7 5 =100
(10/24-25/02) 38 37 7 7 11 =100
(8/2-9/1/02) 40 40 4 7 9 =100

d Health care
Current Total 24 57 2 8 9 =100
Republicans 57 24 2 7 10 =100
Democrats 2 91 1 2 4 =100
Independents 21 53 3 13 10 =100

Trend (Total)
(8/10-11/06) 26 56 2 9 7 =100

Q.9 continued

    Reps    Dems    Both    Neither DK

e Immigration
Current Total 34 43 3 9 11 =100
Republicans 75 9 2 6 8 =100
Democrats 8 77 3 5 7 =100
Independents 34 33 4 13 16 =100

Trend (Total)
(8/10-11/06) 37 39 2 9 13 =100

f Gas and oil prices
Current Total 23 56 2 11 8 =100
Republicans 55 24 3 11 7 =100
Democrats 4 88 1 3 4 =100
Independents 19 48 3 17 13 =100

Trend (Total)
(8/10-11/06) 25 52 2 13 8 =100

g Federal spending and the deficit
Current Total 29 53 2 8 8 =100
Republicans 65 15 4 11 5 =100
Democrats 3 92 1 1 3 =100
Independents 28 45 2 13 12 =100

Trend (Total)
(8/10-11/06) 29 53 2 10 6 =100

h Moral values
Current Total 36 42 4 10 8 =100
Republicans 85 7 4 3 1 =100
Democrats 7 80 4 5 4 =100
Independents 34 33 3 17 13 =100

Trend (Total)
(8/2-9/1/02) 44 31 5 10 10 =100

As you may know, Congressman Mark Foley resigned last week after it was reported he sent sexually graphic emails to a 16-year old male Congressional page...

10 Has the Mark Foley matter and the way Congressional Republicans have handled it made you more likely or less likely to vote Republican for Congress this year - or has the Foley matter not made much difference either way?

BASED ON REGISTERED VOTERS

Total Rep Dem Ind
3 More likely 7 2 1
27 Less likely 9 42 27
65 Will not make much difference 81 49 69
5 Don't know 3 7 3
100 100 100 100

11 Do you think Dennis Hastert should give up his position as Speaker of the House because of the way he has handled the Foley matter, or not?

Total Rep Dem Ind
43 Should give up position 22 58 41
36 Should not 57 22 36
21 Don't know 21 20 23
100 100 100 100

12 From what you've heard or read, do you think House Speaker Dennis Hastert was aware of Foley's inappropriate conduct and tried to cover it up, or not?

Total Rep Dem Ind
52 Yes, tried to cover it up 29 69 50
24 No, did not 43 12 25
24 Don't know 28 19 25
100 100 100 100

13 Do you think the Democrats have gone too far or have NOT gone too far in trying to use the Foley matter for partisan advantage?

Total Rep Dem Ind
37 Have gone too far 65 19 36
43 Have not gone too far 16 63 45
20 Don't know 19 18 19
100 100 100 100

14 Now on another subject... Given what each administration knew at the time, do you think the Bush administration or the Clinton administration is more to blame for not preventing the September 11th attacks - OR that the two administrations are equally to blame?

    Bush Admin.     Clinton Admin.  Both equally    Neither (Vol.)  DK

Current Total 28 17 45 6 4 =100

Republicans 6 38 45 8 3 =100
Democrats 49 6 37 5 3 =100
Independents 25 14 53 5 3 =100

Trends (Total)
(4/8-9/04) 18 24 39 11 8 =100
(3/25-26/04) 17 24 43 10 6 =100

15 We're interested in your opinion about how much attention Condoleezza Rice paid to Al Qaeda as a domestic terrorist threat in her role as national security advisor PRIOR TO the September 11th attacks.. Did Rice pay as much attention to Al Qaeda as she should have been expected to, or not?

    Yes     No      Don't know

Current Total 22 58 20 =100

Men 27 59 14 =100
Women 18 56 26 =100

White 23 54 23 =100
Non-white 21 69 10 =100

Republicans 41 36 23 =100
Democrats 11 72 17 =100
Independents 22 58 20 =100

16 Now turning to the topic of Iraq... All in all, do you think the United States is making progress or losing ground in its efforts to establish security and democracy in Iraq?

    Making progress Losing ground   DK

Current Total 29 64 7 =100

Republicans 59 34 7 =100
Democrats 10 85 5 =100
Independents 27 65 8 =100

Trends (Total)
(8/10-11/06) 31 58 11 =100
(9/8-9/05) 40 49 11 =100
(8/2-4/05) 40 50 10 =100

17 How confident are you that the United States will successfully establish a stable democratic form of government in Iraq over the long term? Are you... very confident, somewhat confident, not too confident, or not at all confident?

    Very    Somewhat        Not too Not at all      DK

Current Total 12 26 26 32 4 =100
Trends
(8/10-11/06) 11 32 24 30 3 =100
(9/8-9/05) 15 31 23 29 2 =100
(5/13-14/04) 12 30 27 27 4 =100
(4/8-9/04) 15 35 24 22 4 =100
(1/8-9/04) 19 38 22 17 4 =100
(12/18-19/03) 19 38 23 15 5 =100
(11/6-7/03) 14 36 26 21 3 =100
(10/9-10/03) 17 35 24 19 5 =100
(9/11-12/03) 17 38 23 20 2 =100
(8/21-22/03) 18 37 21 19 5 =100
(7/24-25/03) 21 40 23 13 3 =100
(7/10-11/03) 15 39 24 16 6 =100
(5/1-2/03) 21 42 19 14 4 =100

18 From what you know now, do you think the United States did the right thing in taking military action against Iraq, or not?

    Yes     No      DK

Current Total 41 53 6 =100

Republicans 75 22 3 =100
Democrats 20 75 5 =100
Independents 39 52 9 =100

Trends (total)
(8/10-11/06) 49 47 4 =100
(9/8-9/05) 46 49 5 =100
(10/27-29/04) RVs 51 45 4 =100
(9/2-3/04) RVs 55 38 7 =100
(5/13-14/04) 51 43 6 =100
(4/8-9/04) 57 39 4 =100
(3/25-26/04) 55 41 4 =100
(3/18-19/04) 57 37 6 =100
(1/29-30/04) 55 39 6 =100
(12/18-19/03) 62 32 6 =100
(11/6-7/03) 55 38 7 =100
(10/23-24/03) 59 34 7 =100
(10/9-10/03) 56 37 7 =100
(9/11-12/03) 64 31 5 =100
(8/21-22/03) 61 33 6 =100
(7/24-25/03) 68 28 4 =100

19 In general, do you think the Iraq war has made Americans safer from terrorism, or not?

    Yes     No      DK

Current Total 29 66 5 =100
Trends
(8/10-11/06) 32 63 5 =100
(8/2-4/05) 28 64 8 =100
(10/27-29/04) RVs 42 55 3 =100
(10/21-22/04) RVs 42 53 5 =100
(9/30-10/2/04) RVs 41 55 4 =100
(9/2-3/04) RVs 45 50 5 =100
(7/29-30/04) RVs 38 57 5 =100
(1/22-23/04) RVs 44 53 3 =100

20 For how long would you personally support keeping large numbers of U.S. military personnel in Iraq ... Less than one more year, one to two years, three to five years, six to 10 years, more than 10 years, or as long as it takes to achieve U.S. goals in Iraq?

Current 8/10-11/06 9/8-9/05 8/2-4/05
45 Total less than a year/Bring home now 38 45 50
19 One to two years 18 19 13
4 Three to five years 7 6 5
* Six to 10 years 1 1 1
1 More than 10 years 1 * *
26 As long as it takes 30 25 26
5 Don't know 5 4 5
100 100 100 100

21 Before the Iraq war, the Bush administration said it had intelligence reports indicating that Iraq was hiding banned chemical or biological weapons from UN weapons inspectors. But so far no such banned weapons have been found in Iraq. Do you think the Bush Administration... (INSERT-READ ITEMS IN ORDER)?

    Yes     No      DK

a Misinterpreted or misanalyzed the intelligence reports they said indicated Iraq had banned weapons
Current Total 61 30 9 =100
Trends
(10/27-29/04) RVs 50 43 7 =100
(9/30-10/2/04) RVs 51 41 8 =100
(7/29-30/04) RVs 56 36 8 =100
(3/18-19/04) 55 35 10 =100
(1/29-30/04) 54 36 10 =100
(10/23-24/03) 50 39 11 =100
(10/9-10/03) 49 39 12 =100
(8/21-22/03) 44 47 9 =100
(7/24-25/03) 41 49 10 =100
(7/10-11/03) 45 41 14 =100
(5/29-30/03) 36 54 10 =100

b Purposely misled the public about evidence that Iraq had banned weapons in order to build support for war
Current Total 58 36 6 =100
Trends
(10/27-29/04) RVs 43 54 3 =100
(9/30-10/2/04) RVs 45 50 5 =100
(7/29-30/04) RVs 44 51 5 =100
(3/18-19/04) 46 49 5 =100
(1/29-30/04) 41 51 8 =100
(10/23-24/03) 42 49 9 =100
(10/9-10/03) 45 45 10 =100
(8/21-22/03) 43 51 6 =100
(7/24-25/03) 39 56 5 =100
(7/10-11/03) 38 53 9 =100
(5/29-30/03) 36 57 7 =100

D2 Now I have just a few more questions so we can describe the people who took part in our survey... Regardless of how you might have voted in recent elections, in politics TODAY, do you consider yourself a Republican, Democrat, or Independent?

Total RVs LVs
25 Republican 27 29
36 Democrat 38 39
35 Independent 32 29
1 (VOL.) No party/Not interested in politics 1 1
* (VOL.) Other party * *
3 Don't know 2 2
100 100 100

END OF INTERVIEW. THANK RESPONDENT: That completes the interview. Thank you very much for your cooperation.

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FULL NEWSWEEK ARTICLE CAN BE READ AT THIS LINK