Wow! Bush's approvqal will surely go up after this great state of the union speech tonight.
As for best states, look west. SD, WY, MT--gorgeous states in beauty, with little government interference, low taxes and yes small populations, which is great. Who wants to be crowded like NY or Cali?
Here's the early read...
Speech Watchers React Positively to Bush's Message
But lower ratings than last year
by David W. Moore
GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- An instant-reaction poll of State of the Union speech watchers last night, the plurality of whom were Republicans, found President George W. Bush receiving high marks for his address, although his ratings are lower than last year. The speech appears to have persuaded some viewers to view the president more positively on several issues, compared to what they felt in a pre-speech survey, especially on healthcare and Social Security. But the speech appears to have had little effect on viewers' voting intentions next November. And Bush's overall policy rating, about the same as last year, is much lower than what he received after his first two State of the Union speeches and lower than what President Bill Clinton received in his first-term speeches.
The major findings of the CNN/USA Today/Gallup instant-reaction poll are as follows:
1. Overall, 76% of speech watchers say their reaction to the speech is positive, with 45% saying "very" positive.
-- Last year, 84% said positive, with 50% very positive.
-- Two years ago, 94% were positive, with 74% very positive.
2. Seventy percent of speech watchers say Bush's proposed policies in general will move the country in the right direction, while 26% say the wrong direction.
-- Last year, the percentage saying the right direction was about the same (71%), but only 20% said the wrong direction.
-- In Bush's two previous speeches, one before and the other after 9/11, speech watchers were considerably more positive -- 91% saying the right direction in 2002, and 84% in 2001.
-- In the two Clinton speeches when this sentiment was measured (1994 and 1995), 83% and 84%, respectively, of speech watchers said the president's policies would move the country in the right direction.
3. In the pre-speech interview, 60% of people who intended to watch the speech said Bush's policies would move the country in the right direction, compared with 70% who said that after the speech. That 10-point increase is lower than the 19-point increase measured last year, when speech watchers' pre-speech sentiments were more negative than this year.
4. When asked to evaluate whether Bush's policies in five specific areas would move the country in the right or wrong direction, speech watchers responded generally positively:
-- On the economy -- 66% say right direction, 31% wrong direction, a slight improvement over the 62% to 35% margin measured before the speech.
-- On healthcare -- the largest change: a 63% to 35% positive ratio after the speech, compared with a 48% to 41% ratio before the speech.
-- On Social Security -- the second-largest change, from 47% to 38% (right vs. wrong direction) before the speech, to 59% to 35% afterward.
-- On taxes -- a modest improvement: 65% to 32% after the speech, compared with 58% to 32% beforehand.
-- Finally, on terrorism -- very little change, because the vast majority of speech watchers already had a positive view, with 76% saying right direction and 19% saying wrong direction before the speech, compared with 78% to 19% afterward.
5. Most speech watchers, 62%, say their confidence in Bush's economic leadership was not affected by the speech, but 29% say they now have more confidence and 9% less confidence. These figures are virtually identical to those obtained in last year's poll.
6. The poll also found that 71% of speech watchers say they are either "very" confident (29%) or "somewhat" confident (42%) that the United States will be able to achieve the goals Bush has for Iraq. Another 27% are not confident.
7. Finally, 61% of speech watchers say that in November, they are likely to vote for Bush, while 32% expect to vote for the Democratic Party's nominee -- virtually unchanged from the pre-speech figures of 59% to 33%.
Republicans Outnumbered Democrats Among Speech Watchers
Typically, presidential speech watchers disproportionately identify with the party of the president. Last night, the imbalance in favor of the president's party was higher than last year's, with 46% or respondents identifying as Republicans, 28% as independents, and 26% as Democrats -- a 20-point difference between Republicans and Democrats. Last year, the comparable figures showed 40% of speech watchers identifying as Republicans, 31% as independents, and 28% as Democrats -- a 12-point difference between parties. This year's figures are closer to the percentages found in 2002, when 50% of speech watchers were Republican and 25% each were independents and Democrats.
Among those who watched Clinton's speeches, Democrats outnumbered Republicans by margins that ranged from 7 to 15 percentage points. When the senior Bush gave his fourth State of the Union address in election year 1992, Republicans outnumbered Democrats in the post-speech poll by just six percentage points, 37% to 31%.
Survey Methods
Results are based on telephone interviews with 381 speech watchers, aged 18 and older, conducted Jan. 20, 2004. For results based on the total sample of speech watchers, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±5 percentage points.
Survey respondents were first interviewed as part of random national adult samples by Gallup on Jan. 18-19, 2004, at which time they indicated they planned to watch the president's 2004 State of the Union address and were willing to be re-interviewed by Gallup after the speech. Respondents' pre- and post-speech answers are shown for those questions that were asked on both surveys.
The sample consists of 46% of respondents who identify themselves as Republicans, 26% who identify themselves as Democrats, and 28% who identify themselves as independents.
Polls conducted entirely in one day, such as this one, are subject to additional error or bias not found in polls conducted over several days.
