Seawolf
May 12th, 2004, 20:34
Americans Choose Words for Candidates
Wed May 12, 4:00 PM ET
By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - After three months and millions of dollars in negative ads, Americans describing Democrat John Kerry (news - web sites) in one word no longer choose "honest." The word remains the most cited for President Bush (news - web sites) even as "incompetent" has gained ground.
A poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press released Wednesday shows a wide range of word choices by those questioned for the national survey. The poll did not attach comparable values to the words offered in response to the question, "What one word best describes your impression" of Bush or Kerry.
In the center's February survey, 18 percent chose "honest" to describe Kerry, but no one used that word in the May survey. The words "good," "hopeful" and "okay" totaled nearly 21 percent of the responses for Kerry in the new poll.
For Bush, "honest" was the choice of 11 percent in the earlier poll and 9 percent in the latest survey. The president, described by 4 percent as "incompetent" in February, was tagged with that word by 8 percent in May. He was judged "honest," good" or "leader" by 26 percent in the new poll.
On the negative side, according to the new poll, Kerry was referred to as "liar," "dishonest" or "idiot" by 12 percent. Nearly 10 percent used either "idiot," "stupid" or "liar" to describe Bush.
The differences in word choices show many people have a less favorable view of both candidates, said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center.
"They're using fewer positive words to describe Kerry," Kohut said. "The criticisms of Bush are less often about being dishonest ... now more people are mentioning incompetence."
Other results in the Pew survey show a slight majority, 51 percent, say the U.S. military effort in Iraq (news - web sites) is not going well, the first time more than half have taken a negative view in that poll. Still, 53 percent believe troops should stay in Iraq until a stable government is established, but 40 percent said the United States should bring troops home as soon as possible.
"Frustration is mounting with the way things are going in Iraq," Kohut said. "But a majority is hanging in there with keeping the troops in Iraq."
The Pew poll found Bush's overall job approval at 44 percent.
The Pew poll of 1,800 adults was taken May 3-9 and has a margin of error of plus of minus 2.5 percentage points. The margin for registered voters is slightly higher.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&u=/ap/20040512/ap_on_el_pr/presidential_poll_1&printer=1
Wed May 12, 4:00 PM ET
By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - After three months and millions of dollars in negative ads, Americans describing Democrat John Kerry (news - web sites) in one word no longer choose "honest." The word remains the most cited for President Bush (news - web sites) even as "incompetent" has gained ground.
A poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press released Wednesday shows a wide range of word choices by those questioned for the national survey. The poll did not attach comparable values to the words offered in response to the question, "What one word best describes your impression" of Bush or Kerry.
In the center's February survey, 18 percent chose "honest" to describe Kerry, but no one used that word in the May survey. The words "good," "hopeful" and "okay" totaled nearly 21 percent of the responses for Kerry in the new poll.
For Bush, "honest" was the choice of 11 percent in the earlier poll and 9 percent in the latest survey. The president, described by 4 percent as "incompetent" in February, was tagged with that word by 8 percent in May. He was judged "honest," good" or "leader" by 26 percent in the new poll.
On the negative side, according to the new poll, Kerry was referred to as "liar," "dishonest" or "idiot" by 12 percent. Nearly 10 percent used either "idiot," "stupid" or "liar" to describe Bush.
The differences in word choices show many people have a less favorable view of both candidates, said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center.
"They're using fewer positive words to describe Kerry," Kohut said. "The criticisms of Bush are less often about being dishonest ... now more people are mentioning incompetence."
Other results in the Pew survey show a slight majority, 51 percent, say the U.S. military effort in Iraq (news - web sites) is not going well, the first time more than half have taken a negative view in that poll. Still, 53 percent believe troops should stay in Iraq until a stable government is established, but 40 percent said the United States should bring troops home as soon as possible.
"Frustration is mounting with the way things are going in Iraq," Kohut said. "But a majority is hanging in there with keeping the troops in Iraq."
The Pew poll found Bush's overall job approval at 44 percent.
The Pew poll of 1,800 adults was taken May 3-9 and has a margin of error of plus of minus 2.5 percentage points. The margin for registered voters is slightly higher.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&u=/ap/20040512/ap_on_el_pr/presidential_poll_1&printer=1