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January 30, 2003
Polls taken after President Bush's State of the Union suggest his message on the need for military action against Iraq resonated more strongly with the Republican-leaning speech audience than his message on the economy.
By a 2-1 margin, speech watchers polled by CNN-USA Today-Gallup and ABC News said President Bush made a convincing case about the need for the United States to take military action against Iraq.
Those in the Gallup poll were less convinced the economy will be helped by his plans for speeding up tax cuts and pushing a new $674-billion plan that relies heavily on tax cuts. About half in the Gallup poll, 49 percent, said his program is likely to get this country out of its current economic problems, and 43 percent said it would not.
Those who watched the speech were more likely to be Republican than Democratic, which is typical in polls of those who watch such speeches. Pollsters say that those who like a president are more likely to tune in.
A CBS News poll found Bush boosted support for military action against Iraq among viewers, but it found those who watched the speech were equally split between taking military action soon and giving the United Nations more time.
The speech had no immediate effect on opinions of the general population, according to the ABC News poll, which conducted an overall poll of the population while checking the speech viewers.
More than six in 10 of the overall population supported military action against Iraq after the speech, and fewer than half, 46 percent, support it if the United Nations is opposed. Bush's overall job approval rating in the ABC poll was 62 percent, close to the levels he has had in recent polls that place him in the high 50s or 60 percent.
The ABC News poll of 781 adults, including 499 who watched the speech, had an error margin of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. The CBS News poll of 638 who watched the speech had an error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll of 440 speech watchers had an error margin of plus or minus 5 percentage points.