Hussein from power? . There is a sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points. Source: The Field Institute Chronicle Graphic
. Results are based on a poll of 1,006 California adults: . Do you support or oppose the U.S. taking military action in Iraq to remove Saddam
Hussein from power? . No Opinion: 3% Oppose: 21% Support: 76% . There is a sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points. Source: The Field Institute
CHART (2): Field Poll / War in Iraq Results are based on a poll of 1,006 California adults: Do you support or oppose the U.S. taking military action in Iraq to remove Saddam
Hussein from power? .
Support Support Oppose Oppose No
strongly somewhat somewhat strongly opinion STATEWIDE 55% 21% 9% 12% 3% BY PARTY Democrats 35% 27% 15% 22% 1% Republicans 83% 12% 1% 2% 2% Non-partisans/others 35% 26% 12% 12% 15% BY REGION Los Angeles County 50% 23% 13% 12% 2% Other Southern Calif. 65% 19% 6% 7% 3% S.F. Bay Area 39% 24% 10% 22% 5% Other Northern Calif. 59% 18% 6% 10% 7% BY GENDER Men 61% 20% 7% 9% 3% Women 48% 21% 10% 16% 5% . How long will it take to disarm Iraq and remove Hussein from power?
Several Several 3 to 6 More than No
weeks months months 6 months opinion STATEWIDE April 4-6 38% 19% 15% 13% 15% April 1-3 24% 19% 24% 21% 12% Results based on a statewide telephone survey conducted April 1-6, 2003 in English and Spanish. There is a sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points. Source: The Field Institute Non-partisans/others 35%
FIELD POLL: 63% in Bay Area support war to remove dictator Marc Sandalow, Washington Bureau Chief Tuesday, April 8, 2003 ©2003 San Francisco Chronicle| Feedback
URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/04/08/MN269841.DTL
Despite the Bay Area's reputation as a hotbed for anti-war dissent, the overwhelming majority of residents support U.S. military action in Iraq, a Field Poll released today shows. The first statewide survey published since the war began last month found that 3 out of 4 Californians support U.S. efforts to remove Saddam Hussein from power, a figure that mirrors national polls on the same question. The poll also found that California's opinion of President Bush had risen since the war began, reversing a yearlong downward trend. Although support for the war was lower in the Bay Area than elsewhere in the state, residents in the nine-county region told pollsters by nearly a 2-to- 1 ratio that they approve of the U.S. attack. Asked "Do you support or oppose the U.S.' taking military action in Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein from power," 63 percent said they favor and 32 percent said they oppose, a result that surprised even the pollsters. "The stereotype that one would have of the Bay Area would be that it is one of the hotbeds of the anti-war movement," said Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll, based in San Francisco. "For a poll to show strong support of the war here - - that's major news." National polls, including two released Monday, have consistently found that 70 to 80 percent of Americans support the war, a figure that has barely changed since its first days.
SIMILAR FEELINGS IN STATE, U.S. Analysts have presumed California would be significantly less supportive, citing
the West Coast's geographic distance from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, its lukewarm support for Bush since the 2000 election and the high profile anti-war demonstrations in San Francisco and Los Angeles. But that notion was dispelled by the new Field Poll. "There's no distinguishing between California support for the war right now and the rest of the country," DiCamillo said. The poll of 1,006 Californians was conducted over six days ending Sunday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points. The sampling size for the Bay Area portion of the poll consisted of 204 respondents and has a margin of error of 6 to 7 percentage points. The poll reveals deep partisan and gender differences about the war in Iraq. Men are much more likely to support the war than women. Republicans are much more likely to support it than Democrats. And Bay Area residents, despite their support, expressed much more skepticism about the costs and conduct of the war. Overall, Californians by 58 percent to 35 percent said removing Hussein from power is worth the potential loss of American lives and other costs. Bay Area residents were divided equally on the same question. Californians view Bush in a largely favorable light, with 61 percent approving of his overall job performance and 31 percent disapproving. By contrast, among Bay Area residents, 46 percent approved and 45 percent said they disapproved of the president's performance. That was a better view of the president's performance in the Bay Area than the last Field poll in September, which found only 38 percent approval and 55 percent disapproval.
BAY AREA DISAGREES ON TIMING The Bay Area distinguished itself from the rest of the state regarding the timing of the war. Asked whether the United States should have begun action against Iraq when it did or whether it should have waited longer to reach its goals diplomatically, 54 percent of Bay Area residents said the United States should have waited, compared with just 43 percent statewide. Bay Area residents also predicted higher casualties for the war than did other California residents and were more concerned that Iraq might use biological or chemical weapons against U.S. troops. Californians' impression of how well the war is going seemed to build steam over the past few days, when U.S. troops entered Baghdad. Last week, 1 in 3 of those questioned said the war was going "very well." By the weekend, that number had risen to 1 in 2.
E-mail Marc Sandalow at msandalow at sfchronicle.com.
FIELD POLL War in Iraq The poll of 1,006 California adults was conducted April 1-6, 2003. . Do you suppport or oppose the U.S. taking military action in Iraq to remove Saddam
Hussein from power? . There is a sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points. Source: The Field Institute Chronicle Graphic
. Results are based on a poll of 1,006 California adults: . Do you support or oppose the U.S. taking military action in Iraq to remove Saddam
Hussein from power? . No Opinion: 3% Oppose: 21% Support: 76% . There is a sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points. Source: The Field Institute
-- Michael Pugliese
"Without knowing that we knew nothing, we went on talking without listening to
each other. Sometimes we flattered and praised each other, understanding that
we would be flattered and praised in return. Other times we abused and shouted
at each other, as if we were in a madhouse." -Tolstoy