POLL ANALYSES March 26, 2003
War Makes Americans Confident, Sad Personal lives less affected than during first Gulf War and 9/11
by David W. Moore
GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- As the war with Iraq dominates the news, Americans find themselves conflicted with various emotions. While relatively few have publicly expressed their views by demonstrating either for or against the war, many more are reacting in more private and personal ways.
The latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll finds large majorities of Americans who say that as a result of the war with Iraq they feel confident and sad and, to a lesser extent, proud. But about half are worried, and another quarter are afraid.
Apart from these general reactions, more than half of all Americans have: * Stayed up later at night, or gotten up earlier in the morning, to follow the war coverage (57%). * Displayed an American flag (56%). * Prayed more than they usually do (52%).
In addition, a fourth of Americans have made a public display of their feelings about the war: 21% in favor of the war, and 5% in opposition.
Not surprisingly, the war with Iraq has affected Americans' personal behavior to a much smaller extent than did the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. Three of the items were included in both surveys, with the comparison of results showing large differences.
Actions Taken by Americans as a Result of the Beginning of Persian Gulf War/Sept. 11 Terrorist Attacks
Americans were much more likely after the 9/11 attacks to display a flag, pray more than usual, and cry. Women are far more likely than men to say that they cried and prayed as a result of both events, but the differences in reported behavior between the two events are about the same for men and women.
Public Less Focused on This Iraq War Than 1991 War
The first Persian Gulf War in 1991 elicited somewhat more public attention than the current war with Iraq, and caused more people to go out of their way to follow news about the war.
The current poll shows that 63% of Americans say they are following the war with Iraq very closely In 1991, 70% said they were closely following the news about the beginning of the Gulf War. The highest percentage of "close followers" recorded by Gallup over the past dozen years is the 77% who were closely following the events surrounding 9/11.
Percent of Americans Following the Event "Very Closely"
Apart from the number of Americans paying attention to war coverage, 57% say they have stayed up later at night or gotten up earlier in the morning to get news coverage of the war. While this is a substantial number of Americans who have gone out of their way to get the war news, the number who did that in reaction to the start of the first Gulf War, in January 1991, was much higher at 74%.
Percent Who Stayed Up Later at Night or Got Up Earlier in the Morning to Follow War News
Confident and Sad
The American public expresses mixed emotions about the war. Overall, three-quarters of Americans say that as a result of the war with Iraq, they feel "confident." But 71% also feel "sad." A substantial majority feels "proud" (61%), but about half, 49%, say they feel "worried," and 26% say they are "afraid."
When President Bush announced his ultimatum to Saddam Hussein on March 17, the public's immediate reaction, as measured by a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll that evening, showed a divided citizenry: 48% felt afraid, and 52% were confident. Since then, the number who say they are afraid has dropped 22 percentage points, while the number who feel confident has increased by 23 points. (In a March 20 poll, 83% of Americans said they felt confident, a little higher than the 75% who felt that way in the March 22-23 poll.) The percentage who are worried has also dropped, from 70% on March 17 to 49% this past weekend.
Emotional Reactions: Before and After the Start of the War With Iraq
The number of Americans who say they are proud shows a small decline of four percentage points, while the number who say they are sad as a consequence of the war has increased by eight points.
In general, Americans' negative emotions dissipated somewhat and their positive emotions increased between the times Bush announced the United States would go to war, and the actual commencement of military action. The only exception is the feeling of sadness, which shows an increase since the war began. The other results are consistent with the overall rally effect among Americans, as reflected in their increased satisfaction with the way things are going in the country, and their higher job approval rating of Bush.
Survey Methods
Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,020 national adults, aged 18+, conducted March 22-23, 2003. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
How closely have you been following the news about the war between the U.S. and Iraq -- very closely, somewhat closely, not too closely, or not at all?