According to the poll–taken before the official release of the 9/11 Commission report on Thursday–56 percent of young voters disapprove of the president’s handling of foreign policy and the war on terrorism. (That’s an improvement since June, when that number was 60 percent). On the domestic front, approval of the president’s handling of the economy is 48 percent, up five points from last month. Approval of the president’s management of other domestic issues–such as health care, education the environment and energy–is also up (45 percent from 40 percent).
With four months to go until the election, attitudes may be hardening slightly. While the poll shows that the Bush administration is viewed slightly less negatively than a month ago (52 percent disapprove, compared to 55 percent last month), the share who “strongly disapprove” of Bush’s overall job as president (35 percent) is at its highest level this year.
Still, younger voters do not yet seem to have fully tuned in to the election. Although 90 percent of them believe that it “matters” who wins the White House race, barely a quarter (24 percent) say they will watch most or all of the Democratic Party national convention this week. But young voters of both parties say they plan on watching at least some of the convention, which takes place in Boston July 26-29. While 29 percent of registered Democrats and Democratic leaners intend to watch convention coverage, just over half as many Republicans (17 percent) will also be tuning in. Declared independent voters appeared to be the least interested, with nearly half of them (41 percent) claiming to have no intention of watching.
Asked about their views on the Democratic Party, nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of voters under 30 say they feel it “cares about issues facing people my age.” Nonetheless, more than half agree that the Democratic Party is too much under the control of special interests (58 percent) and is too liberal (53 percent).
Young voters are also wary of any protests or demonstrations that may take place. Although a clear majority (71 percent) support “some demonstrations depending upon the issues,” just 15 percent say they support all protests and 10 percent oppose all protests. That lukewarm endorsement may seem counter-intuitive to parents who came of age in the ’60s, but it does appear to reflect the heightened security concerns surrounding the convention season.
