Dick Cheney is Unpopular - But Only Minorities of Adults Share the Views of His Strongest Critics

ROCHESTER, N.Y., May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Vice President Dick Cheney is not exactly popular. A recent Harris Poll(1) reported that only 25 percent of the public gave him positive ratings while fully 68 percent rated him negatively. However, a new Harris Poll shows that most people do not agree with his critics who think he is too powerful or that he is a bad influence on President George W. Bush. Furthermore, many people, between 23 percent and 32 percent are not sure whether or not various statements about him (3 positive, 3 negative) are good descriptions of him.

These are some of the results of a Harris Poll of 2,563 adults surveyed online between April 10 and 16, 2007 by Harris Interactive(R).

Opinion vs. No Opinion

Unsurprisingly, the overall picture which emerges from this poll shows substantially more negative than positive attitudes toward the Vice President. A 56 percent to 21 percent majority of all adults believe he favors the rich over the middle class, and a 46 percent to 26 percent plurality does not believe he usually tells the truth. However, those with an opinion are almost equally split on whether he is too powerful (38% to 38%), a strong manager (37% to 36%), and on whether he is a good person (36% to 34%). Furthermore, only 30 percent believe he is a bad influence on President Bush compared to 38 percent who do not believe this. Perhaps the most surprising findings are that so many people do not have opinions as to whether or not the six phrases are good descriptions of him.

Views of Vice President Cheney Among Republicans, Democrats and Independents

It is no surprise that Republicans feel much more positively about the Vice President than Democrats or that the attitudes of Independents fall between them. For example, while 74 percent of Democrats think he favors the rich over the middle class, only 33 percent of Republicans feel this way. Two thirds (66%) of Republicans think Dick Cheney is a "good person", while only 17 percent of Democrats agree. And 56 percent of Republicans believe he "usually tells the truth", a view shared by only 10 percent of Democrats.

The Libby Verdict and the Vice President

One of the issues hanging over the Vice President's office was the trial of his former Chief of Staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby for obstruction of justice and perjury regarding the release of the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame. A question that lingered throughout the trial and into the guilty verdict for Libby was the role of the Vice President regarding this whole affair. Over half (54%) of those who have heard of the trial say that Libby is protecting the Vice President while just one in five (20%) say the Libby is mainly to blame. Again, there is a sense of uncertainty regarding the Vice President as one-quarter (26%) is not sure.

While over three-quarters of Democrats (78%) say that Libby is protecting the Vice President, Republicans are conflicted on this question. Just one- quarter (24%) say Libby is protecting the Vice President and one-third of Republicans (32%) say Libby is mainly to blame, but 43 percent of Republicans are not sure.

So what?

Overall the biggest surprise is how many Democrats and Republicans do not feel strongly enough to either agree or disagree with these general statements about the Vice President. Taken as a whole, these Harris Poll results suggest that the Vice President is not quite the lightning rod for public hostility seen by some of the media, nor quite the ogre seen by some of his critics.

  (1) Harris Poll #36, President Bush's Job Performance at Lowest Ever in
      Harris Poll, April 26, 2007



                                 TABLE 1
            SIX POSSIBLE DESCRIPTIONS OF VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY
           Which of these do you think are good descriptions of
                       Vice President Dick Cheney?

  Base: All Adults
                                            Good      Not Good
                                        Description  Description    Not Sure
                                              %            %            %

  Favors the rich over the middle class      56           21           23
  Too powerful                               38           38           24
  A strong manager                           37           36           28
  A good person                              36           34           30
  A bad influence on President Bush          30           38           32
  Usually tells the truth                    26           46           28

  Note:  Totals may not add to 100% because of rounding


                                 TABLE 2
                HOW REPUBLICANS VIEW VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY
           Which of these do you think are good descriptions of
                       Vice President Dick Cheney?

  Base: All Republicans
                                            Good      Not Good
                                        Description  Description    Not Sure
                                              %            %            %

  Favors the rich over the middle class      33           42           26
  Too powerful                               20           61           19
  A strong manager                           56           20           23
  A good person                              66           11           22
  A bad influence on President Bush          15           62           23
  Usually tells the truth                    56           18           26

  Note: Totals may not add to 100% because of rounding



                                 TABLE 3
                 HOW DEMOCRATS VIEW VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY
           Which of these do you think are good descriptions of
                       Vice President Dick Cheney?

  Base: All Democrats
                                            Good      Not Good
                                        Description  Description    Not Sure
                                              %            %            %

  Favors the rich over the middle class      74            8           17
  Too powerful                               49           28           22
  A strong manager                           19           54           27
  A good person                              17           52           30
  A bad influence on President Bush          40           28           32
  Usually tells the truth                    10           67           24

  Note:  Totals may not add to 100% because of rounding


                                 TABLE 4
               HOW INDEPENDENTS VIEW VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY
           Which of these do you think are good descriptions of
                       Vice President Dick Cheney?

  Base: All Independents
                                            Good      Not Good
                                        Description  Description    Not Sure
                                              %            %            %

  Favors the rich over the middle class      59           17           23
  Too powerful                               46           28           26
  A strong manager                           41           31           28
  A good person                              30           37           33
  A bad influence on President Bush          37           28           35
  Usually tells the truth                    20           50           30

  Note:  Totals may not add to 100% because of rounding


                                 TABLE 5
                         HEARD ABOUT LIBBY TRIAL
 "Have you heard about the recent trial regarding Vice President Cheney's
              former Chief of Staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby?"

  Base:  All Adults
                                                     Party ID
                                Total   Republicans  Democrats  Independents
                                  %           %           %           %

  Yes, have heard about it       61          58          62          67
  No, have not heard
   anything about it             29          31          26          26
  Not sure                       11          11          12           7

  Note:  Totals may not add to 100% because of rounding



                                 TABLE 6
                     LIBBY PROTECTING VICE PRESIDENT

"Recently, former Cheney Chief of Staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby was found guilty of obstruction of justice and perjury regarding the release of the name

          of CIA operative Valerie Plame. Do you believe ... ?"

  Base:  Have heard about Libby Trial

                                                     Party ID
                                Total   Republicans  Democrats  Independents
                                  %           %           %           %

  Libby is mainly to blame       20          32           9          22
  Libby is protecting
   the Vice President            54          24          78          56
  Not sure                       26          43          13          22

  Note:  Totals may not add to 100% because of rounding

  Methodology

This Harris Poll(R) was conducted online within the United States between April 10 and 16, 2007 among a nationwide cross section of 2,563 (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of (target population). Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

  J 29951
  Q 536, 540, 545

  The Harris Poll(R) #38, May 4, 2007
  By Humphrey Taylor, chairman of The Harris Poll(R), Harris Interactive

  About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is the 12th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world. The company provides innovative research, insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what it believes to be the world's largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiaries Novatris in France and MediaTransfer AG in Germany, and through a global network of independent market research firms. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at http://www.harrisinteractive.com/.

To become a member of the Harris Poll Online and be invited to participate in online surveys, register at http://www.harrispollonline.com/

  Press Contact:
  Tracey McNerney
  Harris Interactive
  585-214-7756

  Harris Interactive Inc. 05/07