Iraq Still Americans' Top Priority, but Terrorism Concerns Rise

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- The war in Iraq continues to be the top priority for the president and Congress right now, according to the American public in a recent Gallup Panel survey. A battery of issues rank as second-tier concerns, including healthcare issues, immigration, the general state of the economy, terrorism, and fuel or oil prices. Americans' perceptions that terrorism or national security should be the top government priority have increased substantially over the past two months, rising from 6% in May, to 20% now. Republicans and Democrats differ substantially in their views of what they want the government to address, with Republicans more likely to mention immigration and terrorism and national security, and Democrats more likely to say Iraq, healthcare, the economy, and education.

Overall Results

The Sep. 21-24 poll asked respondents to name, without prompting, what should be the "top priority for the president and Congress to deal with." Nearly half of Americans (47%) mention the current situation in Iraq. Terrorism or national security (20%), healthcare issues (14%), immigration (14%), the general state of the economy (13%), and fuel or oil prices (11%) follow behind Iraq.

Other issues that were mentioned include national security, education, and the conflict in the Middle East. Here are the full results to the question:

Even though the war in Iraq continues to be the top priority in the minds of Americans, the latest poll also finds an increase in Americans' views that terrorism and national security should be the top priority and a decrease in views that fuel prices and immigration should be the government's priority.

Gallup first started asking this question in April, and in each poll, the war in Iraq has consistently ranked as the most salient issue for the president and Congress. In April, 29% of Americans said Iraq should be the top priority for the government. This then increased to 42% in May and again to 60% in June. Since then, this percentage has dropped back down, with roughly half of Americans saying Iraq should be the top priority for the government.

Americans' perceptions that terrorism and national security should be the most important issue facing the president and Congress has increased over the past two months and is now at its highest level since Gallup first asked the question in April. From April through July, 8% of Americans, on average, mentioned terrorism or national security as the top problem. This increased to 16% last month and is now at 20%.

The percentage saying the top government priorities should be fuel or oil prices is lower now than at any other point since April. In May, 29% of Americans said fuel or oil prices should be the top priority for government. Since then, this sentiment has decreased, reaching its current low of 11%. The decreased concerns about fuel prices come at the same time that the average price of a gallon of gasoline has decreased across the country.

Americans' views that immigration is the top government priority have shown little change since July, and continue to be lower than what Gallup measured this spring. At its high point in May, 23% of Americans said immigration should be the top priority; now, only 14% feel this way.

Healthcare issues and the general state of the economy typically rate among the top priorities for government each month, but the percentage of Americans mentioning these two issues, while still high on a relative basis, has shown little change in recent months.

Partisan Views of the Nation's Priorities

Republicans (including independents who lean toward the Republican Party) and Democrats (including Democratic-leaning independents) differ significantly in their views of where the president and Congress should be focusing their attention.

Overall, the war in Iraq is the top priority for both groups, though Republicans are almost equally likely to mention Iraq as they are terrorism and national security. Republicans are three times more likely than Democrats to mention terrorism or national security (33% vs. 10%) and immigration (22% vs. 7%). Democrats are more likely than Republicans to mention Iraq (56% vs. 37%), healthcare issues (21% vs. 8%), the economy (16% vs. 10%), and education (8% vs. 3%).

Survey Methods

Results for this panel study are based on telephone interviews with 1,010 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Sep. 21-24, 2006. Respondents were randomly drawn from Gallup's nationally representative household panel, which was originally recruited through random selection methods. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum 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.