Americans' Top Priorities: Iraq, Healthcare, Economy, Immigration

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- Gallup's monthly update on the top priority for the president and Congress shows Americans still very concerned about the war in Iraq. Three in four Americans mention the war in Iraq as the top priority for the government to deal with right now, the highest percentage, albeit by only two points, that Gallup has measured since first asking this question in April 2006. Healthcare issues, the economy, and immigration are also mentioned as high priorities, but not nearly as frequently as the war in Iraq. Americans' concerns about healthcare reached a new high this month, mostly due to increased concerns among women and older Americans.

The Jan. 25-28, 2007, poll asked respondents to name, without prompting, "What one or two issues should be the top priorities for the president and Congress to deal with at this time?" The vast majority of Americans, 74%, tell Gallup the war in Iraq should be the government's top priority right now. No other issue is mentioned nearly as frequently as Iraq. Healthcare (22%), the general state of the economy (13%), and immigration (13%) follow next after the war. Other issues mentioned by at least 4% of Americans are the environment, fuel and energy issues, education, Social Security, terrorism, and national security.

What issue do you think should be the top priority for the president and Congress to deal with?

Since Gallup first asked this question in April 2006, the situation in Iraq has topped the list each time, but in recent months, a growing percentage of Americans are citing Iraq as the top priority. In April, 29% of Americans said Iraq should be the top priority for the president and Congress. By June, this percentage increased to 60%, before dropping back in August and September, when roughly half of Americans said Iraq should be the government's top priority. Since then, mentions of Iraq as the top priority have slowly increased each month, from 64% in October 2006 to the new high of 74% in January 2007.

Americans' concerns about healthcare costs and other health-related issues reached a new high in January 2007, increasing 10 points since December 2006. President George W. Bush outlined a new plan for providing health insurance to all Americans in his recent State of the Union address, though Democrats have not responded favorably to it. Twenty-two percent of Americans now say healthcare should be the top priority for the government. While healthcare issues have typically been among the top priorities for the government in the minds of Americans, the percentage mentioning healthcare has only averaged 13% since April 2006, with a low of 9% and a high of 14% prior to the latest poll.

Over the past month, healthcare concerns have increased among all Americans, but more so among women and Americans aged 50 and older. In December, 12% of women mentioned healthcare as the top priority for the government, and in January, 26% mention healthcare. By comparison, the percentage of men mentioning healthcare only increased seven points, from 12% to 19%. Eleven percent of adults aged 50 and older said healthcare should be the top government priority in December, while 25% say this today. Among adults ages 18 to 49, this percentage increased from 12% in December to 21% in January.

In recent months, the economy and immigration have ranked near the top of the list of priorities for the president and Congress. But, the percentage of Americans mentioning these two issues has shown little movement in recent months.

Partisan Views of the Nation's Priorities

Democrats (including independents who lean toward the Democratic Party) and Republicans (including Republican-leaning independents) both agree that the president and Congress should be focusing their attention on the war in Iraq, but the two party groups differ on what other issues should be among the top priorities for the government right now.

Democrats are more likely than Republicans (78% vs. 69%) to mention Iraq, but the vast majority of both party groups feel this is the top priority right now. Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to mention healthcare (27% vs. 17%) and the environment (8% vs. 1%). Republicans, on the other hand, more frequently mention immigration (21% vs. 6%) and terrorism or national security (12% vs. 3%). The two party groups are about equally likely to mention the economy, fuel prices, education, and Social Security as top government priorities.

Survey Methods

Results for this panel study are based on telephone interviews with 1,008 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Jan. 25-28, 2007. 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.