Associated Press/Knowledge Networks Poll: Nearly 1/2 of Americans Oppose Bailout

According to the poll, released this afternoon, Americans’ minds are not made up about the proposed $700 billion Wall Street bailout being pushed by the Bush Administration.

Politically, the numbers point to independents as the largest group in the unsure column on nearly every question – from who would better manage the economic crisis, Obama or McCain, to whether or not they support the bailout.

To read the joint release with the polling numbers,
Associated Press/Knowledge Networks Overnight Poll Shows 60% of Voting-Age Americans Say Tonight’s Presidential Debate Should Take Place as Scheduled; Results show high degree of uncertainty among Independents about financial bailout, candidates’ ability to handle it Nationwide survey – conducted last night – provides accurate, up-to-the-minute snapshot of electorate, reveals differences by party identification

MENLO PARK, Calif., Sept. 26 /PRNewswire/ — An overnight poll from the
Associated Press and Knowledge Networks — conducted on the only Internet
panel that is representative of the U.S. population — shows that nearly
two- thirds of Americans, ages 18 and above, want tonight’s planned
presidential debate to take place as scheduled.

The survey also indicates that Independent voters are highly uncertain
about whether the President’s bailout plan will solve the current financial
crisis — and which candidate would do a better job at that task. The poll
provides a snapshot of Americans’ views on the financial crisis, which
candidate they feel is best equipped to manage it, and whether President
Bush is providing adequate leadership. Knowledge Networks’
KnowledgePanel(R) represents the U.S. population by using a random
selection of respondents nationwide and providing those who do not have
online access with an Internet connection and device.

Results from the poll, which were examined for the voting-age
population and by party identification, show that

– when asked whether they trust Barack Obama or John McCain more when
it comes to handling the financial crisis, respondents split largely along
party lines (see table below); nearly two-thirds (60%) of Independents say
they are “not sure”

– 28% of Democrats, 38% of Republicans, and 7% of Independents say
they “somewhat” or “strongly support” the $700 million bailout of financial
institutions currently being considered by the Congress; close to half
(44%) of Independents say they are “not sure” about the bailout

– 65% of Democrats, 30% of Republicans, and 51% of Independents say they
“strongly” or “somewhat” disapprove of President Bush’s handling of the
financial crisis

AP-KN Poll Voting age Democrats Republicans Independents
Results pop (18+)

Favor debate on
schedule 60% 82% 37% 45%
To handle
financial crisis:
* Favor Obama 34% 58% 6% 24%
* Favor McCain 35% 11% 70% 16%
* Not sure 31% 31% 24% 60%
“Strongly”/”somewhat
support” $700B
bailout 30% 28% 38% 7%
“Strongly/”somewhat
oppose” $700B
bailout 45% 46% 43% 49%
“Strongly”/”somewhat
approve” of Bush’s
handling of crisis 23% 10% 42% 15%
Bailout is
necessary 57% 56% 65% 16%
“Not at all”
/”not too
confident”
bailout will
work 65% 70% 55% 86%

The survey was designed by Associated Press and Knowledge Networks and
conducted last night among 671 members nationwide of Knowledge Networks’
KnowledgePanel(R) members; KnowledgePanel(R) is a probability-based Panel
designed to be representative of the U.S. population. Initially,
participants are chosen scientifically by a random selection of telephone
numbers. Persons in selected households are then invited by telephone to
participate in the web-enabled KnowledgePanel. For those who agree to
participate, but do not already have Internet access, Knowledge Networks
provides at no cost an Internet appliance and Internet service connection.
People who already have computers and Internet service are permitted to
participate using their own equipment. Panelists then receive unique log-in
information for accessing surveys online, and then are sent emails three to
four times a month inviting them to participate in research. More technical
information is available at
http://www.knowledgenetworks.com/ganp/reviewer-info.html.

The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.8% among all adults; ±5.4 for
Democrats; ±6.0 for Republicans and ±12% for Independents.