Hillary Clinton’s and Robert Gates’ Ratings Improve
NEW YORK, June 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — A new Harris Poll finds that public attitudes to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have improved over the last few months. Both are more highly rated now than at any time since they took office. They both enjoy better than 2-to-1 favorable ratings among those who are familiar enough with them to rate them. The poll also finds that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s positive ratings have improved, but many people are not familiar with him and, among those who are, his ratings are still negative by almost 2-to-1. The poll rates nine leaders in Washington and the Democrats and Republicans in Congress. Only Hillary Clinton and Robert Gates receive more positive than negative ratings.
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Harris last asked these questions in January, so we can only speculate as to when and why these changes occurred. As in our previous polls, many people are not familiar enough with some of the leaders to rate them at all; 57% cannot rate Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, and more than 45% cannot rate Robert Gates, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,184 adults surveyed online between May 9 and 16, 2011 by Harris Interactive.
The main findings of the poll include:
- Hillary Clinton‘s ratings are now 61% positive, 26% negative, up from 50% to 31% in January. This is the first time since she took office that her positive ratings are above 51%. She continues to be by far the most popular leader in Washington;
- Vice-President Joe Biden‘s ratings are 35% positive, 43% negative, compared to 33%-39% in January;
- Robert Gates‘ ratings are now 37% positive, 16% negative, compared to 30%-18% in January. But almost half (47%) of all adults are not familiar enough with him “to have an opinion about him”;
- Tim Geithner‘s ratings are 17% positive, 27% negative with most people (57%) still not familiar with him;
- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid‘s ratings are 17% positive, 36% negative compared to 11%-33% in January;
- House Speaker John Boehner’s ratings are 22% positive, 32% negative compared to 22%-27% in January;
- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi‘s ratings are now 24% positive and 51% negative, compared to 22%-48% in January; and,
- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke‘s ratings are now 22% positive, 29% negative, compared to 20%-25% in January.
Both parties in Congress are still overwhelmingly unpopular: the Democrats’ ratings are 18% positive, 48% negative, and the Republicans’ 18% positive, 44% negative.
So What?
While we do not have data to explain why Secretaries Clinton and Gates have seen a sharp improvement in their ratings, a plausible hypothesis is that these improvements are a result of the successful SEAL attack on Bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan.
This poll, like its predecessors, finds very large numbers of people who are not familiar enough with some very important cabinet members and other Washington leaders. This supports our belief that most people do not follow national news about government and politics. Many people are much more likely to follow the lives of the best known celebrities, movie and TV stars, athletes and singers than the actions of the leading movers and shakers in the nation’s capitol. However this ignorance does not prevent many of them from having very strong opinions about government, government policies and politicians in general.
TABLE 1
FAMILIARITY WITH SENIOR CABINET MEMBERS, CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS AND
PARTIES IN CONGRESS
"Are you familiar enough with each of the following to have an
opinion regarding them?"
Base: All adults
FAMILIAR
2009
Mar April May June Aug Sept Dec
% % % % % % %
Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton 85 83 83 81 82 82 82
Vice President Joe
Biden 70 67 69 68 71 70 72
House Minority
Leader Nancy
Pelosi 68 65 66 66 67 69 71
Democrats in
Congress 66 64 64 65 68 69 67
Republicans in
Congress 62 61 59 58 63 65 64
House Speaker John
Boehner 37 N/a 37 N/a 27 N/a N/a
Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid 32 N/a N/a N/a 39 N/a 44
Defense Secretary
Robert Gates 40 44 43 42 45 46 49
Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben
Bernanke 42 43 43 41 44 48 N/a
Treasury Secretary
Tim Geithner 35 44 41 39 43 42 43
FAMILIAR
2010 2011
Jan Mar June Oct Jan. May
% % % % % %
Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton 82 81 81 81 81 87
Vice President Joe
Biden 67 72 71 72 71 78
House Minority
Leader Nancy
Pelosi 68 69 69 72 69 75
Democrats in
Congress 71 68 68 67 66 66
Republicans in
Congress 66 67 64 64 63 62
House Speaker John
Boehner N/a N/a N/a 37 48 54
Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid N/a N/a N/a N/a N/a 53
Defense Secretary
Robert Gates 47 48 44 47 47 53
Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben
Bernanke N/a 49 45 48 45 51
Treasury Secretary
Tim Geithner 43 43 39 41 40 43
Note: N/a indicates not asked; In January 2011 Nancy Pelosi became
House Minority Leader (from House Speaker) and John Boehner became
House Speaker (from House Minority Leader).
TABLE 2
RATINGS OF SENIOR CABINET MEMBERS, CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS AND PARTIES
IN CONGRESS
"How would you rate the overall job each of the following is doing?"
Base: All adults
Positive* Excellent Pretty Negative**
Good
% % % %
Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton 61 22 39 26
Defense Secretary Robert Gates 37 10 27 16
Vice President Joe Biden 35 10 26 43
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
Bernanke 22 5 17 29
House Speaker John Boehner 22 5 17 32
Treasury Secretary Tim
Geithner 17 4 12 27
House Minority Leader Nancy
Pelosi 24 5 19 51
Senate Majority Leader Harry
Reid 17 4 13 36
Republicans in Congress 18 3 15 44
Democrats in Congress 18 4 13 48
Only Poor Not
Fair Familiar
% % %
--- --- ---
Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton 17 10 13
Defense Secretary Robert Gates 11 5 47
Vice President Joe Biden 22 21 22
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
Bernanke 16 13 49
House Speaker John Boehner 17 15 46
Treasury Secretary Tim
Geithner 11 15 57
House Minority Leader Nancy
Pelosi 17 34 25
Senate Majority Leader Harry
Reid 14 22 47
Republicans in Congress 19 24 38
Democrats in Congress 22 26 34
--------------------- --- --- ---
*Positive = excellent or pretty good **Negative = only fair or poor;
In January 2011 Nancy Pelosi became House Minority Leader (from
House Speaker) and John Boehner became House Speaker (from House
Minority Leader).
TABLE 3
RATING OF VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN - TREND
How would you rate the job Vice-President Joe Biden is doing?"
Base: All adults
Positive* Negative** Not Familiar
2011 May % 35 43 22
Jan. % 33 39 29
2010 Oct. % 26 46 28
June % 26 45 29
March % 29 44 28
Jan. % 28 39 33
2009 Dec. % 30 42 28
Sept. % 30 41 30
Aug. % 33 38 29
June % 30 38 32
May % 32 36 31
April % 34 32 33
March % 35 35 30
----- --- --- --- ---
*Excellent or pretty good. **Only fair or poor. Note: Percentages
may not add up to 100% because of rounding.
TABLE 4
RATING OF SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON - TREND
How would you rate the job Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is
doing?"
Base: All adults
Positive* Negative** Not Familiar
2011 May % 61 26 13
Jan. % 50 31 19
2010 Oct. % 48 32 19
June % 45 35 19
March % 48 33 19
Jan. % 49 33 18
2009 Dec. % 48 34 18
Sept. % 48 34 18
Aug. % 51 31 18
June % 47 34 19
May % 50 33 17
April % 51 32 17
March % 49 36 15
----- --- --- --- ---
*Excellent or pretty good. **Only fair or poor. Note: Percentages
may not add up to 100% because of rounding.
TABLE 5
RATING OF DEFENSE SECRETARY ROBERT GATES - TREND
How would you rate the job Defense Secretary Robert Gates is doing?"
Base: All adults
Positive* Negative** Not Familiar
2011 May % 37 16 47
Jan. % 30 18 53
2010 Oct. % 27 20 53
June % 23 20 56
March % 27 21 52
Jan. % 26 21 53
2009 Dec. % 28 21 51
Sept. % 28 18 54
Aug. % 28 17 55
June % 28 13 58
May % 28 15 57
April % 30 14 56
March % 27 13 60
----- --- --- --- ---
*Excellent or pretty good. **Only fair or poor. Note: Percentages
may not add up to 100% because of rounding.
TABLE 6
RATING OF TREASURY SECRETARY TIM GEITHNER - TREND
How would you rate the job Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is doing?"
Base: All adults
Positive* Negative** Not Familiar
2011 May % 17 27 57
Jan. % 14 26 60
2010 Oct. % 12 29 59
June % 10 29 61
March % 13 30 57
Jan. % 14 29 57
2009 Dec. % 15 29 57
Sept. % 16 26 58
Aug. % 17 26 57
June % 15 24 61
May % 16 26 59
April % 18 26 56
March % 11 24 65
----- --- --- --- ---
*Excellent or pretty good. **Only fair or poor. Note: Percentages
may not add up to 100% because of rounding.
TABLE 7
RATING OF HOUSE MINORITY LEADER NANCY PELOSI - TREND
How would you rate the job House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is
doing?"
Base: All adults
Positive* Negative** Not Familiar
2011 May % 24 51 25
Jan. % 22 48 31
2010 Oct. % 19 52 28
June % 20 49 31
March % 16 52 31
Jan. % 18 50 32
2009 Dec. % 22 49 29
Sept. % 20 49 31
Aug. % 19 48 33
June % 18 49 34
May % 21 45 34
April % 21 44 35
March % 23 45 32
----- --- --- --- ---
*Excellent or pretty good. **Only fair or poor. Note: Percentages
may not add up to 100% because of rounding; until January 2011 Nancy
Pelosi was House Speaker.
TABLE 8
RATING OF HOUSE SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER - TREND
How would you rate the job House Speaker John Boehner is doing?"
Base: All adults
Positive* Negative** Not Familiar
2011 May % 22 32 46
Jan. % 22 27 52
2010 Oct. % 12 25 63
----
2009 Aug. % 8 19 73
March % 9 16 75
----- --- --- --- ---
*Excellent or pretty good. **Only fair or poor. Note: Percentages
may not add up to 100% because of rounding; Until January 2011 John
Boehner was House Minority Leader.
TABLE 9
RATING OF SENATE MAJORITY LEADER HARRY REID - TREND
How would you rate the job Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is
doing?"
Base: All adults
Positive* Negative** Not Familiar
2011 May % 17 36 47
----
2009 Dec. % 11 33 56
Aug. % 10 29 61
March % 12 26 61
----- --- --- --- ---
*Excellent or pretty good. **Only fair or poor. Note: Percentages
may not add up to 100% because of rounding.
TABLE 10
RATING OF FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN BEN BERNANKE - TREND
How would you rate the job Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is
doing?"
Base: All adults
Positive* Negative** Not Familiar
2011 May % 22 29 49
Jan. % 20 25 55
2010 Oct. % 20 28 52
June % 17 29 55
March % 21 28 51
2009 Sept. % 25 23 52
Aug. % 20 24 56
June % 18 23 59
May % 19 24 57
April % 20 23 57
March % 14 28 58
----- --- --- --- ---
*Excellent or pretty good. **Only fair or poor. Note: Percentages
may not add up to 100% because of rounding
TABLE 11
RATING OF DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS - TREND
How would you rate the job the Democrats in Congress are doing?"
Base: All adults
Positive* Negative** Not Familiar
2011 May % 18 48 34
Jan. % 19 47 34
2010 Oct. % 16 51 33
June % 14 54 32
March % 14 54 32
Jan. % 17 54 29
2009 Dec. % 18 50 33
Sept. % 18 51 31
Aug. % 21 47 32
June % 21 43 35
May % 25 39 36
April % 22 42 36
March % 25 41 34
----- --- --- --- ---
*Excellent or pretty good. **Only fair or poor. Note: Percentages
may not add up to 100% because of rounding.
TABLE 12
RATING OF REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS - TREND
How would you rate the job the Republicans in Congress are doing?"
Base: All adults
Positive* Negative** Not Familiar
2011 May % 18 44 38
Jan. % 20 44 37
2010 Oct. % 14 51 36
June % 11 52 36
March % 16 51 33
Jan. % 16 50 34
2009 Dec. % 14 50 36
Sept. % 11 54 35
Aug. % 12 52 37
June % 12 46 42
May % 14 45 41
April % 14 48 39
March % 15 47 38
----- --- --- --- ---
*Excellent or pretty good. **Only fair or poor. Note: Percentages
may not add up to 100% because of rounding.
Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between May 9 to 16, 2011 among 2,184 adults (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 the adult 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.
The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.
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Q1230, 1232
The Harris Poll® #66, June 2, 2011
By Humphrey Taylor, Chairman, The Harris Poll
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of the world’s leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients – stay ahead of what’s next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.
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SOURCE Harris Interactive
