ABC NEWS/WASHINGTON POST POLL: IRAQ EMOTIONS – 5/23/04 EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE AFTER 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 25, 2004

Emotional Responses on Iraq: Anger Up, Pride Down, Worry Level

Anger is up, pride is down, worry continues and hopefulness, while still present, is in shorter supply. Those are among the changes in Americans’ emotional responses to the situation in Iraq, compared to the early days of the war in March 2003.

The sharpest change is in anger: As the war began 30 percent of Americans were angry about it; today, asked about the situation in Iraq, 57 percent are angry – almost twice as many. Anger is highest – 70 percent – among the roughly half of Americans who think that, given its costs versus its benefits, the war was not worth fighting.

Despite broad concerns about the current situation, 62 percent remain hopeful; that’s down, though, from 80 percent at the start of the war. And 41 percent describe themselves as “proud” about the situation; it was 53 percent when the war began.

100% Emotional Responses to the Situation in Iraq 90% Today ABC News/Washington Post polls Mar-03 80% 80%

70% 67% 64% 62% 60% 57% 53%

50% 41% 40% 37% 36% 30% 30%

20%

10%

0% Angry Hopeful Proud Worried Frightened

Two other emotions are level: Sixty-seven percent are worried and 37 percent are frightened about the situation, both about the same as when the war began.

Views of the war/situation in Iraq 5/04 3/03 Change Angry 57% 30 +27 Hopeful 62 80 -18 Proud 41 53 -12 Worried 67 64 +3 Frightened 37 36 +1

GROUPS – There are enormous differences among groups in these responses to the events in Iraq. Women are twice as likely as men to be frightened about the situation, and also far more likely to be angry and worried about it.

Hopefulness is vastly higher among Republicans (82 percent) than among independents or Democrats (57 and 50 percent, respectively). Republicans also are far more apt to be proud – 63 percent, compared with four in 10 independents and a quarter of Democrats. Democrats, and independents as well, are more apt to be angry, worried and frightened.

Many of these views also are dependent on opinions of whether the war was worth fighting, and on whether the administration has a clear plan for dealing with the situation now. For instance, among those who see a clear plan, 86 percent are hopeful and 71 percent are proud; among those who don’t see a clear plan – nearly six in 10 Americans – only about half as many are hopeful, and just two in 10 express pride.

People who don’t see a clear plan in Iraq also are 30 points likelier to be angry about the situation there, and 26 points more apt to be worried about it.

Angry Hopeful Worried Frightened Proud Men 49% 66 56 23 40 Women 64 58 78 51 43

Dem 67 50 77 48 27 Rep 41 82 54 29 63 Ind 58 57 68 35 39

Lib 68 43 76 43 25 Mod 56 59 70 34 38 Cons 50 76 60 40 57

War worth it 43 81 55 30 67 Not worth it 70 44 79 45 18

Clear plan 39 86 52 30 71 Not clear 69 45 78 43 21

CHANGES – Some of the changes from March 2003 have occurred across groups. Men are 24 points more likely to be angry now; the change among women is about the same – up 29 points. Anger is up by 26 points among Democrats, and also by 21 points among Republicans (and by 29 points among independents). And it’s up by 20 points among war supporters, as well as by 21 points among war opponents.

Other changes do show more differences among groups. Hopefulness has dropped by 22 points among women, compared with 14 points among men; and by 24 points among Democrats, compared with 11 points among Republicans. Pride has fallen father among men than among women, and farther among Democrats than among Republicans.

There are, naturally, political ramifications to these views. Among people who are angry about the situation in Iraq, for instance, just 35 percent approve of the way George W. Bush is handling his job overall. Among those who aren’t angry, his approval rating is 29 points higher, 64 percent.

METHODOLOGY – This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone May 20-23, 2004, among a random national sample of 1,005 adults. The results have a three-point error margin. Sampling, data collection and tabulation by TNS of Horsham, Pa.

Analysis by Gary Langer.

ABC News polls can be found at ABCNEWS.com at http://abcnews.com/pollvault.html.

Media contact: Cathie Levine, (212) 456-4934, or Lisa Finkel, (212) 456-6190.

Results follow. *= less than 0.5 percent

16. Do any of the following describe your own personal feelings about the situation in Iraq? The first is (READ ITEM). How about (NEXT ITEM)?

5/23/04 - Summary Table

Yes No No opinion a. Worried 67 32 * b. Proud 41 58 1 c. Frightened 37 61 1 d. Angry 57 43 * e. Hopeful 62 37 1

Trend:

a. Worried Yes No No opinion 5/23/04 67 32 * 3/23/03* 64 35 *

b. Proud Yes No No opinion 5/23/04 41 58 1 3/23/03* 53 45 2

c. Frightened Yes No No opinion 5/23/04 37 61 1 3/23/03* 36 63 1 d. Angry Yes No No opinion 5/23/04 57 43 * 3/23/03* 30 68 1 e. Hopeful Yes No No opinion 5/23/04 62 37 1 3/23/03* 80 18 2

* "…about the war"

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