New Poll Shows Most Americans have Forgotten DeLay Ethics Violations in Wake of Schiavo Saga

A poll conducted over the weekend indicates that for a majority of Americans, the battle over the fate of Terri Schiavo has supplanted all other issues in importance. Results of the poll also contained some good news for embattled House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. When asked to identify a public figure with whom they most associated ethical violations, the majority of respondents listed Michael Schiavo, not Mr. Delay.

Respondents say Schiavo situation more serious than Social Security crisis

By Deanna Swift

WASHINGTON, DC-- A poll conducted over the weekend reveals that a solid majority of Americans now view the painful saga Terri Schiavo as more important than other single political issue, including the war in Iraq, the epidemic of childhood obesity or a possible dirty bomb attack in one of our major metropolitan areas. And in a blow to President Bush, a wide majority of poll respondents identified the Terri Schiavo situation, not the pending shortfall in the Social Security trust fund, as the biggest threat to future generations of Americans.

The poll, based on 2,130 telephone interviews conducted between Friday and Sunday, found that 62% of Americans believe that the Schiavo saga is the most important political event in recent memory, while 23% said that it was the most important political event of their lifetime. Six percent said that they had no opinion on the matter or were unable to answer polling questions because they were currently watching round-the-clock coverage of the Schiavo story on a cable news channel. (Click thumbnail to view poll data.)

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Pollsters presented respondents with a list of 10 different issues or events and asked them to rank each on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being least important when compared to the Schiavo situation, 10 being most important. The issues and events cited included the ongoing war in Iraq, childhood obesity, ethics violations on Capitol Hill, the forthcoming nuptials of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, a possible dirty bomb attack in one of our cities, the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon, PC terror on campus as exemplified by University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill, and a looming shortfall in the Social Security trust fund.

Of these issues, however, only Mr. Churchill's academic future and a possible dirty bomb attack were rated as anywhere near as important as the crisis involving Ms. Schiavo. 26% of respondents gave the Churchill outrage a score of '7' or above when compared to the Schiavo situation, while 19% said that the detonation of a dirty bomb deserved a score of 7 or above. The Social Security crisis was viewed as the least important by respondents, with 92% of respondents giving it a grade of '3' or below relative to the importance of the Schiavo story.

DeLay tactics
The poll also contained some good news for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Just last week, alleged ethics violations threatened to bring down the beloved GOP figure, known as "the Hammer." But by the weekend, most Americans seemed to have forgotten the controversy swirling around Mr. DeLay. Asked to identify a public figure with whom the term "ethics violation" has been associated, 63% identified Ms. Schiavo's husband, Michael, while 42% named the presiding judge in the case, Circuit Court Judge George W. Greer.

While Mr. DeLay expressed relief to be out of the white hot glare of the media spot light for the time being, he said that he agreed with most respondents that it was Mr. Schiavo, not him, who was ethically challenged: "I don't have a whole lot of respect for a man that has treated a woman in this way," Mr. DeLay told the LA Times. "What kind of a man is he?"

How this poll was conducted
Samples for Polltronics polls are random digit samples of telephone numbers selected using the "probability proportionate to size" method, which means numbers from across the country are selected in proportion to the number of voters in each state. Individuals who did not answer their phones were assumed to be watching news coverage of the Schiavo story.

In order to ensure a distribution of ages and genders within households, the interviewer selects the respondent by asking to speak to the adult with the next birthday. Quotas are applied to ensure the sample mirrors the proportions of voters nationally. Specifically, the aim is for a gender split nationwide of 53% female / 47% male, as well as regional quotas.

The RDD selected phone numbers are sent to the interviewers through computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) software. Both the software and human supervisors monitor each step of the interviewing process. While calls are automatically dialed, the system does not use predictive dialing so prospective respondents always find a live interviewer when they answer their phone.

Deanna Swift can be reached at [email protected]

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Comments

[helen reeves]

I don't think our elected officials realize what an impact the Schiavo issue has made. They apparently think it will just go way, but there are thousands of Americans that will never be able to put closure to this horror until the truth is revealed, and the sooner the better. I think Michael Schiavo and Greer should be tried for premediated murder and Michal should be made to return the funds he recieved in the medical settlements, since he didn't allow her to live to use them. It is hard to believe that our government sentenced an inocent citizen to death and made us sit and watch her slowly die. This was worse than a beheading in an uncivilized country, because our elected officials could have stopped it. I applaud the Republicians and the President for getting involved, my only regret is that they weren't brave enough to stop the murder. I was always a Democrat, but never again.