Public Split On President Bush's...

The public is split on President Bush's Immigration address, half disappointed, half impressed. That's the finding of an overnight Zogby poll .

Overall, 47% said they liked the Monday speech, while 47% said they were disappointed.
About seven in 10 Republicans said they generally liked the speech, while 29% said they were disappointed. Among Democrats, 70% said they were disappointed, while 19% said they liked the speech, a slightly higher percentage of Democrats than usually support Bush. Eleven percent of Democrats said they were undecided.
Independents were split down the middle, with about half liking the speech and half disappointed. Among moderates, 34% said they liked the speech, while 58% said they were disappointed.
Asked whether they thought the Bush plan meant the illegal immigration problem would be solved, 47% said it is more likely to get solved, while 49% said they think the plan makes it less likely to be solved.

The Zogby Interactive poll was conducted after the President's Monday night speech and has a margin of error of +/– 3.5 percent.

Comments: 10

Mickey B. May 17, 2006, 11:03am EDT

Interesting article. I didn't watch the speech since of considered the national guard a political band aid and not a solution.

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Jude Cowell May 17, 2006, 11:13am EDT

Too little too late. Where has the US gov been on this issue all these years--esp since 9/11?

It was Bush who said as soon as he couped the WH, "come on up!"....future votes for the GOP. And I keep wondering--future soldiers for imperialism?

His speech Monday was well-practiced in spite of the false start, but I agree he's clutching at Band-aids! November nears, y'see.

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California Yankee May 17, 2006, 11:27am EDT

Michael, I was disappointed with the President's speech. The only thing new was the deployment of 6,000 members of the National Guard to the southern border. I don't see how 6,000 Guardsmen will make much of a difference. Nevertheless, I give President Bush credit for his willingness to take on this very difficult issue

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John S. (arizona) May 17, 2006, 3:13pm EDT

My disappointment isn't in the speech, but how long he took to get around to it. It's hard to give him credit when a large part of the country has been screaming about this for years. It isn't just him either, I hold congress even more irresponsible than him (both parties).

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Lily Mazahery May 17, 2006, 8:59pm EDT

My question is: Is immigration REALLY an issue??? Or is this something that has been thrown out to feed the media in order to distract from other issues bubbling in Washington?

Furthermore, who are we really kidding when we try to label the current debate as an "immigration issue"? This debate involves Mexicans and Mexicans only! So why don't we just call a spade a spade and stop for a moment to think whether this sudden "immigration problem" is anything more than a distraction from certain other important issues??

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California Yankee May 17, 2006, 9:34pm EDT

John, I give the President credit because he has pursued immigration reform for years. He first raised it in 2001. The administration talked it up in late 2003, before President Bush asked Congress to pass immigration reform in January 2004. The president has been pushing the issue ever since.

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California Yankee May 17, 2006, 9:46pm EDT

Lily, The never ending flood of illegal immigration is a very important issue. It has severe impacts on our education and health care systems. In his 2004 article, "The Hispanic Challenge," Samuel P. Huntington warned the persistent inflow of Hispanic immigrants threatens to divide the United States into two peoples, two cultures, and two languages. Unlike past immigrant groups, Mexicans and other Latinos have not assimilated into mainstream U.S. culture, forming instead their own enclaves.

I don't think immigration has been thrown out as a distraction. President Bush has pursued immigration reform since 2001. Whenever the president speaks about the war or the electronic intercepts of al-Qaeda suspects his poll numbers go up. Whenever he speaks about immigration reform his support among Republicans drops.

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John S. (arizona) May 17, 2006, 9:52pm EDT

Lily- it has been an "issue" in the South Western states for as long as I can remember, in my case Arizona. Now it has become a national issue as well. What triggered that, is probably up for debate.

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Lily Mazahery May 20, 2006, 3:34pm EDT

John and Yankee,

I agree with both of you that it is and has been an issue ... and that is my point! Specifically, I can not help but wonder why it is that, all of a sudden, after all the years of recognizing the existence of this problem and its unmistakable impact on our nation, this issue has become such a "hot topic." You see, as a Washingtonian, I have learned that when dormant issues suddenly become front-page news, that is an attempt to distract the public from another or other more explosive issues/happenings, etc.

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John S. (arizona) May 20, 2006, 4:16pm EDT

CY- I might have my head in the sand, but all I recall Bush pushing was a "guest worker program", and ignoring everything else. I don't think he felt the people were as fired up about this growing issue as they are, and now he is playing catch-up.
Now Congress has been even worse, both sides of the aisle for their own petty interests, instead of representing the people. They want everybody to think now that they have been serious about this all the while, at Bush's expense. Shame on them!
Lily- you may be right, but I think it's more because an election is coming and everybody is posturing themselves to look "right on top" of things.

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Public Split On President Bush's Immigration Speech

Comments: 10

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