The Times Poll : Many Doubt President’s Ability to Lead

Disillusioned with his handling of the Iran- contra affair, many Americans believe that President Reagan is losing control of the government and that his ability to lead has been seriously, though apparently not fatally, damaged, the Los Angeles Times Poll has found.

The fact that arms were shipped to Iran, or that money was secretly channeled to the Nicaraguan rebels, or that Reagan may have lied about the scandal, were less worrisome to Americans than the possibility that the President did not know what the White House was doing.

About 75% of Americans believe that the White House tried to cover up the Iran-contra scandal, and two-thirds think the scandal has diminished Reagan’s ability to lead in his last two years in office.

However, Reagan remains well-liked: 55% of Americans approve of the President’s job performance, up from 50% in December, and a whopping 79%--including 90% of Republicans and 67% of Democrats--said they like Reagan personally. The findings appear to give credence to a remark about the American people that Reagan made recently to Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.): “They like me but they don’t believe me.”

“The President’s support is holding up, but in the area of image he appears vulnerable and has a problem,” said Times Poll Director I. A. Lewis, who conducted the telephone survey of 2,346 adults nationwide over four days ending Monday. “The questions now are about his ability to lead--the very factor that has up until now represented the foundation of his popular backing.”

Lewis found that Americans of both parties were united in criticizing the Administration’s secret contacts with Iran and the anti-government rebels in Nicaragua.

By more than 2-1, they disapproved of the way Reagan handled the affair; a majority believed the Administration’s attempt to bargain with Iran for the release of hostages had encouraged terrorists to kidnap three more Americans in Lebanon last month, and 52% said the United States had lent prestige to the Khomeini regime by sending Iran weapons.

Only one in five Americans believed the Administration was dealing with “moderates” in Tehran, as Reagan has contended; nearly half thought Washington’s contacts were with radicals.

The poll indicated some erosion of support for Reagan over the Iran affair among Republicans. For example, 56% of Republicans think the Iran-contra affair has diminished the President’s ability to lead; 39% think White House Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan should resign (compared to 40% who say he should not); 57% believe the President is holding back information on the scandal.

Only 37% of all respondents thought Reagan remained in charge of the government, while 53% said he was losing control. A plurality (43%) believe important decisions of state are reached without the President’s knowledge, 59% say he relies too heavily on his advisers and nearly half say he is too old at 76 to keep up with all his responsibilities.

Doubt Resignation

Although 46% of Americans--including 29% of the Republicans and 60% of the Democrats--think the Iran-contra incident is at least as serious as Watergate, only 10% believe it will lead to Reagan’s resignation and only 20% believe someone will go to jail.

Most Americans (63%) think the two military men implicated in the scandal--Vice Adm. John M. Poindexter and Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, both formerly with the National Security Council--were acting on orders from their superiors.

About as many respondents believe that Reagan has lied at some point about the Iran-contra deal as those who think he has told the truth. But lying is not what most concerns them. The worst aspect of the scandal would be the President’s ignorance of what was going on in the White House, according to 48% of Americans. Another 21% said the worst aspect would be the President lying, 13% said it would be sending arms to Iran and 7% said it would be secretly diverting money to the contras.

‘Standing Tall’

One result of the scandal is that Americans seem to have lost or misplaced that national feeling of “standing tall” which many view as one of Reagan’s major contributions. Only 13% of respondents said that “things in this country are going in the right direction today,” while 36% said the nation had “gotten off on the wrong track.” A plurality (45%) think that “things are somewhere in between.”

The Iran-contra affair has not seriously eroded the public’s support of Israel despite allegations that Israel set up the deal to sell Iran weapons and divert money to the contras. Forty percent of Americans do not blame Israel for getting the United States involved; only 14% do blame Israel, but 45% have no opinion.

When asked if Congress should cut American military aid to Israel as a result of Israel’s involvement, 55% of Republicans said no, but a plurality of Democrats (44%) said yes. An overall majority of 54% also voiced disapproval of American aid to the contras.

While questioning Reagan’s control of state affairs, 38% nevertheless said they believe he is very familiar with the complicated problems he faces; 37% said he is somewhat familiar. Additionally, 14% said Reagan would be very effective in solving the nation’s problems over the next two years; 49% said he would be somewhat effective, and 20% thought he would be somewhat ineffective.

The margin of error in a poll of this magnitude is 3% in either direction.

RATING THE PRESIDENT

Do you think President Reagan is running the government in Washington today or do you think he is losing control over what’s going on?

Running the Government

Democrats 9%

Independents 14%

Republicans 14%

Total 37% Losing Control

Democrats 22%

Independents 23%

Republicans 8%

Total 53% Do you approve or disapprove of the way Ronald Reagan is handling his job as president? Approve

Democrats 10%

Independents 25%

Republicans 20%

Total 55% Disapprove

Democrats 13%

Independents 20%

Republicans 7%

Total 40% Those responding ‘Don’t Know’ are not included.

Source: Los Angeles Times Poll