Bush Won Middle Class With Ideology, Poll Finds

George Bush won the presidential election by stressing ideology, not competence, and convincing disaffected middle-class voters that he was on their side with tough stands on crime, drugs and national defense, according to a Times Mirror poll released Tuesday.

The poll, the final Times Mirror survey on the 1988 race, indicated that while Democratic nominee Michael S. Dukakis dwelt on the financial “squeeze” hurting the middle class, Bush got better results by stressing the differences between his conservative philosophy and Dukakis’ more liberal one on a range of issues.

Controlled Agenda

By the end of the campaign, the issue of crime had vaulted to the top among the voters’ concerns, demonstrating how Bush had controlled the agenda.

The poll, conducted for Times Mirror by the Gallup Organization, involved contacts with 2,022 voters on Nov. 9 and 10. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

In May, the voting bloc described as “disaffecteds” by the Gallup Organization was evenly split between Dukakis and Bush. But by Election Day, 68% of these pessimistic, financially pinched voters cast their ballots for Bush, the poll found.

Issues ‘Neutralized’

Andrew Kohut, president of Gallup, said that Bush’s campaign managed to “neutralize” many of the Democrats’ best issues, such as expanded child care and universal health insurance and instead, focus the voters’ concern on crime and defense, where Dukakis was seen as weak.

The survey also found:

--That Bush’s winning coalition was largely in place by the second week of September. Voters deciding in the final days voted for Dukakis by a 60%-40% margin, but by then Bush had an insurmountable lead.

--That Sen. Dan Quayle, the GOP vice presidential nominee, cost Bush about 4% of the vote.

--That Bush voters cast their ballots with more enthusiasm than Dukakis voters. Bush voters were more inclined to say they were voting “for” Bush and his stand on the issues, while Dukakis voters were more likely to say they were dissatisfied with the race and were voting mostly out of party loyalty.

--That fewer registered Democrats defected to Bush this year than to Reagan in 1984. Some indicated that they were alienated by Bush campaign tactics and his choice of Quayle as a running mate.

--That 30% of the voters said that they had “no confidence” in either candidate. In 1980, 39% said the same about nominees Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.

--That voters believe the top priority for the Bush Administration should be reducing the federal deficit. About 44% cited this response, while protecting American jobs from foreign competition was second with 20%.