Most Older Americans Rate Bush Poorly : Poll: Nearly two-thirds of those 65 and over have become the President’s severest critics, Times Mirror survey finds.

Almost two-thirds of older Americans favor new leadership and many of them have become President Bush’s severest critics and independent Ross Perot’s most enthusiastic supporters, according to a study released Tuesday.

Older generations across the political spectrum--Democrats, Republicans and independents--are not only disillusioned with the political system, the study found, but are more likely than middle-aged people to question the power and profits of big business and to otherwise challenge the Establishment.

The report was released Tuesday by the Times Mirror Center for the People and the Press, which measures public response to the news. The survey was based on a lengthy poll of 3,500 voting-age citizens conducted May 28 to June 10 by Times Mirror. Times Mirror Co. is the owner of the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers and broadcasting and publishing enterprises.

The poll itself was released last month, but Tuesday the center released an in-depth analysis of the findings. Younger Americans traditionally have spearheaded periods of social and political transition, but the survey found that today, for the first time in modern history, it’s older Americans who are fed up with the system and ready to seek new leadership even at the risk that it will not change things.

“Close to two out of three older Americans take the position that new leadership is needed, even if there’s a chance it will be ineffective,” the study said.

People in the survey were asked if they agreed or disagreed with the statement: “We need new people in Washington, even if they are not as effective as experienced politicians.” Nearly two-thirds of older Americans agreed--67% of those 65 and older, and 62% of those 50 to 64.

By comparison, less than half--45%--of Americans 18 to 24 said the statement was true. Among all age groups, 56% agreed.

The poll’s specific findings included that 63% of Americans 65 and older, and 61% of those 50 to 64, disapprove of the way Bush is doing his job--which bodes ill for the President because older people tend to vote more regularly than younger ones.

Younger Americans tended to give Bush somewhat higher marks, with his best evaluations coming from the youngest age group. Among those 18 to 24, 47% disapproved of the job he is doing. The poll had an overall margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points, but error margins within age groups exceeded that.

In the poll’s results that were released last month, Perot led a three-way race, with 36% support to Bush’s 31% and presumptive Democratic nominee Bill Clinton’s 27%.

Most of those under 35 leaned toward Bush or Perot. But the survey’s overall findings are especially troubling for the President because older citizens vote in much larger numbers.

Those 18 to 34 make up 36% of the voting-age population, and those 50 and older constitute another 36%. But only about a quarter of the younger group said they definitely will vote, whereas 41% of the older people say they are “absolutely certain” to go to the polls.

The report also hints at trouble for Clinton among older voters. Although older Americans show relatively strong support for the Democratic Party in the survey, as they have in the past, Perot is siphoning off substantial support from Clinton, who counts on older voters as part of his base.

In the Times Mirror poll, Perot was favored by 36% of those 65 and older, while 29% supported Clinton and 28% were behind Bush. In the 50 to 64 age group, support for Perot and Bush was evenly split at 34% apiece, with 27% favoring Clinton.

Perot’s greatest lead was among those 30 to 34, where he held 42% to Bush’s 29% and Clinton’s 22%.

The poll also found that despite low turnout in the primaries, voters may turn out in much greater numbers for the general election in November--a rarity in modern times for a presidential election.

Donald S. Kellerman, director of the Times Mirror Center, said: “The percentage of people who say they have given a lot of thought to the coming election is higher than it has been in previous elections and people have told Times Mirror in three surveys this year that they are more interested in this election than they were in 1988.”

But the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate released the results of a separate nationwide survey Tuesday that reflected a record low turnout in the 1992 presidential primaries. It showed that only 33.6 million of 171 million eligible Americans voted in the primaries, a 19.6% turnout--the lowest since primaries began proliferating in 1972.

Despite an increase of five primaries and the addition of 6 million people in the nation’s voting-age population since 1988, 1.3 million fewer citizens voted in the primaries this year than did so four years ago.