Public Uneasy About Economy, Polls Find

As George W. Bush assumed the presidency, the public was generally upbeat about his transition efforts, uncertain about his chances of success over the next four years and increasingly nervous about the American economy.

A steady stream of polls in the last week offered a detailed glimpse of public opinion about the new president, who took office Saturday.

A glance at some major findings:

* Almost two-thirds of those polled said they are generally optimistic about the next four years; almost 30% said they are pessimistic. At the start of the presidencies of Bill Clinton, George Bush, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter, about 70% were optimistic while about 20% were pessimistic.

And 40% generally said they expect Bush to be a good president, while the remainder think he will be average, poor, or say they don’t know. People were divided about whether the country will be better off in four years.

* About two-thirds or more said they approve of Bush’s presidential transition, and almost 60% said they approve of most of his Cabinet picks. Atty. Gen.-designate John Ashcroft has slightly more people viewing him favorably than unfavorably; almost half said they don’t know enough about him to say. The public is split about whether they favor Ashcroft serving as attorney general. Secretary of State-designate Colin L. Powell remains overwhelmingly popular.

* Just more than half said Bush legitimately won the election, and a consistent 40% in several polls said they still feel Bush did not win legitimately. There are sharp divisions along party lines, just as there were right after the election. Blacks rejected the legitimacy of Bush’s election by 6 to 1.

* Concern about the economy is higher than it has been in several years--not surprising, given the economic boom of recent years and the current signs that the economy is slowing.

More people think the economy will be worse by the end of Bush’s term than think it will be better, and about half think it will be the same. When Clinton was elected, more than half said they thought the economy would be better after his term in office.

* People are divided about how well Bush will handle international crises, about evenly split between feeling confident or uneasy about his abilities. People are very convinced, by more than a 4-1 margin, that Bush will improve military security for the country.

* Perceptions of Bush’s leadership skills have slipped a bit since just before the election. Now fewer than 60% see him as a strong leader, while 70% saw him that way in October.

* Almost two-thirds said Bush will work with both parties in Congress, and 60% think Democrats will work with Bush. But a majority said the country is in for partisan gridlock.

* This remains a strong point for Bush, with 70% saying he shares their moral values while only 30% said that about Clinton. People were somewhat more concerned about maintaining economic growth than in restoring moral values.

* Fewer than half view Bush favorably; 30% view him unfavorably. While Bush has about the same favorable rating as several former presidents when they first took office, his unfavorable rating is the highest of any president in the last two decades.

* The economy is a priority for the new president in several polls, with education and taxes close behind.

People seem most optimistic that Bush will be able to improve education, are split as to whether he will reduce prescription drug costs and skeptical that he can strengthen Social Security. Almost 60% said they don’t think he’ll be able to cut taxes for all people.

* The public is not convinced that Bush will be in charge of what goes on most of the time. Just 40% said he will be in charge, and a little more than half said other people will really be running the country.

The polls were taken by ABC News/Washington Post, CBS News, CNN/USA Today/Gallup and NBC News/Wall Street Journal.

All used samples of at least 1,000 adults and had error margins of plus or minus 3 percentage points, larger for subgroups.