Toplines - Iowa Presidential Election - August 7, 2008

Iowa Survey of 500 Likely Voters
Conducted August 7, 2008
By Rasmussen Reports

1* How do you rate the way that George W. Bush is performing his role as President? Excellent, good, fair, or poor?

13% Excellent

17% Good

18% Fair

53% Poor

0% Not sure

2* If the Presidential Election were held today, would you vote for Republican John McCain or Democrat Barack Obama?

	Without Leaners	With Leaners
McCain	41%	44%
Obama	46%	49%
Other	6%	2%
Not sure	7%	5%

3* Favorable Ratings

	Obama	McCain
Very Favorable	32%	22%
Somewhat Favorable	22%	31%
Somewhat Unfavorable	19%	26%
Very Unfavorable	24%	18%
Not sure	3%	3%

4* In terms of how you will vote for President, are you primarily interested in National Security issues such as the War with Iraq and the War on Terror, Economic issues such as jobs and economic growth, Domestic Issues like Social Security and Health Care, Cultural issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion, or Fiscal issues such as taxes and government spending?

21% National Security Issues

43% Economic Issues

14% Domestic Issues

6% Cultural Issues

9% Fiscal Issues

7% Not sure

5* Which is more important finding new sources of energy or reducing the amount of energy Americans now consume?

59% Finding new sources of energy

34% Reducing the amount of energy Americans now consume

7% Not sure

6* Who is winning the War on Terrorism…the United States and its allies or the terrorists?

57% United States and its allies

18% Terrorists

20% Neither

5% Not sure

7* Is Iraq the central front in the War on Terror?

24% Yes

59% No

17% Not sure

8* Is Afghanistan the central front in the War on Terror?

43% Yes

32% No

25% Not sure

9* Which is a greater threat to the security of the United States—Iraq or Afghanistan?

29% Iraq

45% Afghanistan

26% Not sure

10* When covering a political campaign, do most reporters try to offer unbiased coverage or do they try to help the candidate they want to win?

25% Offer unbiased coverage
65% Try to help the candidate they want to win
11% Not sure

11* Looking ahead to the campaign between Barack Obama and John McCain, will most reporters try to help Barack Obama, offer unbiased coverage, or try to help John McCain?

46% Try to help Barack Obama
29% Offer unbiased coverage
11% Try to help John McCain
14% Not sure

12* Despite current difficulties, does the United States still have the best economy in the world?

38% Yes

48% No

14% Not sure

13* When covering economic issues, do most reporters and media outlets try to make the economy seem worse than it really is, better than it really is, or do they present an accurate picture of the economy?

44% Worse than it really is

20% Better than it really is

27% They present and accurate picture

9% Not sure

NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence