Poll: D.C. elites a world apart
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POLITICO 44
In their opinions on policy and politicians ranging from President Barack Obama to Sarah Palin, elites in Washington have a strikingly divergent outlook from the rest of the nation, according to a new POLITICO poll released Monday.
Obama is far more popular while Palin, the former Alaska governor, is considerably less so. To the vast majority of D.C. elites, the tea party movement is a fad. The rest of the nation is less certain, however, with many viewing it as a potentially viable third party in the future.
The survey also reveals to a surprising degree how those involved in the policymaking and the political process tend to have a much rosier view of the economy than does the rest of the nation — and, in some cases, dramatically different impressions of leading officeholders, political forces and priorities for governing.
Click here for full poll results.
The first in a six-month Power and the People series, the online survey was conducted for POLITICO by the polling firm Penn Schoen Berland.
Overall, the 1,011 people surveyed nationally have a very pessimistic take on the direction of the country.
Only 27 percent believe the country is headed in the right direction, compared with 61 percent who think the nation is on the wrong track. Likewise, when asked whether the national economy is heading down the right or wrong track, just 24 percent chose the right track, compared with65 percent for the wrong track.
Yet among the 227 Washington elites polled, more think the country is on the right track, 49 percent, than the wrong track, 45 percent. On the economy, 44 percent of elites think the country is on the right track, compared with 46 percent who believe it is not.
To qualify as a Washington elite for the poll, respondents must live within the D.C. metro area, earn more than $75,000 per year, have at least a college degree and be involved in the political process or work on key political issues or policy decisions.
Washington elites seem conscious of the fact that they have a different point of view than the rest of the country, as 74 percent said they have felt the current economic downturn less than most Americans.
They also recognize that the economy and jobs are foremost on the minds of voters.
When asked to identify the most important issue facing the country, 52 percent of elites and 48 percent of respondents from the rest of the country identified the economy and jobs.
Asked how important the economy and jobs are in the United States, 86 percent of Washington elites said "very important" — just 1 percentage point less than the general population.
Both groups are also in agreementon health care, where 65 percent of the general population and 64 percent of D.C. elites said it is "very important."
On other issues though, the two groups are worlds apart.
Sixty-five percent of the general population views Social Security as "very important," compared with only 41 percent of Washington elites. The same goes for immigration — 53 percent of the general public says it's very important, compared with 36 percent of Washington elites — and family values — 62 percent versus 23 percent, respectively.
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Taxes areanother issue where Washington does not appear to have its finger on the pulse of the country. Fifty-three percent of the general public ranked taxes as a "very important" issue, while 37 percent of elites said the same.
"The poll highlights in dramatic terms the stark contrasts between D.C. elites and the American people, as D.C. elites are far more isolated from the economic crisis and yet far more plugged into other issues," said Mark Penn, CEO of Penn Schoen Berland and a veteran Democratic pollster.
D.C. elites also have dramatically different views of the tea party movement than the rest of the county.
Sixty-eight percent of Washington elites said the anti-tax tea party movement is a "fad" and that it will "go away soon." Only 26 percent of the rest of the country agreed.
Meanwhile, only 11 percent of the Washington elites believe the tea party will "become a viable third party in American politics." Twenty-four percent of the rest of the country said the same.
In addition, Washington elites have a much higher opinion of those in power than the general public.
Among the elites, Obama has a 66 percent favorability rating, while 34 percent view him unfavorably. Outside of Washington, only 48 percent of respondents view the president favorably, compared with 47 percent who view him unfavorably.
In prospective 2012 matchups, Obama never falls below 60 percent support among the D.C. elites. Yet among the general population, the president doesn't win more than 48 percent support in any of the pairings.
On the question of the 2012 presidential election, the general public gave a generic Republican candidate a 5-percentage-point edge over Obama, 42 percent to 37 percent, while among Washington elites, the president would cruise to reelection by a 2-to-1 ratio — 56 percent to 28 percent.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is also held in high regard in the nation's capital.
Seventy-four percent of Washington elites view Clinton favorably, compared with only 25 percent who have an unfavorable view. The rest of the country is split on the secretary of state, with 49 percent holding a favorable opinion and 45 percent an unfavorable one.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is viewed favorably by 45 percent of Washington elites but by only 23 percent of the rest of the country.
Washington though, holds a much lower opinion of former President George W. Bush — 38 percent of the general public views him favorably, compared with 24 percent of Washington elites — and Sarah Palin, who has only a 16 percent favorability rating among Washington's elite while she is viewed favorably by 39 percent of the general public.
When asked which party they would vote for if November's midterm election were held today, the general population is split among Democrats and Republicans, 32 percent to 31 percent. Washington elites however, chose Democrats by 53 percent to 26 percent for Republicans.
Both online polls were conducted July 9-14. The general population survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The poll of Washington elites has a margin of error of plus or minus 6.53 percentage points.
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About this Poll Series
POLITICO's poll series, "Power and the People," explores the political and policy views of D.C. elites compared with the views of the American public. Each of the six polls will be developed and analyzed by POLITICO's team of editors and reporters. The polls will be conducted between July 2010 and January 2010 by Penn Schoen Berland, an internationally recognized market research firm.
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