WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 The ability of U.S. President George Bush to handle energy issues gets poor grades from most participants in a UPI-Zogby International poll.
Just less than half -- 49.9 percent -- of the 6,882 U.S. respondents to a Zogby interactive poll rated Bush's acumen in handling energy issues as poor. Another 15.9 percent gave him a grade of fair and 23.6 percent said good. Just 9.4 percent said the president ' s handling of energy issues was excellent.The poll data took the expected break on ideological lines -- liberals gave Bush poor marks and conservatives were much more likely to grade higher -- but self-proclaimed moderates were also hard on Bush. Some 61.2 percent of that subcategory ranked Bushpoor" on handling energy issues. There is also a gender gap. 55.6 percent of female respondents gave Bush a poor grade compared to 43.7 percent of males. More than a quarter -- 27.9 percent -- of males asked said Bush was good at handling energy concerns while 19.6 percent of females gave that answer. The poll was conducted Jan. 16-18 and has a margin of error of 1.2 percentage points.
Copyright 2007 by UPI
