Americans, Both Young and Old, Believe Government Needs Better Moral Leadership

Business Wire, Oct 27, 2008

Only one in five Americans Believe Most Politicians are Honest

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Regardless of the candidate they support, most people agree on the need for more honest and moral leaders. This desire is shared not only by most adult Americans, but also by most teenagers.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll[R], a new nationwide survey of 2,119 U.S. adults surveyed online between October 16 and 20, 2008 and 1,098 youth, 8-17 years old surveyed online between September 17 and 22, 2008 by Harris Interactive([R]). This Harris Poll finds:

* Four in five adult Americans agree that the federal government needs better moral leadership, with 59 percent strongly agreeing with that sentiment. These feelings are not limited to adults. Two-thirds of teens, 13 - 17 years old (68%) also agree that the federal government needs better moral leadership;

* Over half of adults (57%) and a similar number of teens (58%) believe that most politicians would take a bribe if they could get away with it.

* Almost three in five adults (58%) believe that most politicians are not honest, a feeling shared by 57 percent of teens. Just one in five adults (19%) and one in ten teens (10%) believe most politicians are honest;

* Looking at adults, there are some interesting party line differences. Independents (64%) are more likely than both Republicans (57%) and Democrats (53%) to believe that politicians would take a bribe if they could get away with it. Democrats (25%) are more likely to believe that most politicians are honest, in comparison to both Republicans (18%) and Independents (15%); and,

* Four in five Republicans (84%), Democrats (81%) and Independents (81%) all believe that the federal government needs better moral leadership.

The study also found that there is some mixed feelings on whether elections will be fair in their state:

* One-third of adults (32%) are extremely or very confident that the election in their state will be fair, three in ten (30%) are fairly confident and one-third (32%) are only somewhat or not at all confident the election will be fair; and,

* Even among those who are not yet old enough to vote, there is a divide over how confident they are in these elections. Just over one-quarter (27%) of youth say they are extremely or very confident the elections will be fair, one-quarter (24%) are fairly confident and one-quarter (25%) of youth say they are only somewhat confident or not at all confident that the election in their state will be fair.

So What?

According to Regina Corso, Director of The Harris Poll, "At the moment, we have the lowest ever number of people who say the country is going in the right direction and near, or at, record low approval ratings for many politicians. Many people are angry and expect more from their politicians - better moral leadership. There is hope that a new administration will provide leadership that has a strong moral element. One bright spot is that most Americans are confident that their votes will matter and the election will be fair."

According to Peter Shafer, Vice President of the Harris Interactive Youth Center of Excellence, "The conventional wisdom in every Presidential election is that since younger voters don't show up at the polls, why should candidates bother addressing the issues that are relevant to them? If these attitudes exist then it's no wonder that the youth turnout is so low. Politicians need to remember that today's youth are watching and are tomorrow's voters. And, they need to be shown that there truly are good, honest and dedicated people in Washington, DC contrary to what they may see and hear in the media."

Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between October 16 and 20, 2008, among 2,119 adults (aged 18 and over). The youth data was conducted online by Harris Interactive within the United States between September 17 and 22, 2008 among 1,098 U.S. 8-17 year olds (473 8-12 year olds; 625 13-18 year olds). Figures for age, sex, race, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online. Full data tables and methodology for this study can be found at www.harrisinteractive.com.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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About the Harris Interactive Youth Center of Excellence

The Youth Center of Excellence conducts research among children, teens, parents, educators, administrators and policy makers that assists in understanding the lives of children, teens and college students. The team specializes in research related to marketing geared toward the young consumer, to public policy related to youth and education, to family and parenting issues, and satisfaction studies and research that measures the standards of K-12 and higher education in districts across the nation. The practice conducts custom and syndicated studies both for non-profit and for-profit organizations.