Economy Now the Most Important Issue for Americans by a Wider Margin

Business Wire, Sept 24, 2008

Ratings of President, Congress at or Near Historic Low Points

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Headline of release should read: Economy Now the Most Important Issue for Americans by a Wider Margin (sted Economy Now the Most Important Issue for Americans by a Low Margin).

The corrected release reads:

ECONOMY NOW THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE FOR AMERICANS BY A WIDER MARGIN

Ratings of President, Congress at or Near Historic Low Points

The latest Harris Poll finds that the financial crisis has moved the economy, which was already at the top of the list of concerns for Americans, far ahead of all other political issues that people want the government to address. According to some of the findings of a new Harris Poll of 1,015 U.S. adults surveyed by telephone between September 17 and 21, 2008 by Harris Interactive([R]):

* Fully 54 percent of adults now feel that the economy is one of the two most important issues for the government to address. This is up from 43 percent in August, 38 percent in June and only 13 percent in October of last year. It is the first time in several years that any issue has topped 50 percent;

* The only other issues to be mentioned by more than 9 percent of adults are health care (21%, up from 15% in August), "the war", (17%) and gas and oil prices (11%; down from 15% in August and 20% in June). This is the first time in more than four years that less than one in five Americans have mentioned "the war" (which for purposes of this poll may include the war in Iraq or Afghanistan and possibly the "war on terror");

* President Bush's ratings (24% positive and 75% negative) are equal to his lowest-ever ratings in April and virtually unchanged since then;

* A massive 77 percent to 16 percent majority believes the country is on the wrong track, in which is actually an improvement over June, when they were 80 percent to 14 percent;

* An even larger 81 percent to 16 percent majority gives Congress negative ratings, almost as bad as the 83 percent to 13 percent who felt this way in June; and,

* The ratings of the Republicans (74% negative) and the Democrats (75% negative) in Congress are both extraordinarily bad, and at or very close to their historic lows.

So What?

With only six weeks until the Elections on November 4th, it seems that in 2008, as in 1992, "it is the economy, stupid" and the voters' confidence in the candidates' ability to handle the economy will determine who will be our next president. This poll also underlines the importance of "change" in the election; the public continues to be very dissatisfied with both President Bush and Congress and believe that the country is headed in the wrong direction.

While nothing is set in concrete, and many things may happen to influence the election over the next six weeks, it seems highly probable that the winner will be the candidate who is perceived to be better at handling the economy and moving the country in a new direction. But Donald Rumsfeld was right when he said that "stuff happens", along with Yogi Berra who believed "it ain't over until it's over", so stay tuned for six more weeks of this roller coaster ride.

Methodology

The Harris Poll([R]) was conducted by telephone within the United States between September 17 and 21, 2008 among a nationwide cross section of 1,015 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region, number of adults in the household, size of place (urbanicity) and number of phone lines in the household were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.

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.

J35109

QA1, QA2, QA3

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research, powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

Harris Interactive Inc. 9/08