Military personnel, families trust Bush over Kerry, poll finds

[tomfodw]

Geez, talk about following a blind man over a cliff! George W. Bush is sacrificing them in a vain attempt to steal some vicarious military glory, and they're lining up to kiss his ass. (Like the Swift Boat patsies, squandering their honor to sell books for John O'Neill.)

It just makes me wonder - is there anything George W. Bush can do to lose the support of his blindly loyal followers?

Military personnel, families trust Bush over Kerry, poll finds

By Charles Homans

Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON - Despite Sen. John Kerry's attempts to woo the military vote, active-duty military personnel and their families remain solidly behind President Bush, according to a survey released Friday. Pollsters are legally barred from directly asking military personnel whom they plan to vote for. But when asked which candidate they would trust more as their commander in chief, survey participants chose Bush over Kerry by a greater than 2-to-1 ratio.

Among the 655 active-duty personnel and their families polled, 69 percent said they had a favorable opinion of Bush. Only 29 percent said they felt the same way about Kerry. The University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center sponsored the survey.

The disparity between Bush and Kerry isn't as great as that found in a Military Times' voluntary survey of more than 4,000 military personnel released this week. In it, Bush enjoyed a 55-point advantage, leading Kerry 73 percent to 18 percent. "Part of it has to do with (Kerry's) anti-Vietnam protests, which are as salient for the military as his record of combat valor," said Peter Feaver, a political scientist at Duke University in Durham, N.C., who studies politics in the military.

To some extent, the findings reflect that the military is heavily Republican. Four in 10 of those polled said they were Republicans, twice the number that said they were Democrats. In addition, only 18 percent of those surveyed - active-duty troops, including National Guard and Reserve personnel, or their family members - credited Kerry with having a clear plan for Iraq. "What makes it surprising is that a lot of people thought there were new dynamics in the election this year, and the new dynamics involved military dissatisfaction with Bush for the Iraq war," Feaver said.

:::snip:::

The Annenberg survey was conducted between Sept. 22 and Oct. 5 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

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To read more about the survey, including a summary of its findings, go to: http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/naes/index.htm

[evilqueen]

1. As I replied elsewhere to this Annenberg Poll...

Who did they poll?

Officers tend to support Republicans.
Enlisteds tend to support Democrats.

Enlisteds will also sometimes reply to polls and surveys the way they think they are supposed to/expected to, even if they don't really feel that way on the inside.

[mmonk]

2. A poll based on Military Time's readers

Read Michael Moore's new book which is comprised of letters and emails to him from active military serving in Iraq and their families. These letters reveal no love for this administration.

[politicat]

4. Military Times is not to be trusted as balanced.

If Stars and Stripes is the "house organ", then MT is the Faux network of military personnel. It's very right wing.

Further, voluntary studies are never accurate. Self-reporters are motivated reporters. People who don't care, don't know about it, or don't happen to be in the right place at the right time don't make their voice known.

Pcat

[wishlist]

3. Important point is that 80% in Military are Repubs/Independent, not Dem,

Numbers today on TV showed that only 19% of the military are Democrats, so it should come as no surprise that there is much stronger support for Bush among ranks of military.

[MemphisTiger]

5. They are taught to support their commander-in-chief

no matter the party. It's part of the chain of command. Also, the republican party did get a big boost from the military in the 80's due to the military build up under Reagan. Many officers in the service now were commissioned during the 80's.

[newyawker99]

6. Hi MemphisTiger!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[kentuck]

7. The military needs to be disconnected from political party propaganda.

A good first step would be to remove Rush Limbaugh from Armed Forces Radio...It is a dangerous connection to have the military so closely allied with a wanna-be dictator and unstable leader. No good can come from it.

[w4rma]

8. Yup. That is the primary problem. Rush is piped into our soldiers barracks

and meeting establishments.

[liberal N proud]

9. They are brainwashed, I am telling you. I have seen it with my brothers

and brother-in-law.
Come out of the military as repukes.
Were not raised that way