Military survey 3 to 1 for Bush

Men and women in the military favor President Bush 3 to 1, according to a survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center, despite reservations about troop strength and an exit strategy in Iraq.

A significant majority of those polled also believe the country is moving in the right direction and that Mr. Bush has better plan for success in Iraq than Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry.

Mr. Bush received a response of favorable from 69 percent of military personnel polled, compared with 29 percent for Mr. Kerry. Twenty-three percent viewed the president unfavorably, compared to Mr. Kerry’s 54 percent.

Among National Guard and military Reserve members, the numbers were even higher for Mr. Bush, with 74 percent saying they favored the president, compared with Mr. Kerry’s 26 percent.

“These are people who have chosen a way of life, they are proud of it. President Bush is their commander in chief and they believe in the mission,” said Annenberg political director Adam Clymer.

When asked whether the country was moving in the right direction, 64 percent of enlisted members said yes, along with 69 percent of guard and reserve members.

“There are a lot of people who support President Bush but don’t think the nation is moving in the right direction, but this is the sunniest outlook I’ve seen,” Mr. Clymer said.

When asked who had a clear plan for success in Iraq, Mr. Kerry has work to do, with 72 percent saying he has no vision for the future in the war-torn country. Regarding Mr. Bush’s plan, there was a near 50-50 split among respondents with 48 percent saying he had no clear plan and 47 percent saying he did.

Among guardsmen and reservists the numbers were similar, with 50 percent saying Mr. Bush did have a clear plan and 44 percent saying he did not, as opposed to 16 percent saying Mr. Kerry had a clear plan and 74 percent saying he did not.

Kerry campaign officials said they are not surprised to see Mr. Bush receiving high support from the military, and released several statements from military family members criticizing the administration for “failing to give [troops] the proper equipment.”

Bush campaign officials said the Kerry camp’s nervousness about military support for the president can be found in its perceived activities to limit the military vote.

Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman said the Democrats have devised a clever strategy to complicate the election by waiting “until the last minute” to file suit to keep independent Ralph Nader off the ballot.

Mr. Mehlman said the late challenge keeps local election officials from printing ballots to send overseas to U.S. troops. Unless the ballots are sent out within the next few days, it is unlikely that members of the military serving in Iraq or Afghanistan could fill them out and get them back to the United States before Nov. 2.

“Here we go again,” said former Sen. Bob Dole, Kansas Republican. “In 2000, Democrats tried to disenfranchise military voters in Florida; they tried to do it again in 2004 using the same cast of characters.”

The Annenberg Center surveyed 655 active military personnel or their family members in the 48 intercontinental states between Sept. 22 and Oct. 5. Family members were also surveyed when the military personnel in the household serving were not available. The survey also compared the answers with those of National Guardsmen, reservists, family members and the general public.

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