HOW WE SEE IT Arkansas Poll Gets Another Look

The poll is taken each year by the University of Arkansas’ Diane D. Blair Center for Southern Politics and Society.

While it does sort some results to give the views of likelyThe Arkansas Poll came out last week. The political findings made most of the headlines.

Now the election’s over. The rest of the annual tally deserves a closer look.

voters in the next election, one of the most valuable aspects of it is that it takes in the view of a representative sample of all adult Arkansans. It’s a better picture of who we are and what we see than most political “horseracing” polls.

A solid 52 percent of those polled name the economy as the most important problem or issue facing Arkansas today. Notably, this compares to the 56 percent who gave the reply in 2008 - the year of the economic crash in the United States. This is also up considerably from 2009, although only because health care pushed some of the economic concern aside during last year’s contention over health care reform.

The second highest concern of those polled - health care - was practically an afterthought by comparison.

Only 14 percent - one in seven - thought it was the most serious problem we face.

The policy implications of this worry over the economy are simple and clear. The priority on economic development of Gov. Mike Beebe’s administration’s justified. Voters showed their support for similar efforts by overwhelming approval in this year’s vote of a particularly complex amendment to the state constitution raising state caps on interest rates. We endorsed that proposal, but were worried that everyone would find something to vote against in the multi-faceted item.

Likewise, voters approved a measure to allow the state to issue general obligation bonds to finance large business developments. That measure received as much support as the interest rate amendment.

We’re not surprised that most Arkansans disapprove of the federal health care overhaul, but are interested to see that 42 percent of poll respondents who aren’t insured now either disapprove or strongly disapprove of the measure. Another 23 percent of those who are uninsured expressed no opinion.

This leaves a mere 35 percent of those who don’t have insurance who actually support the federal reform.

This result isn’t surprising, perhaps. The bill mandates that the uninsured get health insurance. The figure is, however, a sobering reminder of how reluctant the support is for this, even from those it’s supposed to help the most.

Obesity is clearly regarded as a public health issue now, poll results show.

We also note the drop in the percentage of respondents who believe there should be no legal recognition of a gay couple.

The percentage of those polled who think gays should be allowed to marry is still below 20 percent. The number who would allow gay domestic partnerships is also steady at 27 percent, a number consistent with recent years’ findings. However, the number of people who think there should be no legal recognition of a gay couple is below a clear majority at 48 percent.

This compares to 54 percent in most recent years.

Significantly, the number’s still just 49 percent among very likely voters.

Back to one of the political questions: We didn’t think President Obama’s approval numbers could get worse here. We were wrong. A dismal 35 percent of poll respondents approve of the president’s job performance.

Things are worse among very likely voters. Those who disapprove of the president’s performance outnumber those who approve by a 2-to-1 margin among this group, 62 to 31 percent.

We appreciate the poll with its year-in, year-out tracking of important issues. Just thought we’d mention that.

Opinion, Pages 5 on 11/06/2010

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