Survey finds stronger support for Iraq invasion, reflects national trend

(Dec. 3, 2002)--As President Bush continues to present his argument at home and abroad for military invasion of Iraq, a University of Texas at San Antonio survey shows a gain in local support for the proposal.

Based on a random telephone survey of Bexar County adults conducted Oct. 5–14, UTSA sociologist Juanita Firestone reports the number of San Antonians in support of Bush's invasion plan to some degree rose by more than 10 percent following his Oct. 7 address to the nation. The Bexar County findings mirror results from national polls.

Prior to the speech, just over a fourth of all respondents said they "strongly supported" the plan, while three in 10 "supported" it. Nineteen percent of respondents said they opposed the plan, 15 percent "strongly opposed" and 10 percent responded they "didn't know."

Political analysts had indicated before Bush's speech, that while the president sought broad citizen support for his plan, in particular he had also hoped to better inform and influence those who felt they "did not know" enough about the issue to have an opinion.

Responses to the UTSA survey would seem to indicate he achieved both goals, according to Firestone. The percentage of "don't know" responses decreased about 9.4 percent after the speech. Those "supporting" the invasion increased about 6.9 percent, while those "strongly supporting" it increased by 2.3 percent.

"Strong opposition" to an invasion decreased by 3.5 percent, with at least some of those respondents comprising a correlate 3.8 percent increase in those who merely "opposed" such an operation.

While the speech seemed to have the strongest impact on men, younger individuals, Caucasians and those living in the Southeast part of the San Antonio area, Firestone reported the results held generally steady, otherwise, for both men and women and for members of different racial or ethnic groups, regardless of income, educational levels or geographical area of residence.

For more information, e-mail Juanita Firestone or Ruben Martinez.

Download a detailed copy of the survey results in Microsoft Word format.

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