Campaigning in an area heavily dependent on the military, Bush said, "We will not have an all-volunteer army" ...


Developed.

Poll: Troops prefer Bush's leadership style to Kerry's

WASHINGTON — In a survey of U.S. troops and their families, President Bush has emerged as the strong favorite over John Kerry, with 69 percent saying they place greater trust in Bush to handle the responsibilities of commander-in-chief.

The poll, conducted by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center, stopped short of asking respondents which presidential candidate they would vote for. Adam Clymer, the survey's political director, cited a 1948 law prohibiting polling of troops about their voting intentions.

But Clymer said the results clearly reflect a significant preference for Bush.

The survey found that 69 percent had a favorable view of Bush, while only 29 percent professed a favorable view of Kerry. On character traits, Bush drew higher ratings than Kerry for being caring, knowledgeable, optimistic, consistent and a strong leader — although respondents also considered Bush more stubborn.

The military sample was far more likely to be Republican (43 percent) than Democratic (19 percent) or independent (28 percent). But GOP partisanship appeared to account for only some of Bush's advantage, Clymer said. He noted that on many questions, the Republican respondents were more pro-Bush than their fellow party members in the general population, as measured by another, larger Annenberg survey. Independents in the military sample also were more supportive of Bush.