 The inauguration of Barack Obama, the first African American president, was regarded as a new era in the political landscape of the United States. On Jan. 20, large numbers of people across the nation, including on the UC Santa Barbara campus, gathered to watch Obama take the oath of office. The Center for Black Studies Research? held an event at Mosher Alumni House, and the UCen set up TV screens in Corwin Pavilion and The Hub for students, faculty and staff to watch.
Now that Obama is in the Oval Office, Americans have a clear expectation of how they want him to proceed, according to a Zogby survey commissioned by the Walter H. Capps Center at UC Santa Barbara.
The online poll shows that one in five likely voters — 18 percent — said they most wanted Obama to be an honest president, while 12 percent said they most desired a president with integrity. Another 12 percent said they want Obama to be an effective leader emphasizing, in the words of one individual, a “sense of personal responsibility to his leadership of the country.”
The Capps Center’s Wade Clark Roof, co-author of the study, said, “The responses point to a deep, underlying concern for trustworthy leadership.”
In terms of issues, the economy was at the top of the list with 65 percent of respondents. Ending the war in Iraq came in second with 19 percent of respondents while 15 percent are looking for Obama and Congress to address health care.
For Washington’s to-do list, nearly two in three respondents, or 62 percent, said they want lower taxes to relieve the economic burden on workers.
Survey respondents also took the opportunity to offer President Obama some advice on how to get the most from his time in office:
• “...common sense, not party politics.”
• “...clear vision to unify the country, help for the middle class”
• “Bipartisan—needs to be able to effectively work with Republicans”
• “…wisely chosen advisors...”
• “...putting the PEOPLE, not special interests, first”
• “...ability to listen to others with more knowledge”
If you want to add your voice to the discussion, please send us your thoughts or advice for Obama, and we’ll post it on our Web site at www.ucsbalum.com. Please e-mail andrea.huebner@ia.ucsb.edu with your comments.
To see the full survey report, go to www.cappscenter.ucsb.edu.
Andrea Huebner ’91
Coastlines Editor
UC Santa Barbara |
