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| Politics News - updated 12:45 AM ET Aug 15 |
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| Reuters | AP | Elections | ABCNews | ||
By Alan Elsner, Political Correspondent LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In picking a candidate for vice president of the United States, it would be acceptable to choose a woman, a black or a Jew, somewhat acceptable to pick an Arab American, somewhat less acceptable to nominate a homosexual -- but do not on any account choose an atheist. A Reuters/Zogby poll of likely voters released on Monday found almost no objection to a woman, black or Jew serving as vice president. The question arose after Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore (news - web sites) selected Joseph Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew, as his running mate. Asked if they would rule out a woman as vice president, 4 percent said ``yes'' while 95 percent said ``no.'' Only 2 percent said they would rule out a black for vice president, while 97 percent said they would not. Three percent would rule out a Jew; 96 percent said they would not. The differences between those answers in a poll with a 3.2 percent margin of error were statistically insignificant. But the answers changed when the same question was posed about homosexuals, Arab Americans and atheists. Thirty-eight percent said they would rule out an atheist for vice president; 56 percent said it made no difference. Twenty-three percent said they would rule out a homosexual; 71 percent said they would not. Eleven percent would exclude an Arab American; 83 percent would not. Conclusion: religious belief seems to be more important than sexual orientation and much more important than religious affiliation, gender or race. Asked if they thought the president or vice president of the United States should be a Christian, 38 percent said ``yes'' while 56 percent said ``no.'' Gore's selection of Lieberman was broadly welcomed by voters, though 3 percent were ``very concerned'' and 17 percent ''somewhat concerned'' that he would have divided loyalties between Israel and the United States. Three-quarters of respondents said they were not concerned about that. Less than 2 percent thought the fact that Lieberman was an Orthodox Jew should rule him out for the post of vice president. Twenty-six percent said Lieberman's selection was ``excellent'' and 41 percent said it was ``good.'' Another 17 percent called it ``fair'' and 6 percent thought it was ``poor.'' Those were somewhat higher marks than Republican nominee George W. Bush (news - web sites) got for choosing former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney as his running mate. Still, 78 percent said the choice of Lieberman would not change their vote; 16 percent said it made them more likely to vote for Gore and 3 percent said less likely. The survey was conducted Aug. 11-13.
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