All due respect?
Americans are divided but, by a small margin, think it was disrespectful for Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to point her finger in the face of President Obama. In a Poll Position national scientific telephone survey, 44% of Americans say it was disrespectful for the governor to point her finger in the face of the president, 41% said it was not disrespectful, 15% had no Opinion.
The issue came to light when President Obama made a stop in Arizona and was greeted at the airport by Governor Brewer. On the tarmac, the two exchanged pleasantries but the situation soon turned south as the two walked behind the president’s limousine. Stories vary, but apparently there was a disagreement over the way President Obama felt he was portrayed in Governor Brewer’s book, “Scorpions for Breakfast”. Whatever the reason, the exchange became animated and Governor Brewer was caught in a picture pointing her finger in the face of President Obama. While the debate over exactly what happened on the tarmac continues, there is no debate about the impact the finger wagging episode had on sales for Governor Brewer’s book. Prior to the finger pointing incident, her book was number 311,472 on the Amazon sales list. It is now number 15 on Amazon.
Men and women were at odds over the finger pointing question. Among women, 48% said it was disrespectful, 36% said it wasn’t, 17% did not have an opinion. Men disagreed with 47% saying the finger wagging was not disrespectful, 40% said it was, 14% did not offer an opinion.
Opinions also differed along racial lines with 64% of African-Americans saying it was disrespectful, 26% said it was not, 10% had no opinion. Among whites, 46% did not think the finger pointing was disrespectful, 39% said it was, 15% did not offer an opinion.
Answers were somewhat predictable along party lines with 64% of Republicans saying the Brewer finger point was not disrespectful, while 73% of Democrats said it was. Independents were more balanced with 47% saying it was disrespectful, 38% said it was not, 16% did not have an opinion.
Poll Position’s scientific telephone survey of 1,186 registered voters nationwide was conducted January 29, 2012 and has a margin of error of ±3%. Poll results are weighted to be a representative sampling of all American adults.
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