In sharp contrast to the proclamation 40 years ago from President John F. Kennedy that Americans should ask what they can do for their country, rather than what their country can do for them, these responses suggest that the public is indeed more focused on what their government can do for them in this election cycle. Clearly, Social Security, healthcare, taxes and the economy are all issues that have direct pocketbook implications for the average American. If the next president can take away any message from these findings, it is perhaps that he will be called upon to use his office and the forces of government to make the personal lives of the people who elected him better, particularly economically. The economy and Medicare, on the other hand, are top concerns for Democrats, but are a lower priority for Republicans. Healthcare is the single most important issue for women, but drops down the list considerably among men.
Men are more interested than are women in the next president attacking the economy and taxes.
Gun control and defense are higher priorities for men than they are for women. For Americans 65 and older, perhaps not surprisingly, the top priorities are Social Security, care for the elderly and healthcare. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.