Voters Seek Honesty in Candidates

By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Sherry Epperly says honesty is the most important trait for a presidential candidate, ahead of compassion, leadership skills and philosophy of government.

Shes hardly alone among voters this election year. In an Associated Press poll, one-third of Americans said honesty was the most important quality they were looking for.

Other findings in the poll, conducted by ICR of Media Pa., suggest indifference toward party labels this year.

Almost half of those polled said it wouldnt matter whether a Democrat or Republican won the presidential election in 2000. And nearly four of 10 said they might consider voting for a third-party candidate, though a majority of 55 percent said they would not.

"I have two small children," Mrs. Epperly, 27, of Fairlawn, Va., said in an interview. "We need morals and we need honesty to raise our children to be moral citizens. We need them to know how to behave in life and know that if you dont tell the truth there are consequences."

She said this years impeachment had influenced her feelings. "How can you tell your children not to lie if the president is not telling the truth?" she asked.

As for party loyalty, Donald Lambert, who is starting a small business in Foley, Ala., near Mobile, said, "The Republicans ... if you have money, they take care of you. Democrats look after the ones who are really low-income. Neither one tends to look after the middle class."

Lambert said he would be fairly likely to consider voting for a third-party candidate, but he also said he hadnt started paying close attention to the campaign.

Indeed, pollsters say the percentage of people who answered that they would consider voting for a third-party candidate is not a reliable measure of eventual support. None of the current Reform Party candidates has shown strength against the Democratic and Republican front-runners.

The telephone poll of 1,023 people was taken Nov. 19-23. It has an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

In the poll:

On qualities, 33 percent chose honesty as the top trait, 16 percent said that having a candidate "who cares about people like you" was most important, 15 percent said leadership skills and 13 percent chose having a vision. Ten percent said the top trait was a candidates willingness to stand up for beliefs, and 8 percent said it was most important that someone share the voters view of government.

Asked which party would leave them better off, 48 percent said it wouldnt make much difference if a Republican or a Democrat won the presidential election. Twenty-four percent said a Democrat, 21 percent a Republican. Asked which party they favored for Congress, 39 percent said Democratic, 33 percent Republican. Eleven percent said they wouldnt vote for either party in House and Senate races.

On issues, education was chosen as the most important by one of every four respondents, followed by Social Security and Medicare, the economy, the nations moral values and health care - all grouped fairly closely in second place and chosen by about one out of six - followed by taxes, chosen by about one out of 12.

Young adults between 18 and 34 were most likely to list education as the top issue, while older and lower-income Americans were more likely to point to Social Security and Medicare.

The low standing of taxes as an issue comes at a time when the public has generally positive feelings about the economy. Four out of 10 said they were better off than four years ago and about the same number said their economic standing was the same.

On the presidential race, Texas Gov. George W. Bush led Arizona Sen. John McCain by a 5-1 margin among those inclined to vote Republican (60 percent to 12 percent). Vice President Al Gore led former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley, 43 percent to 32 percent among those inclined to vote Democratic.

While Bradleys support has generally ranged from the high 20s to low 30s in recent polls, Gores support has ranged from the 40s to 60s, depending on the poll.

Nancy Coleman, a 40-year-old teacher from Santa Clara, Calif., said she tends to support Democrats but hasnt gotten excited about either candidate. She doesnt know enough about Bradley, though he seems conservative to her, and shes not convinced that Gore is her candidate.

"Gore seems pro-technology, which would be helpful in Silicon Valley," she said. "But I dont get a feel for him in any other way. Hes kind of a nonentity.