Iowans OK with Bill Clinton, George W. Bush as advisers

The vast majority of Iowa Democrats likely to caucus in 2016 like the idea of a President Hillary Clinton looking to her husband, Bill Clinton, for advice.

Most likely Republican caucusgoers like the idea of a President Jeb Bush looking to his brother George W. Bush as an adviser, too, though by a smaller margin.

Those findings come from the latest Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll, which asked likely caucusgoers whether it would be good or bad if the candidates in their respective parties related to America's 42nd and 43rd presidents relied on them for advice upon winning the presidency.

Eighty-three percent of likely Democratic caucusgoers say they think it would be "mostly good" for Hillary Clinton's prospective presidency if she found a close adviser in former U.S. president Bill Clinton.

When Republicans likely to caucus next year imagine a Jeb Bush presidency, 57 percent think it would be "mostly good" for former President George W. Bush to serve as a close adviser.

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Jeb Bush ranks fourth in the poll among possible Republican candidates at 9 percent, tied with former Iowa caucuses winner Mike Huckabee. The former Flordia governor has reportedly characterized George W. Bush, who served as president from 2001 to 2009, as a trusted adviser on foreign policy.

That worries poll participant Nicholas Gluba, a 27-year-old in Iowa City who works in logistics. As a Marine veteran, Gluba said he worries George W. Bush's record on foreign policy remains unpopular for many Americans and would reflect poorly upon a Jeb Bush presidency.

"Essentially, although I personally don't feel that George Bush did a horrible job, I know across the board nationally he was not well-liked as a president," said Gluba, calling U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan "very unpopular wars."

Republican Chelsea Rouse, a stay-at-home mother in Ayrshire who participated in the poll, agrees that George W. Bush's legacy remains divisive. Still, she said, the counsel of George W. Bush in a Jeb Bush presidency would prove ultimately valuable given the former president's experience — mistakes and all.

"He has the position of retrospect now, looking back at the decisions he made, what he could have done different to make situations better or worse, to make two sides agree," said Rouse, 27.

Rouse also said she believes George W. Bush may resonate with conservatives in the party in a way Jeb Bush doesn't. That could benefit Jeb Bush on the campaign trail, too, she said, if employed in a "tactful" way.

Bill Clinton hasn't appeared at any of Hillary Clinton's Iowa events since her campaign launched.

Poll participant Shane Kellow, 26, of Iowa City pegs Hillary Clinton as his second choice for president behind Vice President Joe Biden.

"Even though of course Bill Clinton has his 'I-did-not-have-sexual-relations-with-that-woman' thing, Bill Clinton is one of the best presidents we've ever had," Kellow said.

Kellow, a restaurant server, said he believes Bill Clinton has remained in touch with global affairs and generally popular since his presidency. And among young voters like himself who grew up in the Clinton years, he said, any Clinton scandals of the '90s are forgivable.

But fellow Democrat Christine Urish, 49, of Davenport sees Bill Clinton's scandals as insurmountable. Urish, who also participated in the poll, said Clinton's affair and Whitewater land scandal render him untrustworthy — as an adviser or otherwise.

"Honestly, he has knowledge of this from his time in office that, sure, may be helpful for her," said Urish, a college professor who now supports candidate Bernie Sanders, a Vermont senator. "But it seems to me that he has had a challenge with being ethical in previous times.

"And I want someone who is going to be ethical."

The poll, conducted May 25-29 by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.7 percentage points for questions involving likely Democratic caucusgoers and 4.9 percentage points for those involving Republicans.

COMPLETE POLL RESULTS:

About the Iowa Poll

The Iowa Poll, conducted May 25-29 for The Des Moines Register and Bloomberg Politics by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, is based on telephone interviews with 402 registered Iowa voters who say they definitely or probably will attend the 2016 Republican caucuses and 437 registered voters who say they definitely or probably will attend the 2016 Democratic caucuses.

Interviewers contacted 4,161 randomly selected active voters from the Iowa secretary of state's voter registration list by telephone. Responses were adjusted by age, sex and congressional district to reflect all active voters in the voter registration list.

Questions based on the subsample of 437 likely Democratic caucus attendees have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 4.7 percentage points, and questions based on the subsample of 402 likely Republican caucus attendees have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points. This means that if this survey were repeated using the same questions and the same methodology, 19 times out of 20, the findings would not vary from the percentages shown here by more than plus or minus 4.7 or 4.9 percentage points, respectively. Results based on smaller samples of respondents — such as by gender or age — have a larger margin of error.

Republishing the copyright Iowa Poll without credit to The Des Moines Register and Bloomberg Politics is prohibited.