Remember immigration, the issue that was white-hot before the price of gas shot to $3.50 a gallon?

Way, way back on, say, April 15, people were very upset about it. Now we’re talking about whether there’s enough ethanol to take the place of MTBE.

The recent neck-snapping hot-issue about-face shows just how quickly the political world’s attention can turn these days.

Of course the immigration problem is still here, and, unlike the price of gas, it is unlikely to fix itself. So after we get through calling for gouging investigations, windfall profits taxes, and the like, we’ll be back to immigration.

A recent Gallup poll, taken April 10-13, showed the extraordinary increase in the number of people who believe the issue is the most important problem facing the country. The poll divided economic issues from noneconomic issues, and it found, quite reasonably, that the noneconomic issue most people named as the country’s most important problem is the war in Iraq. Overall, 25 percent of those surveyed said Iraq.

But the second most important problem — with 19 percent — was immigration.

That’s a huge change from a few months ago. In mid-March, just 6 percent named immigration as the most important problem. In January, it was 3 percent. Last October, it was 2 percent. That has changed, to say the least.

The poll offered some insights into other issues as well. The third most important noneconomic problem cited by voters Gallup called an amalgam of “dissatisfaction with government/Congress/politicians/candidates, poor leadership, corruption.” Eight percent of those surveyed called that the most important problem — a number that has actually gone down from 12 percent last December and 10 percent in February.

The fourth and fifth most important issues were healthcare and — how things change — terrorism, each of which was named the most important issue by 6 percent of those surveyed.

But that’s the big picture. Inside the numbers, in the breakdowns by party, is an important story about which issues are most appealing to which voters.

The first thing that is clear is that Republicans and Democrats have almost mirror-image opinions on Iraq and immigration.

Thirty percent of self-identified Democrats named the war as the nation’s most important problem, while just 15 percent of self-identified Republicans agreed. (The number was 21 percent for independents).

But 30 percent of Republicans named immigration as the most important issue facing the country, while 11 percent of Democrats said so. (For self-identified independents, the number was 16 percent.)

What explains the difference? Perhaps Republicans believe the war is going better than Democrats do. Or perhaps those in the GOP worry about the war and don’t really want to think about it.

On immigration, Republicans are more likely to see problems coming into the country across the Mexican border, while Democrats see potential voters. And some of the unions that support Democrats, like UNITE HERE and the Service Employees International Union, see more dues-paying members.

On the issue of government corruption, 5 percent of Republicans cited that as the most important problem, while 11 percent of Democrats agreed (for independents, the number was 8 percent). That probably shows that Democrats have made some progress pushing their “culture of corruption” line, but they risk being slammed as hypocrites if they don’t take care of their own ethical offenders, like Reps. William Jefferson (La.) and Alan Mollohan (W.Va.).

In addition, the decline in the number of people who named government corruption as the most important issue might indicate that it is slowly losing its electoral appeal in the face of all the other issues voters have to consider.

The numbers on healthcare — 3 percent of Republicans called it the biggest problem, versus 6 percent of Democrats and 6 percent of independents — probably just reflect the traditional differences in emphasis that the parties place on the issue.

And finally, on terrorism, 8 percent of Republicans called it the biggest problem, versus 6 percent of Democrats and 5 percent of independents. That seems to say that, barring some future attack, the GOP’s national-security appeal is a diminishing asset.

One other interesting thing about the Gallup survey is the number of high-profile issues that are not the top concern of very many voters.

Several of them scored at 1 percent or less on the most important scale. Among them: Abortion. Gay issues. Medicare. Social Security. Environment. Drugs. Natural-disaster relief effort and funding. Gap between rich and poor. Corporate corruption. Race relations. Guns. Election reform.

There are plenty of messages in there. Messages, for example, for Democrats who plan to make the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina a centerpiece of their November victory strategy.

“This is a searing, burning issue,” party chairman Howard Dean told The New York Times last week. “I think it’s going to cost George Bush his legacy, and it’s going to cost the Republicans the House and the Senate. …”

Is that true? Looking at the numbers, the answer is probably not — not in this neck-snapping hot-issue about-face world.

York is a White House correspondent for National Review. His column appears in The Hill each week.
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