Most in Poll Want War Funding Cut - Bush's Approval Rating Ties All-Time Low

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/01/AR2007100101235.html?hpid=topnews">Most in Poll Want War Funding Cut

Bush's Approval Rating Ties All-Time Low

By Jon Cohen and Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, October 2, 2007; Page A01

Most Americans oppose fully funding President Bush's $190 billion request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a
sizable majority support an expansion of a children's health insurance bill he has promised to veto, putting Bush and
many congressional Republicans on the wrong side of public opinion on upcoming foreign and domestic policy battles.



The new Washington Post-ABC News poll also shows deep dissatisfaction with the president and with Congress. Bush's approval rating stands at 33 percent, equal to his career low in Post-ABC polls. And just 29 percent approve of the job Congress is doing, its lowest approval rating in this poll since November 1995, when Republicans controlled both the House
and Senate. It also represents a 14-point drop since Democrats took control in January.

Despite discontent with Congress this year, the public rates congressional Republicans (29 percent approve) lower
than congressional Democrats (38 percent approve). When the parties are pitted directly against each other, the public broadly favors Democrats on Iraq, health care, the federal budget and the economy. Only on the issue of terrorism are Republicans at parity with Democrats. Part of the displeasure with Congress stems from the stalemate between Democrats and the White House over Iraq policy. Most Americans do not believe Congress has gone far enough in opposing the war, with liberal Democrats especially critical of their party's failure to force the president into a significant change in policy.

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Overall, 55 percent of Americans want congressional Democrats to do more to challenge the president's Iraq policies, while a third think the Democrats have gone too far. The level of agitation for more action in opposition to the war has not dissipated since August 2005, when Democrats were the minority party in Congress.

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