Poll finds approval of Bush at a new low
Adam Nagourney and Janet Elder/NYT NYT Tuesday, June 29, 2004
But his decline does little to boost Kerry
President George W. Bush's job approval rating has fallen to the lowest number of his presidency, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll, amid stiffening opposition to the Iraq war, anxiety that the invasion is inviting domestic terrorist attacks and skepticism that the White House has been truthful about the war or about prison abuses at Abu Ghraib.
.
A solid majority of Americans in the Times/CBS poll, which was completed before the handover of power on Monday to an interim Iraqi government, said the war has not been worth its cost in American lives. In addition, most said that the Bush administration did not have a clear plan to restore order to Iraq, and 40 percent said they supported withdrawing troops from the country as soon as possible, even if Iraq had not become stable.
.
The Times/CBS News poll also found concerns, albeit not as sharp, about Bush's likely Democratic challenger, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts.
.
While nearly 40 percent of Americans said they did not have an opinion about Kerry, despite the earliest and most expensive television advertising campaign ever conducted by both sides, he was disliked more than he was liked.
.
More than 50 percent of respondents said Kerry tells voters what they want to hear, suggesting success by Bush in one of his main political efforts this spring: to portray Kerry as a flip-flopper.
.
Perhaps even more significant in this election, more Americans said they trusted Bush more than Kerry to steer the nation through a foreign crisis, and to protect Americans from terrorism.
.
Beyond that though, the Times/CBS News poll contained a series of warning flags for Bush, and strong evidence that his decision to take the nation to war against Iraq had placed him in a precarious political position. From that perspective, Bush appears to have a lot riding on the transfer of power that he celebrated Monday.
.
Just 42 percent of Americans said they approved of the way Bush was handling his job, the lowest finding in a Times survey since the beginning of Bush's presidency; 51 percent said they disapproved. In the past 25 years, presidents with job approval ratings below 50 percent in the spring have gone on to lose in the fall; Bush's father had a 34 percent job approval rating at this time in 1992.
.
Similarly, 45 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion of Bush, again the highest measure the Times has found since the beginning of Bush's presidency. And 57 percent said the country was going in the wrong direction, also a revealing measure used by pollsters to gauge discontent with an incumbent office holder.
.
But for all the signs of trouble for Bush, the poll found little evidence that Kerry has been able to take advantage of the president's difficulties, a finding that is all the more striking, given that Kerry has spent $60 million on television advertising over the past three months.
.
The poll found the two men tied, with Kerry supported by 45 percent of registered voters and Bush supported by 44 percent. Of those voters, three-quarters said their minds were made up and nothing could change them. When Ralph Nader, who is running as an independent was included, he drew 5 percent, leaving 42 percent for Kerry and 43 percent for Bush.
.
The nationwide poll of 1,053 adults, including 875 registered voters, was taken by telephone June 23 through 27. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
.
The finding left little doubt about how much Bush's decision to go to war was proving to be perhaps the most fateful decision he has made as president.
.
Sixty percent of respondents including a majority of independents said the war had not been worth the cost. About half said that the White House did not have a clear plan to accomplish the transfer of power that began Monday.
.
The New York Times
See more of the world that matters - click here for home delivery of the International Herald Tribune.
< < Back to Start of Article But his decline does little to boost Kerry
President George W. Bush's job approval rating has fallen to the lowest number of his presidency, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll, amid stiffening opposition to the Iraq war, anxiety that the invasion is inviting domestic terrorist attacks and skepticism that the White House has been truthful about the war or about prison abuses at Abu Ghraib.
.
A solid majority of Americans in the Times/CBS poll, which was completed before the handover of power on Monday to an interim Iraqi government, said the war has not been worth its cost in American lives. In addition, most said that the Bush administration did not have a clear plan to restore order to Iraq, and 40 percent said they supported withdrawing troops from the country as soon as possible, even if Iraq had not become stable.
.
The Times/CBS News poll also found concerns, albeit not as sharp, about Bush's likely Democratic challenger, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts.
.
While nearly 40 percent of Americans said they did not have an opinion about Kerry, despite the earliest and most expensive television advertising campaign ever conducted by both sides, he was disliked more than he was liked.
.
More than 50 percent of respondents said Kerry tells voters what they want to hear, suggesting success by Bush in one of his main political efforts this spring: to portray Kerry as a flip-flopper.
.
Perhaps even more significant in this election, more Americans said they trusted Bush more than Kerry to steer the nation through a foreign crisis, and to protect Americans from terrorism.
.
Beyond that though, the Times/CBS News poll contained a series of warning flags for Bush, and strong evidence that his decision to take the nation to war against Iraq had placed him in a precarious political position. From that perspective, Bush appears to have a lot riding on the transfer of power that he celebrated Monday.
.
Just 42 percent of Americans said they approved of the way Bush was handling his job, the lowest finding in a Times survey since the beginning of Bush's presidency; 51 percent said they disapproved. In the past 25 years, presidents with job approval ratings below 50 percent in the spring have gone on to lose in the fall; Bush's father had a 34 percent job approval rating at this time in 1992.
.
Similarly, 45 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion of Bush, again the highest measure the Times has found since the beginning of Bush's presidency. And 57 percent said the country was going in the wrong direction, also a revealing measure used by pollsters to gauge discontent with an incumbent office holder.
.
But for all the signs of trouble for Bush, the poll found little evidence that Kerry has been able to take advantage of the president's difficulties, a finding that is all the more striking, given that Kerry has spent $60 million on television advertising over the past three months.
.
The poll found the two men tied, with Kerry supported by 45 percent of registered voters and Bush supported by 44 percent. Of those voters, three-quarters said their minds were made up and nothing could change them. When Ralph Nader, who is running as an independent was included, he drew 5 percent, leaving 42 percent for Kerry and 43 percent for Bush.
.
The nationwide poll of 1,053 adults, including 875 registered voters, was taken by telephone June 23 through 27. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
.
The finding left little doubt about how much Bush's decision to go to war was proving to be perhaps the most fateful decision he has made as president.
.
Sixty percent of respondents including a majority of independents said the war had not been worth the cost. About half said that the White House did not have a clear plan to accomplish the transfer of power that began Monday.
.
The New York Times But his decline does little to boost Kerry
President George W. Bush's job approval rating has fallen to the lowest number of his presidency, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll, amid stiffening opposition to the Iraq war, anxiety that the invasion is inviting domestic terrorist attacks and skepticism that the White House has been truthful about the war or about prison abuses at Abu Ghraib.
.
A solid majority of Americans in the Times/CBS poll, which was completed before the handover of power on Monday to an interim Iraqi government, said the war has not been worth its cost in American lives. In addition, most said that the Bush administration did not have a clear plan to restore order to Iraq, and 40 percent said they supported withdrawing troops from the country as soon as possible, even if Iraq had not become stable.
.
The Times/CBS News poll also found concerns, albeit not as sharp, about Bush's likely Democratic challenger, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts.
.
While nearly 40 percent of Americans said they did not have an opinion about Kerry, despite the earliest and most expensive television advertising campaign ever conducted by both sides, he was disliked more than he was liked.
.
More than 50 percent of respondents said Kerry tells voters what they want to hear, suggesting success by Bush in one of his main political efforts this spring: to portray Kerry as a flip-flopper.
.
Perhaps even more significant in this election, more Americans said they trusted Bush more than Kerry to steer the nation through a foreign crisis, and to protect Americans from terrorism.
.
Beyond that though, the Times/CBS News poll contained a series of warning flags for Bush, and strong evidence that his decision to take the nation to war against Iraq had placed him in a precarious political position. From that perspective, Bush appears to have a lot riding on the transfer of power that he celebrated Monday.
.
Just 42 percent of Americans said they approved of the way Bush was handling his job, the lowest finding in a Times survey since the beginning of Bush's presidency; 51 percent said they disapproved. In the past 25 years, presidents with job approval ratings below 50 percent in the spring have gone on to lose in the fall; Bush's father had a 34 percent job approval rating at this time in 1992.
.
Similarly, 45 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion of Bush, again the highest measure the Times has found since the beginning of Bush's presidency. And 57 percent said the country was going in the wrong direction, also a revealing measure used by pollsters to gauge discontent with an incumbent office holder.
.
But for all the signs of trouble for Bush, the poll found little evidence that Kerry has been able to take advantage of the president's difficulties, a finding that is all the more striking, given that Kerry has spent $60 million on television advertising over the past three months.
.
The poll found the two men tied, with Kerry supported by 45 percent of registered voters and Bush supported by 44 percent. Of those voters, three-quarters said their minds were made up and nothing could change them. When Ralph Nader, who is running as an independent was included, he drew 5 percent, leaving 42 percent for Kerry and 43 percent for Bush.
.
The nationwide poll of 1,053 adults, including 875 registered voters, was taken by telephone June 23 through 27. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
.
The finding left little doubt about how much Bush's decision to go to war was proving to be perhaps the most fateful decision he has made as president.
.
Sixty percent of respondents including a majority of independents said the war had not been worth the cost. About half said that the White House did not have a clear plan to accomplish the transfer of power that began Monday.
.
The New York Times But his decline does little to boost Kerry
President George W. Bush's job approval rating has fallen to the lowest number of his presidency, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll, amid stiffening opposition to the Iraq war, anxiety that the invasion is inviting domestic terrorist attacks and skepticism that the White House has been truthful about the war or about prison abuses at Abu Ghraib.
.
A solid majority of Americans in the Times/CBS poll, which was completed before the handover of power on Monday to an interim Iraqi government, said the war has not been worth its cost in American lives. In addition, most said that the Bush administration did not have a clear plan to restore order to Iraq, and 40 percent said they supported withdrawing troops from the country as soon as possible, even if Iraq had not become stable.
.
The Times/CBS News poll also found concerns, albeit not as sharp, about Bush's likely Democratic challenger, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts.
.
While nearly 40 percent of Americans said they did not have an opinion about Kerry, despite the earliest and most expensive television advertising campaign ever conducted by both sides, he was disliked more than he was liked.
.
More than 50 percent of respondents said Kerry tells voters what they want to hear, suggesting success by Bush in one of his main political efforts this spring: to portray Kerry as a flip-flopper.
.
Perhaps even more significant in this election, more Americans said they trusted Bush more than Kerry to steer the nation through a foreign crisis, and to protect Americans from terrorism.
.
Beyond that though, the Times/CBS News poll contained a series of warning flags for Bush, and strong evidence that his decision to take the nation to war against Iraq had placed him in a precarious political position. From that perspective, Bush appears to have a lot riding on the transfer of power that he celebrated Monday.
.
Just 42 percent of Americans said they approved of the way Bush was handling his job, the lowest finding in a Times survey since the beginning of Bush's presidency; 51 percent said they disapproved. In the past 25 years, presidents with job approval ratings below 50 percent in the spring have gone on to lose in the fall; Bush's father had a 34 percent job approval rating at this time in 1992.
.
Similarly, 45 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion of Bush, again the highest measure the Times has found since the beginning of Bush's presidency. And 57 percent said the country was going in the wrong direction, also a revealing measure used by pollsters to gauge discontent with an incumbent office holder.
.
But for all the signs of trouble for Bush, the poll found little evidence that Kerry has been able to take advantage of the president's difficulties, a finding that is all the more striking, given that Kerry has spent $60 million on television advertising over the past three months.
.
The poll found the two men tied, with Kerry supported by 45 percent of registered voters and Bush supported by 44 percent. Of those voters, three-quarters said their minds were made up and nothing could change them. When Ralph Nader, who is running as an independent was included, he drew 5 percent, leaving 42 percent for Kerry and 43 percent for Bush.
.
The nationwide poll of 1,053 adults, including 875 registered voters, was taken by telephone June 23 through 27. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
.
The finding left little doubt about how much Bush's decision to go to war was proving to be perhaps the most fateful decision he has made as president.
.
Sixty percent of respondents including a majority of independents said the war had not been worth the cost. About half said that the White House did not have a clear plan to accomplish the transfer of power that began Monday.
.
The New York Times
http://www.iht.com/articles/527088.html
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
