Support for Bush's War on Terror Slips, Poll Shows

[kskiska]

Public anxiety over mounting casualties in Iraq and the doubts about long-term consequences of the war continue to rise and have helped to erase President Bush's once-formidable advantage over Sen. John F. Kerry on who is best able to deal with terrorist threats, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Exactly half the country now approves of the way Bush is managing the U.S. war on terrorism, down 13 points since April, according to the poll. Barely two months ago, Bush comfortably led Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee, by 21 percentage points when voters were asked which man they trusted to deal with the terrorist threat. Today the country is evenly divided, with 48 percent preferring Kerry and 47 percent favoring Bush.

With less than 10 days to go before the United States turns over governing power to a new government in Iraq, the survey shows that Americans are coming to a mixed judgment about the costs and benefits of the war. Campaign advisers to both Bush and Kerry believe voters' conclusions about Bush and Iraq will play a decisive role in determining the outcome of the November election.

The shift is potentially significant because Bush has consistently received higher marks on fighting terrorism than on Iraq. If the decline signals a permanent loss of confidence in his handling of the campaign against terrorism, that could undermine a central part of Bush's reelection campaign message.

(snip)

Fewer than half of those surveyed -- 47 percent -- say the war in Iraq was worth fighting, while 52 percent say it was not, the highest level of disapproval recorded in Post-ABC News polls. Seven in 10 Americans now say there has been an "unacceptable" level of casualties in Iraq, up six points from April and also a new high in Post-ABC News polling

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A58293-2004Jun21?language=printer

[Justice]

1. I read this poll to say

That if heaven forbid we have another attack in this country, Bush is done, over, cooked.

[DeepModem Mom]

12. And, I hope, a deterrence to any who might attack us...

with the expectation of boosting Mr. Bush's electoral chances.

[Arugula Latte]

16. Well, that can't be right

Jeez, Bill Schneider demanded, uh, I mean, guaranteed that the entire country would rally around our fearless "My Pet Goat" president in case of attack. Then goat boy would be handily re-elected. :eyes:

[PROGRESSIVE1]

20. Maybe then people will see how bad Bush really is?!?

It would take more disaster for America too see what an SOB * really is.

:eyes:

[troublemaker]

2. Ha! "honest and trustworthy" is in play/

But by a 52 percent to 39 percent margin, Kerry is seen as more honest and trustworthy -- a troubling finding for Bush whose truthfulness in the run up to the war in Iraq has been called into question.

[West Coast Democrat]

7. That number is HUGE

that's got to have Mr. Rove worried.

[struggle4progress]

14. Boy, Boosh's ads have really paid off!

:evilgrin:

[phillybri]

40. Kos nailed it: A flip-flopper is better than a liar...

:-)

[West Coast Democrat]

3. The latest Pew Poll had similar results

showing that a majority of Americans believe the actions in Iraq are hurting the "war on terror", and that Bush does not have a clear plan going forward.

[West Coast Democrat]

4. Overall Job Disapproval at new high: 51% (47% approve)

Bush's overall job approval rating held steady at 47 percent, at its low point in Post-ABC News polls, while his disapproval rating reached a new high of 51 percent. That leaves Bush in a shaky position politically, based on the rankings of other recent presidents seeking reelection.

[sniffa]

5. woohoo

this is awesome and we have 4 months of bush's eroding credibiLity.

[Parche]

6. war on terra

Because it is his quote war of choice, not necessity!!

[gratuitous]

8. Gee, and after the Bush campaign spent all that money, too!

The "burn rate" for the two campaigns is going in wildly divergent directions, and the Bushistas have spent a whole lot of money in the last three months trying to convince people that Stupidhead knows what he's doing.

Instead, the polls are running against him, support for his phony war is eroding, and all of his mudslinging at Kerry hasn't quite had the effect the campaign was wanting (despite the best efforts of the Times - no, not Washington, New York, see Jody Wilgoren's latest clueless screed).

Bush has run through quite a bit of his campaign war chest, and his big money donors are beginning to wonder what sort of return they can expect on further investment. If the funds begin drying up, it could be a long four months for Stupidhead, unable to strike back as the truth first leaks, then gushes forth in a torrent about his malfeasance and incompetence.

Let all of us resolve to put forth our best effort in the coming months to pry this fraud out of our White House, and install someone who respects the voice of the people, and won't dismiss nationwide demonstrations of millions of people as a "focus group."

[aquart]

11. Will he survive to be nominated?

The Republican convention is going to be a very scary place. They have to be terrified they're going to lose Congress.

Not to mention, today's news about Rowland can't be making Republicans on the the state level happy, either.

[gratuitous]

15. I don't know

Certainly, I'd love to hear Stupidhead suddenly announce that after a "superb job, fabulously done" he's not going to run for re-election, and retiring to Crawford or the nearest country without an extradition treaty. But until that actually happens, and the last precinct in the last state has closed and the ballots counted, and the election certified for John Kerry, I plan to press on toward the goal.

[gristy]

17. great post, gratuitous

Love the stupidhead moniker. Fits so well.

[AndyTiedye]

21. Kerry Has Burned Through Almost All of His Money

Bush* still has more than twice as much, and can easily raise even more.

I can't imagine how but most of that record fundraising that Kerry has done is already spent,
but it's spent, it's gone, and to very little effect.
With only $27M left, It's going to be hard to answer the onslaught.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1828377

[lancdem]

24. Kerry has to spend his money by the convention

Bush has until his convention. BTW, Bush's lead in money is $63 million to $27 million. That's barely 2-1. Kerry's already survived the onslaught. At the beginning of March, Bush had $110 million and Kerry $2 million.

Bush is the one who's gotten nothing for his money.

[TahitiNut]

30. "barely 2-1"?? Actually, it's exactly 7-3.

:shrug: (Multiples of nine are easy.) :silly:

[Hekate]

35. * is sucking up all the donor money, leaving little for others

A recent Los Angeles Times article (sorry, no link) said that other Republican candidates are getting concerned that donors are giving their max allowable to just one candidate -- Bush. They are worrying that donors are going to be feeling tapped out when the House and Senate candidates come calling.

I like that. That's a nice thought. It could mean tipping the balance in at least the Senate, and retiring a few more Repubs from the House.

As for Kerry, he is managing to tap into the Dean network and concept of small-amount donors. If we keep giving what we can as often as we can, we will have an effect and individually still be nowhere near the big-donor limit. Most of us can afford to do the same with our more local candidates, too. Kerry still needs the big donors, don't mistake me, but Kerry needs us too, and we mustn't let him forget it once he and Teresa are all moved in.

Hekate
I want my country back

[markses]

28. Great post!

"clueless screed"! I love it! :-)

Yes, I also think the most remarkable thing about Bush's consistently eroding support has been the massive amounts of money he's been channeling into advertisement over the last three months. Imagine if he hadn't spent $80 million (plus!) on TV ads during that time! He's gonna run out of money before the world turns into a make-believe land.

Best efforts!

[West Coast Democrat]

9. Kerry's advantages over Bush extended to a range of issues

Another snip:

" The survey found that Kerry's advantages over Bush extended to a range of issues. When asked which they trusted to do the better job, Kerry held a double-digit advantage over Bush as the candidate the public preferred to deal with health care (21 points), taxes (13 points), education (10 points), prescription drug benefits for the elderly (12 points) and smaller leads on handling international affairs (8 points), the economy (5 points) and the federal budget deficit (4 points).

In only one area -- Iraq -- was Bush more trusted, but by a narrow 50 percent to 45 percent margin. "

[rumguy]

10. Bush is losing his war on terra

[Cocoa]

13. wait til the people find out Iraq didn't do 9/11

a majority still believes Saddam was involved, when they wake up their minds will be blown.

[Tarheel_Dem]

18. and the public hasn't even seen F911 yet......

hope it has the desired impact

[HawkerHurricane]

19. Pass the word.

The 'War on Terror' ended in March of 2003, when Bushco went after Iraq in spite of the fact there was no link between Iraq and terrorism.

Al Queda's intact. The War on Terror is over. Terror won.

Let's start War on Terror II with a new leader in January 2005.

[Beetwasher]

22. Damn, this is Encouraging! Kerry MORE HONEST!!

Terrific news!!!

Reagan bounce? What Reagan bounce? Ghouls...

LOVE This!:

"But by a 52 percent to 39 percent margin, Kerry is seen as more honest and trustworthy -- a troubling finding for Bush whose truthfulness in the run up to the war in Iraq has been called into question.:"

[TahitiNut]

23. The WashPost/ABC polls have a strong pro-Busholini bias. (About 4%)

See http://www.pollkatz.homestead.com/files/bushindexprobushtable.htm

WHICH POLLSTERS LIKE BUSH THE BEST?

FOX 6.478 4.873
NBCWSJ 5.288 3.027
ABCPOST 4.197 2.704
GALLUP 4.177 3.370
PEW 4.032 2.268
CNNTIME 2.356 1.165
CBS 1.927 0.677
HARRIS 1.699 1.060
NYT 1.452 0.367
NEWSWEEK 1.133 0.596
TIPP 0.580 0.232
IPSOS-REID 0.000 na
ARG (3.081) (1.862)
IBD (6.259) (5.878)
ZOGBY (7.475) (5.392)

RANGE (between highest and lowest) 13.953

updated 06/21/04

---

In the following graphic, we can see their blue-green diamond floating above the trend of the Busholini declining Approval ratings ....

[Beetwasher]

25. Indeed, Which Makes This All The Sweeter!

People, this poll is serious good news...We should be very encouraged. It's time to really start kicking them in the nuts though...

[JerseygirlCT]

26. I know this will sound terribly naive of me

but holy cow! Looking at that graph and the 9-11 jump sure makes one start imagining a few black helicopters... Somehow seeing it in a picture really makes it jump out at you.

Thanks!

[TahitiNut]

27. 30-35 pct "approval" jump for 9/11 and 10-15 pct jump for invading Iraq

He even got a 5 pct jump when the pictures of capturing an old, bedraggled Saddam were published. :eyes:

These were all "reality" shows on the boob tube - like Roman circuses.

Now, somebody tell me that people in this country who "approve" of such atrocities are sane. Please. Tell me. :puke:

Sick. Sociopathic. Disgusting. Jingoistic. Repressed sexuality. Projected hostility.


This is exactly what Mussolini tapped into when he invaded Ethiopia.
This is exactly what Hitler tapped into when he invaded the Sudetenland.
Ignorant, slack-jawed, knuckle-dragging mob (reptilian) mentality.
People who take their anger out on kids and the weak.

Will they do it again?

Try convincing me they won't.


In September 2000 I predicted on Usenet that Bush* (if elected) would have us in a shooting war in the Middle East before the end of 2001 - and that the neofascist "citizens" in this country would start polishing their jackboots. They haven't changed. They're worse, if anything. Power corrupts nations, too.

[dbt]

39. THANK YOU, TahitiNut!

It bears pointing out that most of the "major" polling outfits in this country have hooked up with the same media outlets (CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fochs etc) that have been selling us Product Bu$h since the Dark Summer of 2000.

bu$h is in worse trouble than the ABC poll indicates. (Best Montgomery Burns voice here) Eeeeeeeexxxxxxxxcellent!

:evilgrin:
dbt

[goforit]

29. May the Good Forces never stop!!!!...........KEEP WORKING AMERICA!!!

:bounce:

[0007]

31. I'm surprised that junior's numbers are as high as they are!

But then the again the way the media kowtows to this administration I shouldn't be.

[WillyT]

32. ROFLMAO !!! --- Gotta Love This Pic From The MSNBC Version !!!

Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5264834/

Captions anyone??? "I'm your caption, yeah, yeah, yeah..."

:evilgrin:

[Geo55]

33. Questions

[WillyT]

34. LOL !!! - Most Excellent !!!

:toast::hi::toast:

[AndyTiedye]

36. Aw, Go for TWO PRETZELS

[radfringe]

37. GOP Talking points.... change the "subject"

once again GOPers are engaging in "Operation Discredit" -- latest is to characterize the 9-11 commission as "partisan"...

9/11 Panel's Findings Vault Bush Credibility To Campaign Forefront
By Dana Milbank -- Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, June 20, 2004; Page A01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54702-2004Jun19.html

The White House's swift and sustained reaction last week to the preliminary findings of the Sept. 11, 2001, commission showed the potential threat the 10-member panel poses to President Bush's reelection prospects.

After the commission staff released its findings Wednesday that there was no "collaborative relationship" between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda -- challenging an assertion Bush and Vice President Cheney have made for the past two years -- Bush declared again that there was, in fact, a relationship.

--snip--

Many Republicans are furious about the commission -- though its members are evenly split between the two parties and it is chaired by a Republican appointed by Bush. They say that Bush was right to oppose the commission in the first place, and that House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) was right this year when he unsuccessfully fought an extension of the commission's deadline.

The panel has become "a tool for partisan politics," Rep. Eric I. Cantor (Va.), a member of the House Republican leadership, charged in an interview last week. "With the latest commission finding coming out that there were allegedly no ties between Hussein and al Qaeda, I think they are totally off their mission, and I think that's indicative of the political partisanship."

---snip---

Bush aides have sought to blunt the Democratic offensive not by challenging the commission's findings but by arguing that Kerry and the media have mischaracterized the findings. The White House issued a 1,000-word document titled "TALKING POINTS: 9-11 Commission Staff Report Confirms Administration's Views of al-Qaeda/Iraq Ties."

[dusty64]

38. Still half the Country

still has their head in the sand. Encouraging, but quite a ways to go.

[xyboymil]

41. Gee..wonder how Rush will spin this one?

I know! He and other RWers just wont bring up the poll period. It's amazing how they will completely ignore stories/polls like this..:eyes:

You know, the truth. :toast:

[Darranar]

42. What "war on terror"? n/t

[catmandu57]

43. This is exactly why I believe another attack

even a relatively small attack is disaster for the chimp*. This is the gang that can't shoot straight, couldn't change a flat tire if the car was lifted up and the lug bolts loosened already.
If kkkarl thinks another attack is going to put this moran* in the whitehouse legitimately he has to be shaking to see these results. All his beautiful plans going to shit.