Poll: Bush Unyielding: Majority Says Congress Should Have Final Say on Troop Withdrawal

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/23/AR2007072301143.html

Poll: Americans Find Bush Unyielding on Iraq
Majority Says Congress Should Have Final Say on Troop Withdrawal

By Jon Cohen and Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, July 23, 2007; 5:02 PM

Most Americans see President Bush as intransigent on Iraq and prefer that the Democratic-controlled Congress make decisions over a possible withdrawal of U.S. forces, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

As the president and Congress move toward a possible constitutional confrontation over the war, both receive negative marks from the public for their handling of the situation in Iraq. But by a large margin, Americans trust the Democrats rather than the president to find a solution to a conflict that remains enormously unpopular. And more than six in 10 in the new poll said Congress should have the final say on when to bring the troops home.

The president has steadfastly asserted his power as commander-in-chief to make decisions about the war, but his posture is now viewed by majorities of Democrats, independents and even Republicans as too inflexible. Asked whether Bush is willing enough to change policies in Iraq, nearly eight in 10 Americans said no.

Since December, the percentage seeing Bush as too rigid is up 12 percentage points, with the most significant change coming among Republicans. Just after the 2006 midterm elections and the release of the 79-point plan from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, 55 percent of Republicans thought Bush was willing enough to change course in Iraq; in this poll, 55 percent of Republicans said he is not.

Bush's overall approval rating equals its all-time low in Post-ABC News polls at 33 percent, with 65 percent disapproving. Fifty-two percent said they "strongly" disapprove of his job performance, the highest figure of his presidency and more than three times the 16 percent who strongly approve.

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