Poll: Americans trust Congress over Bush on Iraq

[ProSense]

Poll: Americans trust Congress over Bush on Iraq

Mon Jul 23, 11:42 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most Americans see President George W. Bush as too inflexible on the war in Iraq and prefer that the Democratic-run Congress have the final word on when to withdraw U.S. forces, a Washington Post/ABC News poll showed on Monday.

Nearly 80 percent of those polled said Bush is not willing enough to change policies over the unpopular war that has taken a huge toll on his approval ratings, the Post reported.

The poll was conducted last week, after Senate Democrats failed to advance a plan that would force Bush to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq by April 2008.

More than six in 10 Americans -- 62 percent -- said Congress should have the final say on when to pull out U.S. forces, compared with 31 percent who said the decision should rest with Bush, the poll showed.

A narrow majority, 55 percent, said they supported the proposed pullout plan, which the Senate may not consider again until after its August recess.

The percentage of Americans seeing Bush as too rigid on Iraq has climbed 12 percentage points since December, the Post said.

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[ProSense]

1. Poll: Congress Gets Dismal Marks On Iraq

Poll: Congress Gets Dismal Marks On Iraq

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Among those surveyed, Congressional Democrats receive 30 percent approval on how they're handing Iraq after having failed in their recent attempt to force the start of a troop withdrawal. The Republicans, who mustered enough votes to scuttle the Democrats' plans, fare even worse, getting only a 22 percent approval rating.

Only 25 percent of Americans approve of the way President Bush is handling the war. The public is divided on one of the administration's main assertions — that Iraq is part of the broader war on terror. More think Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda are not behind the current violence in Iraq than think they are.

Overall, only 26 percent of those polled approve of the job the Congress is doing as a whole, down slightly from last week.

Americans continue to want the war funded — with a timetable for troop withdrawal attached to the funding. A majority (63 percent) say this should be Congress' approach. One in four say funding should be continued without any timetable for withdrawal, but few think all war funding should be cut off, no matter what.

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So much for poll stories!