posted on June 7, 2005 08:15:42 PM
LOOKS LIKE THE GREAT "UNITER" BUSH IS NOT THE "UNITER" HE SAID HE WAS. LIKE I HAVE BEEN SAYING WE ALL HAVE TO GIVE AND UNITE OURSELVES FOR A BETTER AMERICA.
June 7) - The corrosive effects of the war in Iraq and a growing disconnect on political priorities have pushed George W. Bush's performance ratings -- notably on terrorism -- to among the worst of his career, casting a pall over his second term and potentially over his party's prospects ahead.
For the first time, most Americans, 55 percent, say Bush has done more to divide than to unite the country. A career-high 52 percent disapprove of his job performance overall, and, in another first, a bare majority rates him unfavorably on a personal level. Most differ with him on issues ranging from the economy and Social Security to stem-cell research and nuclear power.
Iraq is a major thorn. With discontent over U.S. casualties at a new peak, a record 58 percent say the war there was not worth fighting. Nearly two-thirds think the United States has gotten bogged down in Iraq, up 11 points since March. Forty-five percent go so far as to foresee the equivalent of another Vietnam.
Fifty-two percent, the first majority to say so, think the Iraq war has failed to improve the long-term security of the United States, its fundamental rationale. As an extension -- and perhaps most hazardously in political terms -- approval of Bush's handling of terrorism, the base of his support, has lost 11 points since January to match its low, 50 percent in June 2004 when it was pressured both by the presidential campaign and the kidnapping and slaying of American Paul Johnson in Saudi Arabia.
All these underscore a broad sense of lost promise for the president: In January, 55 percent of Americans expected Bush to do a better job in his second term than in his first. Today, vastly fewer, 30 percent, say in fact he's doing so. And even though they remain staunchly supportive, the letdown in expectations is biggest in Bush's own back yard, among Republicans.
Parties and Politics
These views are accompanied by a sense of alienation not just from the president but from both parties in Washington. Disapproval of Congress, at 54 percent, is its highest in more than six years, and six in 10 Americans say Bush and the Republicans, who control both Houses, are not making good progress in solving the nation's problems.
About as many also say neither Bush nor the Republicans are concentrating on what's important to them personally. And the Democrats in Congress barely fare better: Fifty-three percent say they're not concentrating on the right issues either.
By the Numbers
52%
Disapprove of President Bush's performance
48%
Approve of President Bush's performance
41%
Approve of Iraq policy
58%
Disapprove of Iraq policy
68%
Of liberals say Bush isn't focusing on their concerns
Source: ABCNews.com
On balance, Americans now slightly favor the Democrats over the Republicans, by 46 percent-41 percent, in trust to deal with the country's problems, the first Democratic advantage in this question, however slight, in ABC/Post polls since 9/11. Nonetheless, the Democrats seem to have capitalized only marginally at best on the current discontent. Fifty-six percent of Americans disapprove of the job performance of both parties in Congress, and both have seen their basic favorability ratings slide to about the 50-50 mark.
The impact on the still far-off 2006 mid-term elections is hardly clear. Whatever their views of Congress, Bush and the political parties, 61 percent approve of the way their own representative in Congress is handling his or her job. That is well above the low of 49 percent shortly before the earth-shaking midterms of 1994.
Current sentiment may give the Democrats an opportunity, but it's one they haven't yet seized to any notable extent. For Republican candidates, meanwhile, these results suggest the safest course may be at a respectful distance from the president.
THERE IS MORE TO THIS ARTICLE JUST GO TO AOL NEWS TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE
This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone June 2-5, 2005, among a random national sample of 1,002 adults. The results have a three-point error margin. Sampling, data collection and tabulation by TNS of Horsham, Pa.
posted on June 7, 2005 10:05:21 PMWHAT didn't you have a AOL poll to post?
What the heck, AOL or ABC both are lame neolib slandering MSM outlets.
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President Bush Job Approval
Tuesday June 07, 2005--Forty-nine percent (49%) of American adults approve of the way George W. Bush is performing his role as President. Fifty-one percent (51%) disapprove of the President's performance.
Yesterday's reading is the first time in a week that the President's Approval Rating has dipped below the 50% mark. Over the past fifteen day, the ratings for President Bush have been at 50% on five days, above that level five times, and below it five times.
It remains to be seen whether today's drop reflects a lasting change or is merely statistical noise. [More Below]
posted on June 8, 2005 06:40:07 AM
This just in: The new ABC News/Washington Post poll, here, shows 52 percent of Americans disapprove of the job President Bush is doing overall, reports ABC News' Polling director Gary Langer — the most in more than 75 ABC/Post polls since his presidency began. His approval rating is 48 percent.
Bush's Iraq approval ratings haven't fared much better: 41 percent said they approve of the job the President is doing in Iraq, while 58 percent disapprove — matching his career-high Iraq disapproval mark.
George W. Bush’s approval rating is now a full twenty points lower than Bill Clinton’s was on the day he was impeached. Dear media, that means you gotta stop referring to him as a “popular president,” and no less important, stop treating him like one. If you want to be wimps about everything, fine, just don’t blame it on his ‘popularity.’ Blame it on yourselves.
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
----------------------------------
President George Bush: "Over time the truth will come out."
President George Bush: "Our people are going to find out the truth, and the truth will say that this intelligence was good intelligence. There's no doubt in my mind."
Bush was right. The truth did come out and the facts are he misled Congress and the American people about the reasons we should go to war in Iraq.
posted on June 8, 2005 07:46:32 AM
Bear, for your sake I do hope Bush's ratings go up. If not then this President would be serving the minority of the American people not the majority. Good Luck Bear.
posted on June 8, 2005 09:56:03 AM
I can't wait for the poll to come out showing the majority of the people would like to have Bush and Company Impeached.
Then what would all the Bush sock puppets think.
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
----------------------------------
President George Bush: "Over time the truth will come out."
President George Bush: "Our people are going to find out the truth, and the truth will say that this intelligence was good intelligence. There's no doubt in my mind."
Bush was right. The truth did come out and the facts are he misled Congress and the American people about the reasons we should go to war in Iraq.
posted on June 8, 2005 12:31:09 PMBear, for your sake I do hope Bush's ratings go up
No you don't bigpeepa. All you want for this administration is doom and gloom admit it.
Be truthful and you also logansdad. You hope they fall on their face. But remember your candidate was a traitor would he have done any better?
posted on June 8, 2005 12:33:40 PM
BP, what did Libra say? I have hear ignore.
Aint silence grand
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
----------------------------------
President George Bush: "Over time the truth will come out."
President George Bush: "Our people are going to find out the truth, and the truth will say that this intelligence was good intelligence. There's no doubt in my mind."
Bush was right. The truth did come out and the facts are he misled Congress and the American people about the reasons we should go to war in Iraq.
posted on June 8, 2005 12:45:19 PM
So you put me on ignore then ask bigpeepa what I said. Now I have heard everything. your quite a comedian. I bet others will have the same laugh as I did.
Can't stand when someone that doesn't have your ideas post. Well I will never have yours because I don't believe in gay marriage. But that's for another thread.
Where is crowfarm the spelling queen. Lets see you critize logansdad for his spelling.
posted on June 8, 2005 12:48:09 PM
For the first time since the war in Iraq began, more than half of the American public believes the fight there has not made the United States safer, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
While the focus in Washington has shifted from the Iraq conflict to Social Security and other domestic matters, the survey found that Americans continue to rank Iraq second only to the economy in importance -- and that many are losing patience with the enterprise.
Nearly three-quarters of Americans say the number of casualties in Iraq is unacceptable, while two-thirds say the U.S. military there is bogged down and nearly six in 10 say the war was not worth fighting -- in all three cases matching or exceeding the highest levels of pessimism yet recorded. More than four in 10 believe the U.S. presence in Iraq is becoming analogous to the experience in Vietnam.
Perhaps most ominous for President Bush, 52 percent said war in Iraq has not contributed to the long-term security of the United States, while 47 percent said it has. It was the first time a majority of Americans disagreed with the central notion Bush has offered to build support for war: that the fight there will make Americans safer from terrorists at home. In late 2003, 62 percent thought the Iraq war aided U.S. security, and three months ago 52 percent thought so.
Overall, more than half -- 52 percent -- disapprove of how Bush is handling his job, the highest of his presidency. A somewhat larger majority -- 56 percent -- disapproved of Republicans in Congress, and an identical proportion disapproved of Democrats.
There were signs, however, that Bush and Republicans in Congress were receiving more of the blame for the recent standoffs over such issues as Bush's judicial nominees and Social Security. Six in 10 respondents said Bush and GOP leaders are not making good progress on the nation's problems; of those, 67 percent blamed the president and Republicans while 13 percent blamed congressional Democrats. For the first time, a majority, 55 percent, also said Bush has done more to divide the country than to unite it.
The surge in violence in Iraq since the new government took control -- 80 U.S. troops and more than 700 Iraqis died in May alone amid a rash of bombings -- has been accompanied by rising gloom about the overall fight against terrorists. By 50 percent to 49 percent, Americans approved of the way Bush is handling the campaign against terrorism, down from 56 percent approval in April, equaling the lowest rating he has earned on the issue that has consistently been his core strength with the public.
The dissipating support for the Iraq war is of potential military concern, because, as Marine Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis wrote in a note to his troops as he led them back into Iraq in February 2004, "our friendly strategic center of gravity is the will of the American people."
Some authorities on war and public opinion said the figures indicate that pessimism about the war in Iraq has reached a dangerous level. "It appears that Americans are coming to the realization that the war in Iraq is not being won and may well prove unwinnable," said retired Army Col. Andrew J. Bacevich, a professor at Boston University. "That conclusion bleeds over into a conviction that it may not have been necessary in the first place."
That is the view of poll respondent Margaret Boudreaux, 63, a casino worker living in Oakdale, La. "I don't think it's going well -- there's too much killing," she said, worrying that the Iraq invasion could move more enemies to violence. "I think that some of the people, if they could, would get revenge for what we've done."
"You hear a lot about Saddam but nothing about Osama bin Laden. I don't think he [Bush] does enough to deal with the problems of terrorism. . . . He's done a lot of talking, but we haven't seen real changes," said another poll respondent, Kathy Goyette, 54, a San Diego nurse. "People are getting through airport security with things that are unbelievable. . . . I don't think he learned from 9/11."
While Bush has shelved his routine speeches about terrorism, and Congress has turned to domestic issues, fear of terrorism has receded from the public consciousness. Only 12 percent called it the nation's top priority, behind the economy, Iraq, health care and Social Security.
The drop in Bush's approval ratings on fighting terrorism came disproportionately from political independents. In March, 63 percent of independents approved of Bush's job combating terrorism. By April this had fallen to 54 percent. And in this weekend's survey, 40 percent gave him good marks.
The poll suggests that views on the Iraq war's impact also remain highly partisan. Three in four Republicans said the Iraq invasion has boosted domestic security, while three in four Democrats said it has not. Political independents lean negative on the issue: About six in 10 said the war has not made Americans safer.
Overall, Bush's 48 percent job approval rating was essentially unchanged from the 47 percent rating he received in a late-April poll. And there was growth in the proportion of people who said the economy was doing well: 44 percent, up from 37 percent in April.
But the public took a generally gloomy view of the White House and Congress. A plurality said Bush is doing worse in his second term than in his first, and 58 percent said he is not concentrating on the things that matter most to them -- the worst showing Bush has had in this measure in Post-ABC polls.
Congress fared no better. The proportion of the public disapproving of the legislative body was at its highest since late 1998, during President Bill Clinton's impeachment. More people said they would look at a candidate other than their sitting representative than at any point in nearly eight years. For the first time since April 2001, Democrats (46 percent) were trusted more than Republicans (41 percent) to cope with the nation's problems. But at the same time, favorability ratings for the Democratic Party, at 51 percent, tied their all-time low.
A total of 1,002 randomly selected adults were interviewed by telephone June 2 to 5 for this Post-ABC News poll. The margin of sampling error for the overall results is plus or minus three percentage points.
The poll also found disapproval or division when it came to Bush's performance on several other recent, high-profile issues. One-third of those surveyed approved of the way Bush is handling federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, while 55 percent disapproved. The public was divided on the president's handling of judicial nominations, with 46 percent approving and 44 percent disapproving. And half said they were opposed to drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a proposal backed by Bush and being debated in Congress.
But the most striking trend identified by the survey was the spreading impatience over Iraq and national security matters. While six in 10 were confident that the United States was not violating the rights of detainees at the military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Americans were more skeptical that the government is protecting the rights of U.S. citizens at home. Only half said Americans' rights were being adequately protected, down from 69 percent in September 2003.
James Burk, a sociologist at Texas A&M University, said disillusionment about Iraq may have grown to the point that policymakers will have difficulty reversing it. "People all across the country know people in Iraq [so] there's a direct connection to the war," he said. Burk sees a "disjuncture" between upbeat administration rhetoric and realities the public perceives. "These data suggest we will soon reach the point, if we haven't yet reached the point, where that kind of language will seem too out of touch."
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
----------------------------------
President George Bush: "Over time the truth will come out."
President George Bush: "Our people are going to find out the truth, and the truth will say that this intelligence was good intelligence. There's no doubt in my mind."
Bush was right. The truth did come out and the facts are he misled Congress and the American people about the reasons we should go to war in Iraq.
posted on June 8, 2005 12:53:08 PM
Libra63, No kidding for your sake and Bears and Linda_K's sake (NOT MINE). I do hope your leader's ratings go up. If they don't you all will wind up looking like FOOLS trying to support a failed President.
posted on June 8, 2005 12:57:48 PM
Democrats (46 percent) were trusted more than Republicans (41 percent) to cope with the nation's problems.[i] But at the same time, favorability ratings for the Democratic Party, at 51 percent, tied their all-time low.
Well when Dean gets done with the DNC those numbers will sure change unless they dump him.
Tell me what the democrats are doing about Social Security that will certainly run out before some here on this board will receive it. You can't fund SS with a ration of 1 - 3. That is 1 person working and 3 collecting SS. The numbers just don't add up and now with everyone tooting stem cell and hoping for cures that means people will be living longer.
posted on June 8, 2005 01:11:34 PM
" BP, what did Libra say? I have hear ignore."
what the hell does that mean???
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Baseball season has started,but they have it all wrong.3 strikes and you're out,4 balls you walk.I can tell you right now a man with 4 balls could not possibly walk
posted on June 8, 2005 05:51:12 PM
Bear it is a cryptic way of spelling, but I am not one to correct spelling like the crowfarm seems to do for me. Evidently it is selective spelling, just correct Libra's as nobody else spells wrong.
_________________
posted on June 8, 2005 07:24:43 PM
Libra, You say the Democrats only have an approval rating of 51% thats true. Didn't Bush win re-election by about the same percentage.
About Gov.Dean as far as I am concerned he speaks the truth. Hells bells Linda_K says far worst everyday about Democrats LOL. Besides this post is about your Presidents rating dropping not Dean's. Try to stay on subject will ya.
You better watch out what your saying about S.S. The Bush plan doesn't look to strong for him.
The only part of Bush's S.S. plan I like is taking money from the rich to help the poor. After all Bush has already given the rich a lot of extra money in tax breaks. Now its time for the rich to give some of that money back. That would be a good thing for America.
posted on June 9, 2005 09:14:13 AMHaven't seen anymore terrorist attacks in the US since 9/11 have you?
Great way to judge how safe America is!!! How many 9/11 incidents have he had in the nation's history? One. Two if you want to count Pearl Harbor.
I guess you would like another attack to judge your theory.
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
----------------------------------
President George Bush: "Over time the truth will come out."
President George Bush: "Our people are going to find out the truth, and the truth will say that this intelligence was good intelligence. There's no doubt in my mind."
Bush was right. The truth did come out and the facts are he misled Congress and the American people about the reasons we should go to war in Iraq.
posted on June 9, 2005 09:23:05 AM
let me refresh your memoray logansdad there was another one.
February 26, 1993 - A bomb planted by terrorists explodes in the World Trade Center's underground garage, killing six people and injuring over a thousand, as well as causing much damage to the basement
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posted on June 9, 2005 11:53:45 AM
You are ignorning Libra63
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
----------------------------------
President George Bush: "Over time the truth will come out."
President George Bush: "Our people are going to find out the truth, and the truth will say that this intelligence was good intelligence. There's no doubt in my mind."
Bush was right. The truth did come out and the facts are he misled Congress and the American people about the reasons we should go to war in Iraq.
posted on June 9, 2005 01:52:37 PM
"You are ignorning Libra63"
aaaahhhh ya think anyone gives a rats ass???
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Baseball season has started,but they have it all wrong.3 strikes and you're out,4 balls you walk.I can tell you right now a man with 4 balls could not possibly walk
posted on June 9, 2005 03:30:39 PM
You'd probably like this one better? (Think I have anything else to do or on my mind right now?? LOL!! I must be bored of ebay right now)
posted on June 9, 2005 03:37:55 PM
What is laughable about logansdad is. How does he know I used his name in my post? But I don't care I will still post in threads. Who gives a (what classic said).
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posted on June 9, 2005 03:50:45 PM
LOL Libra!! You caught him!! Do you think your kids or grandkids could see you in a tee-shirt like that??
...Now I think classic is a bad influence round here - he's maken ya spicy thinking things like "who gives a ....."
Ya want me to hit him or logansdad upside the head for ya?
.,
[ edited by dblfugger9 on Jun 9, 2005 03:54 PM ]
posted on June 9, 2005 06:47:41 PM
OH NO DB-ya ruined my childhood image of "the little engine that could" LOL
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Baseball season has started,but they have it all wrong.3 strikes and you're out,4 balls you walk.I can tell you right now a man with 4 balls could not possibly walk
