New Poll Shows Bush Approval Reaching a Low
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
WASHINGTON – Political reversals at home and continued bad news from Iraq have dragged President Bush’s standing with the public to a new low and boosted Democratic chances of wresting control of Congress from Republicans in the November elections, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll.
The new survey found that 38% of the public approved of the job Bush is doing as president, down 3 percentage points in the past month and his worst showing in Post-ABC polling on this key measure since he became president. Sixty percent disapproved of his performance.
Mr. Bush’s overall job approval has remained below 50% for nearly a year while the proportion of the public critical of the president consistently has topped 50%. And perhaps more ominously for the president, 47% say they “strongly” disapproved of Mr. Bush’s handling of the presidency – more than double the percentage who strongly approved (20%) and the second straight month that the proportion of Americans intensely critical of the president was larger than his overall job approval rating.
The public is more critical of Mr. Bush’s performance in specific areas. A third approved of his handling of immigration issues while six in 10 disapproved. But more than six in 10 support reforms that would allow some illegal immigrants to obtain legal status and permanent citizenship if they meet certain conditions. Only one in five say all illegal immigrants should be declared felons and not allowed to work in America.
The continued bloodshed and political chaos in Iraq continues to drag down support for the war, the new survey found. Barely four in 10 – 41% – currently say the war was worth fighting, down five percentage points since December.
Nearly six in 10 – 58% – currently say the war was not worth the cost while nearly half say they “strongly” feel the conflict wasn’t worth fighting. The latest result marked the 13th consecutive Post-ABC survey since December 2004 in which a majority of Americans has questioned the value of American involvement in Iraq.
