Sho-nuff Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040515/ap_on_el_pr/bush_approval&cid=694&ncid=716 Bush Job Approval Hits New Low in Poll 1 hour, 41 minutes ago By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer PHOENIX - President Bush (news - web sites)'s job approval ratings are hitting the lowest levels of his tenure as problems in Iraq (news - web sites) crowd out other issues for voters, public opinion specialists say. A Newsweek poll released Saturday put Bush's overall job approval at 42 percent, the lowest yet in that poll. Other recent survey have rated Bush in the mid-40s. "Iraq is sucking the life out of other issue deliberations among the voters in the campaign," said political scientist Douglas Strand of the University of California-Berkeley. Strand and Merrill Shanks, also a political scientist at the school, have conducted public opinion research on how various issues are affecting the campaign. They found Iraq has had a more dominant effect on the campaign since April 1. Gay marriage and other domestic issues have faded from voters' concerns as problems mount in Iraq, Strand said. April was the bloodiest month for Americans in Iraq and the prisoner abuse scandal has put the Bush administration on the defensive. The researchers talked about their findings Saturday during the meeting of the American Association for Public Opinion Research. Bush's approval on how he has handled Iraq has dipped to 35 percent in the Newsweek poll, compared with 44 percent in April. Some 57 percent of respondents said they disapprove. Despite the doubts about the president's Iraq policy, Bush and his rival, Democrat John Kerry (news - web sites), are essentially tied in a two-way matchup — Kerry at 46 percent and Bush at 45 percent. They are also tied when independent Ralph Nader (news - web sites) is included in the race. The poll of 1,010 adults, including 832 registered voters, was taken Thursday and Friday. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. "People aren't running out of the Bush column, but his support is softening up," said Larry Hugick, who directed the Newsweek poll for Princeton Survey Research Associates. He noted that strong support for Bush has dropped in the past month and Bush and Kerry now have about equal amounts of strong supporters. "Before people are going to jump over to Kerry, they begin to express doubts about Bush," Hugick said. "I think that's what we're seeing." Researchers say that another reason Kerry has not pulled ahead of Bush in most polls is that voters still have a relatively unformed view of the Democrat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Master Jay Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 He will out of there come election time he blew it and we know he did. No more lies he has lost the people and he cant cover it up anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeSkin Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 Put me in the column that is having doubts about Bush...I was previously a pretty solid supporter, but I don't like the direction the country is taking and Iraq is a mess. I just can't stomach the thought of Kerry, though. Having a new president in there with Al-Qaida still a major threat would be somewhat unnerving. I'd like to give Bush a chance to finish what he started, but he needs to start doing a better job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chosen Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 Maybe I could vote for Kerry, if I he could figure out a coherent foreign policy. Or any coherent policy, for that matter. He hasn't explained how he would have done things any differently if he had been in office making the decisions Bush had to make post 9/11, and he still hasn't made clear what he intends to do if he's elected with the Iraq situation. I have no idea what his priorities are as a candidate. That said, maybe laying low and letting Bush drown himself right now with the Iraq situation is Kerry's best campaign strategy, because its clear that Kerry won't win over any moderate voters with his any clearly outlined views of his own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 as Kilmer said......Polls mean squat right now. If this is the situation down the road and Kerry hasn't fallen apart. Then this could be bad. Those who believe Bush is going to blowout whoever.....needs to rethink that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief skin Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 Hopefully, the country is tired of his BS and lies I know I have had it with him and his incompetence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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