Posted on 11/04/2005 4:56:53 AM PST by JustaCowgirl
WASHINGTON -- President Bush's job approval has fallen to the lowest level of his presidency amid worries over the Iraq war, a fumbled Supreme Court nomination, the indictment of one White House aide and uncertainty about another.
Concerned that the president has lost his footing, some influential Republicans are urging Bush to shake up his staff and bring in new blood.
A new AP-Ipsos poll found Bush's approval rating was at 37 percent, compared with 39 percent a month ago. About 59 percent of those surveyed said they disapproved.
The intensity of disapproval is the strongest to date, with 42 percent now saying they "strongly disapprove" of how Bush is handling his job -- twice as many as the 20 percent who said they "strongly approve."
A year after his re-election, Bush's second term has been marred by rising U.S. casualties in Iraq, a failed attempt to restructure Social Security, Hurricane Katrina missteps, rising fuel costs and the forced withdrawal of the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers.
In a case involving the exposure of a CIA agent married to an Iraq war critic, Vice President Dick Cheney's former aide, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, pleaded not guilty on Thursday in federal court to charges of obstruction of justice, perjury and lying to investigators. The case casts a continuing cloud over Cheney and keeps Bush's closest adviser, Karl Rove, in legal jeopardy.
Republicans are worrying about losing their majorities in Congress in the 2006 elections and hope Bush can reverse his slide.
Several senior Republicans who are close to the White House and Rove say there has been a lot of talk inside and outside the White House about the need for him to leave, but they're picking up no indication from him or his associates that it's going to happen -- at least anytime soon.
Neither Bush nor Rove has seemed to get the message, the Republicans say.
Democrats have kept up the attack. "The 2006 midterm elections will be our next opportunity to change the environment of corruption and incompetence in Washington," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Thursday in a fundraising letter to Democrats. Reid has called for Rove's resignation and a "thorough house cleaning" at the White House.
In the AP-Ipsos poll, nearly one in five Republicans disapproved of Bush's handling of his job, compared with nearly nine in 10 Democrats. Nearly seven in 10 independents disapproved.
The poll was conducted by telephone Oct. 31-Nov. 2 among 1,006 adults nationwide. The margin on sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
In December 2004, soon after Bush's re-election, 51 percent approved of his handling of his job, while 47 disapproved, and 28 disapproved strongly.
Gotta love this anonymous quote from 'several senior Republicans:'
"Several senior Republicans who are close to the White House and Rove say there has been a lot of talk inside and outside the White House about the need for him to leave, but they're picking up no indication from him or his associates that it's going to happen -- at least anytime soon."
but when he makes a comeback, it will be the biggest in history too
The MSM still hasn't gotten out of their campaign mode.
IP on AP.
CAUGHT IN A LIE .. YET ANOTHER FAKE POLL.
<< the forced withdrawal of the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers >>
I thought she voluntarily withdrew. Guess I need to follow the mainstream media more in order to be fully indoctrinated.
This is the MSM fanning the flames of it's own fire.
How about a poll on whether MSM journalism is a myth or a reality.
The polls have become the news for the MSM. What they fail to mention is how the polls are skewed with more Democrats polled vs. Republicans.
I look for the day when Republicans are no longer polled at all and the disapproval ratings fall to 90%. These idiotic pollsters would do as well to get their results from the CNN/MSNBC on-line polls which are "always" balanced.
. ..oh. . .didn't you know. . .OF COURSE she was forced out. . .sarcasm>off. . .
Oh wait, they did that.
Iraq is a prime example. My best estimate on Iraq is that it's a dangerous place, but nothing is going on there that threatens our forces or the democracy we are setting up. Yet I hear even conservative commentators saying Bush's approval is low because "the war in Iraq isn't going well." That's what happens when you hunker down and don't answer your critics.
Got an earful of this just yesterday while waiting in a crowded medical office. CNN was blaring away, and the group assembled there was cheering on the propaganda.
Begin to bring the troops home from Iraq, and this will change. The work there is just about done. The Iraqis should be carrying the bulk of the burden at this point.
Bad idea.
Iran and Syria can't wait for that day to come. We are in Iraq for the long haul.
I talked to my old liberal friend yesterday, and she said she's glued to the news because "it's going to be another Watergate." Plus, she's shocked about the torture.
Let's hope dems don't win back the house because they'll go for impeachment.
Good- maybe this will make Bush realize the only approval he has a chance at getting is from his base. Then maybe he can start acting like a conservative- stopping illegal immigration, cutting spending, etc. A guy can dream anyway.
Recently I heard that there are now 350,000 Iraqi soldiers, USA made them self reliant, I support our troops they did a fantastic job there (and still are) they make us all proud,
so now they should be able to begin to return to their families. Not to mention the amount that would be cut from the budget to help to lower the deficit.
But we trust our Military to decide when our troops can return. Meanwhile we pray for them daily!
Sure, but we don't need to be patroling their streets. Put a base on the Iranian border to keep an eye on Tehran, and let the Iraqis fight the street war.
IPSOS means lie in some language somewhere.
No way, that will just be spun as "due to dropping poll numbers Bush was forced to admit..."the war was flawed, based on false premises...blah, blah, blah...." There's lots revisionist history already going on... premature withdrawal would make a royal mess of things, just adding more arguments for "it's not worth it", "it's too hard", "we had no business" blah, blah. What's important to remember, is... it's not just about Iraq. Iraq is only one battlefied.
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