Iraq war has Bush in trouble
Questions grow about his future as polls show Americans turning against him
By DOUG SAUNDERS
Wednesday, April 7, 2004
Faced with a fast-mounting death toll in Iraq, an embarrassing month of testimony in the Sept. 11 hearings and flagging support for his domestic policies, the U.S. public has turned sharply against President George W. Bush.
Two new public-opinion polls show Mr. Bush with his lowest level of support yet. For the first time, Americans are opposed to his handling of the Iraq war in greater numbers than those supporting it.
A poll released yesterday by the Washington-based Pew Research Center showed 47 per cent of respondents disapproving of the way Mr. Bush is doing his job versus 43 per cent approving, and only 40 per cent approving of the way he is handling the situation in Iraq -- down from 59 per cent in January.
Mr. Zogby's own poll, taken over the weekend, showed that just 44 per cent of Americans feel that Mr. Bush should be re-elected, whereas 51 per cent believe that "someone new" should take office. The poll has a margin of error of 3.1 per cent.
The problems do not end with Iraq, however. Newspapers reported this week that several of Mr. Bush's more hopeful initiatives, designed to stir up optimism during this election year, have become stalled in Congress.
Bills that would provide AIDS relief to Africa, give amnesty to undocumented Mexican workers and send manned missions to the moon and Mars have all disappeared from the order paper, even though both congressional houses are dominated by Republicans. Mr. Bush's fiscal record, including the country's escalating public debt, has also come under fire, from both Republicans and Democrats.
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