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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: greenspirit who wrote (453898)	9/6/2003 4:58:15 PM
From: Harvey Allen	Respond to of 769670

Bush Job Approval Falls in Two U.S. Polls Sat September 6, 2003 04:37 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush's job approval rating dropped in two polls released on Saturday amid concern about the economy and instability in Iraq. Bush, who faces a re-election fight in just over a year, saw his rating fell sharply from last month in a Zogby America poll of likely voters. Forty-five percent gave Bush positive marks for job performance in the new survey, down from 52 percent in August and the lowest since January 2001, the month he took office. In a Time magazine/CNN poll of registered voters, the president's approval slid to 52 percent. The same poll recorded 63 percent approval for Bush back in May. "The economy clearly is the chief concern," pollster John Zogby said, noting that recent surveys found more people fearful of losing their jobs within the next year. A Labor Department report Friday showed a weak labor market as initial claims for unemployment aid rose unexpectedly, even as other indicators showed the economy gaining strength. Iraq, where U.S. soldiers face daily attacks amid rebuilding attempts, has also hurt Bush's standing, Zogby said. Bush is scheduled to address the nation Sunday night about Iraq and the war on terrorism. "There is growing concern and impatience about whether the war was worth it," Zogby said. The Time/CNN poll, however, said 72 percent of people surveyed thought the United States had done a "good job" in Iraq since major fighting ended, and 63 percent believed going to war with Iraq was the right decision. The poll found a split on whether the war was worth the toll in American lives and other costs, with 49 percent saying yes and 43 percent saying no. The Zogby poll of 1,013 people was conducted Sept. 3-5. The margin of error was 3.2 percentage points. The Time/CNN poll was conducted Sept. 3-4 and surveyed 1,003 people. Its margin of error was 3.1 percentage points. reuters.com

To: greenspirit who wrote (453898)	9/6/2003 5:30:54 PM
From: Thomas A Watson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Polls are fun... And the implications of this poll for those who attack the President about lies and lies and lies and lies.... Public's Belief in Iraq-9/11 Link Frustrates Prestige Press An overwhelming number of Americans now believe that Iraq played a significant role in the 9/11 attacks, according to a survey released Saturday. The finding shows that by and large the public has rejected attempts by the establishment press to discredit compelling evidence of a link between Saddam Hussein and the worst terrorist strike in U.S. history. The Washington Post poll found that nearly three-quarters of those surveyed - 69 percent - now believe that the 9/11 hijackers received some sort of guidance, direction or support from Iraq. "That impression, which exists despite the fact that the hijackers were mostly Saudi nationals acting for al Qaeda, is broadly shared by Democrats, Republicans and independents," the Post said. Still, even with the near-consensus, the Post dismissed the notion of an Iraq-9/11 link as "a groundless belief." The paper's assessment is in keeping with the decision by establishment press news editors not to credit evidence that the 9/11 hijackers received help from Baghdad. The poll's finding, on the other hand, indicates that the public deems far more persuasive accounts in the alternative media detailing the Iraq-9/11 link, such as reports of training exercises in 9/11-style hijacking techniques at the Baghdad terrorist camp Salman Pak. Within a month of the 9/11 attacks, veterans of the camp told U.S. intelligence that between 1995 and 2001 they helped train radical Islamists to hijack U.S. airliners in groups of four and five using only small knives. The accounts of camp veterans are bolstered by satellite photography verifying the existence of Soviet-built Tupelov 154 airliner parked far from any airstrip, on which they say the training sessions took place. The hijacking technique taught at Salman Pak had never been employed before the 9/11 attacks. In a May 2003 decision in a lawsuit against Iraq brought by two families of 9/11 victims, Manhattan U.S. District Court Judge Harold Baer awarded the claimants $104 million based on his finding that "Iraq provided material support to Al Qaeda and that it did so with knowledge and intent to further Al Qaeda's criminal acts." The bombshell court finding was virtually ignored by the media, despite its stunning implications for the war on terrorism. It was left to the alternative press to cover the Iraq-9/11 link, information that was widely reported in mainstream venues in Nov. 2001 but ignored by reporters after President Bush named Iraq as a member of the Axis of Evil two months later. Talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, for instance, broke the establishment media's blockade on news about Salman Pak in Sept. 2002. With an audience of 20 million, Limbaugh was able to update a significant segment of the news consuming public on details of the camp - going so far as to post to his Web site the satellite photos that would later play a role in Judge Baer's ruling. Other talk hosts, like WABC Radio's Steve Malzberg, conducted on-air interviews with 9/11-Iraq case attorney James Beasley, and Laurie Mylroie, a terrorism expert who testified on behalf of his clients that Iraq was behind the attacks. The mainstream press also ignored the account of former CIA Director James Woolsey, who also testified at the trial. But radio interviews like the one he granted in June to former WLIE radio host Mike Siegel gave him an ample opportunity to explain the role Salman Pak played in the 9/11 attacks. Director Woosley was attorney Beasley's most important witness in the 9/11 lawsuit. Dozens of other radio outlets gave wide play to NewsMax.com's extensive reports on Salman Pak and Judge Baer's watershed decision. Still, in its report today the Post repeatedly characterized the belief in an Iraq-9/11 link as an ill-informed "misconception." The paper quoted John Mueller, an expert on public opinion and war, explaining that the consensus on Iraqi involvement in 9/11 was the result of "a general fuzz going around." "People know they don't like al Qaeda, they are horrified by September 11th, they know this guy is a bad guy, and it's not hard to put those things together." newsmax.com