To: American Spirit who wrote (6551 ) 11/15/2003 10:50:50 PM From: Raymond Duray Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 10965 AS, Linking Dean and Bush makes you look really rather silly. You are grasping at straws with that nonsense. BTW, Kerry gave a darn good speech at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Des Moines tonight. One of his best efforts that I've seen. Kerry was wise enough not to mention Dean. It really was a smart change from his dreadful bashings over the past month. You might take a lesson from your candidate's lead. ********** ONE IN THREE BRITONS THINK BUSH IS STUPID - POLL - "just 7% regarding him as a good world leader, 6% as articulate and 10% as intelligent." NOTE: This report will probably disappear soon, and the Sunday Times is a subscription only service, so I'm post this for posterity: drudgereport.com ONE IN THREE BRITONS THINK BUSH IS STUPID - POLL Sat Nov 15 2003 19:43:02 ET The full extent of the low regard Britons have for George Bush was tonight revealed in a poll. The US President was branded a threat to world peace by a clear majority, 60%, of those questioned by YouGov. More than one in three, 37%, said Mr Bush was "stupid" while 33% called him "incoherent". Only a minority saw positive characteristics in Mr Bush, with just 7% regarding him as a good world leader, 6% as articulate and 10% as intelligent. The findings are published in The Sunday Times ahead of his state visit to Britain next week, the first by a US leader. A slim majority of those questioned opposed the visit by 26% to 21% although half did not care. There was sympathy with anti-war campaigners who plan a series of protests to mark the visit with a majority of 53% to 41% supporting the demonstrations. The antipathy toward Mr Bush is matched by an increasingly gloomy view of Iraq. For the first time a majority said Britain and America were wrong to go to war with Iraq by 45% to 43%. The question has been asked repeatedly since March and when US troops entered Baghdad in April voters were in favour of the war by 66% to 29%. Now almost three-quarters, 73%, expected the security situation to get worse over the next few months. Only 15% believed that things would get better in Iraq with just 18% saying the country's future would be as a peaceful democracy. An overwhelming 70% thought there was little hope for the people of Iraq and that it would be a permanently unstable country. Despite this, there is not a clamour to bring Britain's troops home. One in five, 20%, said UK forces in Iraq should be withdrawn immediately and 26% said they should return home within six months whatever the security situation. However, 47% believed Britain had a duty to retain forces there. There was little faith in the President's ability to handle the continuing problems in Iraq. Fewer than a quarter, 24%, had confidence in Mr Bush on Iraq, while 74% did not. Prime Minister Tony Blair fares only slightly better with 38% expressing confidence in him compared with 59% who did not. There was also scepticism about the "special relationship" between Britain and the US. Only a third, 34%, thought the relationship should continue as at present with Britain remaining America's closest ally. A larger proportion, 47%, said that Britain should continue as one of America's allies but be ready to pursue a more independent line. Some went further, with 14% saying Britain should no longer regard America as a close ally and should pursue its own interests irrespective of what Washington thinks. YouGov surveyed a representative sample of 1,934 adults, online, on Thursday and Friday, November 13-14.