Poll: Bush Gets Terror Boost, But...

(CBS)  The dismantling of the London terror plot hasn't helped President Bush with U.S. voters, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll.

The survey shows that while the president received a modest boost for his handling of terrorism (55 percent approve) in the wake of the plot, concerns about Iraq, the economy and the Mideast neutralized that advantage. As a result, Mr. Bush's approval rating remained at 36 percent.

That number was unchanged from last week and from a poll conducted in July, before the latest terrorist-related arrests in Great Britain. For most of this year, Mr. Bush's approval rating has hovered in the mid 30s.

The survey also suggests that the partisan divide has grown a bit wider in recent months. The president's approval rating among Republicans has risen slightly, from 68 percent in April to 74 percent now. But only about three in 10 independents approve of the job Mr. Bush is doing, as do less than one in 10 Democrats.

Both terrorism (24 percent) and the war in Iraq (22 percent) are at the top of Americans' list of the priorities they would most like to see addressed.

And the president's approval rating on terrorism, historically his strongest suit, has risen in this poll, to 55 percent now, up from 51 percent earlier in August. This is the highest it has been since July 2005.

While he gets credit for dealing with terrorism, Mr. Bush is still hampered by low approval ratings on one of the most important issues of the day, the war in Iraq.

Only three in 10 Americans approve of how he is handling the war, and more than twice as many -– 65 percent -- disapprove. Since early this year, only about three in 10 Americans have approved of the president's handling of Iraq.

Many Americans don't see a link between the war in Iraq and the war on terror, which may help to explain the very different ratings the president receives on the two issues.

When asked if the war in Iraq was part of a general war on terror, 51 percent of Americans say it is not – matching the largest percentage since the question was first asked in 2003. Forty-four percent say it is part of the war on terror, including 32 percent who say it is a major part.

Almost half of all Americans – 46 percent - believe the Bush administration has focused too much on Iraq over the last couple of years and not enough on terrorism elsewhere in the world, the highest number since CBS started asking the question a year ago.

The president's approval rating is also being held down by voter dissatisfaction with the economy. Only 35 percent have a favorable view of his economic stewardship.

Americans are also clearly pessimistic when assessing the direction the country is going in as a whole. Now 67 percent of all Americans think the country is off on the wrong track, while just 29 percent think the country is going in the right direction.

[joe_x-2009]

The media, unfortunately, has treated dubya with kid gloves. It's almost like this administration has some dark secret lording over the media and they will use that "secret" if the media does any in depth investigation. When the media should be doing heavy lifting and investigating this administration.....they get "distracted" by Jon Benet or teens missing in Aruba...

[rtup]

Lets hope the national press is a lot more fair and a lot kinder to your new star, Katie Couric, than you and they have been to President Bush. If not, I'm sure her poll numbers will be low also.

[joe_x-2009]

Oh yeah....Grand OIL Party....is why

[joe_x-2009]

Jerry- You've drunk the Bush Kool Aid. I'm afraid we've lost you. Of course Bush doesn't run the country according to no stinkin "approval ratings"...shoot, he's a cowboy, no one is going to tell him what to do otherwise we would have already been out of Iraq. However much of an evil dictator Saddam Hussein was, for good or bad he had control of his country and there was no way terrorists were going to be permitted to infiltrate and threaten his power. The result of George "bring em on" Bush's illegal war in Iraq is that it has destabilized the whole region and infested the country with terrorists who are killing our brave soldiers on a daily basis (as Bush slashes Vet benefits at home), for what "noble cause" again? That he is "trying and in a human being" is not good enough, maybe if he actually had some Vets in his administration instead of "chicken hawks" clamoring for draft deferments...there would be a different story. I understand Afghanistan, but could someone please tell me why we are in Iraq?

[jerry-mich]

THE COUNTRY SHOULD NOT BE RUN ON "APPROVAL RATINGS", BUT ON WHATS RIGHT OR WRONG.PRESIDENT BUSH IS DOING THE BEST JOB HE CAN I'M SURE. SINCE THIS IS HIS LAST TERM, WHY WOULD HE CONCERN HIMSELF WITH APPROVAL RATINGS??AMERICANS SHOULD LEARN TO FINISH WHAT WE START. NOT RUN AWAY EVERYTIME. PUBLIC OPINION IS LIKE THE WEATHER, IT CHANGES CONTINUALLY. THE WORLD CHANGES EVERYDAY. MOST OF THE PEOPLE DOING THE JUDGING ARE NOT QUALIFIED TO MAKE THAT DECISION, THEY HAVEN'T PUT ANY TIME IN THE MILITARY, AND HAVE NO CONCEPT OF WHAT WAR IS LIKE. EITHER WE FIGHT ON SOMEONE ELSES TURF, OR IN THE STREETS OF DETROIT, CHICAGO, NEW YORK OR DENVER. GIVE THE MAN A BREAK. HE'S A HUMAN BEING, AND I'M SURE HAS MADE MISTAKES THRE SAME AS ALL OF US HAVE. AMERICANS FOLLOW THROUGH DON'T MAKE THIS ANOTHER VIET NAM PLEASE.

[long_rider]

The only boost the chimp needs is out of office. He has been a disgrace to this country long enough.

As for Osama bin Laden, they don't want to capture him. Who would they have to blame for their lies? The fighting would still go on.

Besides the bin Laden family is close friends with the bush family.

[rihan156]

They have enflammed the whole world, generated a real mess worldwide (Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel/lebanon,Somalia), and created division (there are more Iraqis killed since the invasion in 2003 than during the whole Saddam reign). At the national level, hate crime increased more than 30%. I was wondering if it was because of incompetence but lately I began thinking of deliberate intention to make sure these wars occur so that interests groups affiliated to the Bush administration benefit from other people's death and ordeals, including Israel they say they want to help.

There should be an international law requiring that no leader can take his country to war unless his/her children/close relatives (at least three at all time) also are on the battleground (frontline). If one dies, the leader sends another one in replacement; if he does not have any relative left, then war is over. Not so childish given the madness you are living.

When wars erupt, leaders are the first ones to dash toward the first bunker and their undisclosed locations while populations remain exposed to bombs; don%u2019t tell me that preserving their lives is the only way for the earth to keep revolving on its axis! It also is so easy to say, "I will not back down' when you are thousand miles away from where the bombs rain and watch without incurring any harm. Give me a break!

[joe_x-2009]

With the recent threat to America, uncovered by old-fashioned police work by the Brits....We should trust Bush in the "War on Terror"?? Wake Up America!!!

"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him."
- G.W. Bush, 9/13/01

"I want justice...There's an old poster out West, as I recall, that said, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive,'"
- G.W. Bush, 9/17/01, UPI

"...Secondly, he is not escaping us. This is a guy, who, three months ago, was in control of a county [sic]. Now he's maybe in control of a cave. He's on the run. Listen, a while ago I said to the American people, our objective is more than bin Laden. But one of the things for certain is we're going to get him running and keep him running, and bring him to justice. And that's what's happening. He's on the run, if he's running at all. So we don't know whether he's in cave with the door shut, or a cave with the door open -- we just don't know...."
- Bush, in remarks in a Press Availablity with the Press Travel Pool,
The Prairie Chapel Ranch, Crawford TX, 12/28/01, as reported on
official White House site

"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority."
- G.W. Bush, 3/13/02

"I am truly not that concerned about him."
- G.W. Bush, repsonding to a question about bin Laden's whereabouts,
3/13/02 (The New American, 4/8/02)

[melmarr-2009]

Dictator bush (not worthy of capitalization) needs to go. This country can't afford the Bush administration any longer. 2 more years will put us in poverty and morning that we may not recover from.

[emhawks]

Many of you have expressed exactly how I feel about the Iraq war, Bush & the war on terror. Someone stated in another blog posting, that this is not a war on terror but a war of terror.
I want to comment on the recall of thousands of Marines. I feel this way:
Even though our military is all volunteer, they shouldn't be placed carelessly in harm's way for a bloody, useless war that is being fought not for the protection of America, but for oil, war profiteering, & power/personal gain of Bush/Cheney (& individuals within their adm. & the Carlye Group).
Something else to think about:
We have been told by Bush/Cheney that our involvement in Iraq is the greatest struggle this nation has faced in decades,& that this war is vital & necessary for the peace & security of the Mid. East & the US. Bush/Cheney have told us that sacrifices in this war must be made to make the world safer.
If Bush/Cheney truly believe this (& their statements/speeches/actions clearly indicate they do), I must ask them:
Where is their personal sacrifice? Why aren't their children serving in the military? Why aren't their children in Iraq or some other type of militery support capacity in the Mid. East?
Bush/Cheney has asked thousands of American families to sacrifice their sons, daughters, husbands & wives. But where is their sacrifice to lay upon the altar for this ctusade?