Poll: Bush Approval Rating At New Low

(CBS)  President Bush will deliver his State of the Union address Tuesday night to a nation that's strongly opposed to his plan for increasing troops in Iraq and deeply unhappy with his performance as president, according to a CBS News poll.

Mr. Bush's overall approval rating has fallen to just 28 percent, a new low, while more than twice as many (64 percent) disapprove of the way he's handling his job.

Two-thirds of Americans remain opposed to the president's plan for sending more than 20,000 additional U.S. troops to Iraq — roughly the same number as after Mr. Bush announced the plan. And 72 percent believe he should seek congressional approval for the troop increase.

However, the poll finds more Americans might back the president's plan if they were convinced it would assure U.S. success in Iraq.

SHOULD U.S. SEND 20,000 MORE TROOPS TO IRAQ?

Favor
29%
Oppose
66%


…if it increased U.S.' chances for success?

Favor
53%
Oppose
38%

However, Americans aren't convinced the U.S. needs a troop increase to achieve its goals in Iraq. Just 26 percent think that's needed, about the same number that think those goals can be reached without sending in more troops.

Forty-one percent think the U.S. can't achieve its goals regardless of troop levels.

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Read the complete CBS News poll results.

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The president's nationally televised message to Congress may not even reach many of those whose minds he would like to change. Less than half the public says it's very likely to watch the speech — and that answer comes more from those who already support him.

There's still more troubling news for the president: By a more than 2-to-1 margin, Americans think Mr. Bush does not share their priorities. Just 28 percent think he does, while 69 percent think he does not.

More than two-thirds of Americans also think the country has gotten off on the wrong track, while just 26 percent think it is headed in the right direction.

DOES BUSH SHARE YOUR PRIORITIES?

Yes
28%
No
69%

Mr. Bush's approval rating is much lower than it was one year ago, when 42 percent of Americans approved, and far lower than the ratings he received in polls prior to his previous State of the Union addresses. Those ratings have fallen steadily since a high of 82 percent in January 2002, shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

His job approval is also far below those of other modern two-term presidents at this point in their second terms.

In January 1999, for example, just after his impeachment by the House of Representatives, President Bill Clinton's job approval rating was 65 percent. In January 1987, President Ronald Reagan's was 52 percent. In 1967, President Lyndon Johnson received a 47 percent approval rating, even as debate about the Vietnam War raged.

The war in Iraq remains the most important problem facing the country, cited by 33 percent of Americans, far more than mentioned the next top issues, the economy and jobs (8 percent) and health care (7 percent).

Only one in four believes the war is going even somewhat well, while three-quarters say it's going badly — something the president himself acknowledged earlier this month and the highest number since the war began.

MOST IMPORTANT PROBLEM

War in Iraq
33%
Economy and jobs
8%
Health care
7%

Americans are split on whether Congress, now under Democratic control, should offer a non-binding resolution against the troop increase: 42 percent say yes and 42 percent say no. But more than half of Americans — including most Democrats — want Congress to cut off the money for the troop buildup, including a small number who want to cut funds for the entire war.

Mr. Bush is expected to talk mostly about domestic concerns in Tuesday's address — and that is what most Americans want to hear; just one in four wants to hear mostly about foreign policy and Iraq. Thomas Mann, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution says, "He's already invested in a national speech on the subject, which was not well received in the country or in the Congress. My guess is he will talk more about the War on Terrorism, and link Iraq to that broader initiative."

On the domestic front, Americans think the economy is in good shape, but a majority says the Social Security system needs to be fixed now.

The public is split on whether the 2001 tax cuts should be made permanent. More than half think the issue of illegal immigration is very serious, but are divided on whether Congress will actually pass immigration reform.

Americans continue to see global warming as a serious problem. Seven in 10 say it is a problem that is having a serious impact right now. A quarter disagrees.

For detailed information on how CBS News conducts public opinion surveys, click here.

This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1,168 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone January 18-21, 2007. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher. An oversample of African-Americans was also conducted for this poll, for a total of 221 interviews among this group. The results were then weighted in proportion to the racial composition of the adult population in the U.S. Census. The margin of error for African-Americans is plus or minus seven points.

[teeus]

Absolutely, the troops have been had. It's heartbreaking that there is such a disconnect with most of the people in this country. In very large part, the general population hasn't had to make many sacrifices, so it's easy for most people to let the war news just drift along.

If there were a draft, and every able bodies child between 18 and 22 was going to be shipped off to Iraq, and think a lot more people would care and get mobilized.

[randalds]

As a vet I agree completely. Well stated!
Posted by RandalDS at 12:27 PM : Jan 23, 2007


Word. These brave young kids have been thrown under the wheels of the bus by this administration. If there was a draft now like there was for Viet Nam, I think the protests would be staggering in scope.
Posted by teeus at 04:36 PM : Jan 23, 2007

I wasn't up for the draft during Vietnam. I protested the war, but then volunteered for the Air Force. When this type of insanity is happening some of us want to join to go see it for ourselves. Not out of morbid curiosity, but because you think you can't judge something until you actually see it. I saw it and I don't want anyone else to. That's why I still support the troops, because they've been had, they've been screwed by Bush in an unspeakable way and many of them won't even know it for years to come. Sadly the physical damage suffered by the the unfortunate 10,000+ who are permanently disabled, mangled, defaced, lost limbs, brain-damaged, will pale next to the mental scars that 10X that number will have and those wounds will refuse to heal also.

[sandyfs]

We could ask for President's resignation, but then we would have to ask for Vice President's also and on down the line. Let's just pray that the congress and senate fights well in their fight of no more troops to be put in harms way and the rest of the 140,000 and more to be brought home as safely as possible. Middle East have been fighting for years and years, way before our time and will continue after they destroy our country. We do not need to be there, the only person that I can see us going after, who has evaded being caught is Osama Bin Laden.

I also believe that immigration laws should apply to all that enter illegally to the USA, I say this because it is unfair to allow them to stay when those that have entered legally waited and went by the rules to enter. The only reason illegal immigrants are here is due to their low wages in Mexico and the lower than minimal wage here is alot more then their normal pay in Mexico. This needs to be changed by placing a big fine on companys that use illegal help due to the fact they can pay lower wages and make bigger profits.

[jimibear]

"The driver replied, "I just stepped inside the door and said,
I'm Hillary Clinton's driver and I've just killed the old cow. The
rest happened so fast I couldn't stop it.


Posted by Xsoldier2 at 04:41 PM : Jan 23, 2007
+ report this comment"

Hee hee. I will be sharing this one. Very good.

[mh4cbs1]

28% Approval Rating ??

What kind of insane country do we live in?? How can just over 1/4 of the people in this country actually APPROVE of this wanna-be-a-War-President? Who ARE These People? Themust have their heads in the sand!

This President and his NeoCon puppetmasters are a complete and total DISASTER for this nation (unless you are among the very wealthy War Profiteers or tax cut beneficiaries).

They LIED us into this MESS, costing hundreds of Billions of dollars, Thousands of US dead, a couple hundred thousand dead Iraqis, we are less safe, Osama is still not found, our allies have deserted us, the middleclass will inherit a few TRILLION in nation Debt. amd these F***ing S*Bs are getting a 28% approval rating ??

[jenoa]

I keep reading comments from people saying that they "hope Bush will resign.", no wonder the rest of the world thinks of you as cowards, no one will openly call for his resignation! Is everyone so apathetic, or just fearful of being called "extreme". If so, let's recap the harm bush has inflicted on the world and his country. It is beyond forgiveness, and the American people need to demonstrate they care and will not stand for such corruption.

It%u2019s true, we think of you as lazy, apathetic cowards. Perhaps you've been oppressed into submission through lifetimes of bureaucratic letdowns, but that is an illness that is yours to remedy.

Take it into your own hands. Impeach your president and replace him with a competent leader.

jimibear wrote:

"Actually, Net, the opposite is true. I travel extensively, and one of the biggest gripes people have with us is that we seem to let Bush get away with whatever he likes without raising our voices in dissent. They hate him, and the policies of international bullying, war for money and empire building he stands for. They see the citizens of the US either as lazy cowards for not making him stop, or (even worse) they assume we must all support him because he just keeps it up."

I can also confirm this to be true.

I also travel frequently (and have travelled in the past) and I hear (and have heard) exactly the same type of comments.

Our international reputation has definitely been affected by GW Bush.

While Blair may support GW Bush, most people in the UK do not - and this has strongly affected Blairs popularity to the point where he will stand down sometime in the future.

Many in the British labor party (Blairs own political party) are against Blair and his seemingly unending support of GW Bush.

And that is a fact.

[defirststate]

The same people who now question the validity of these polls and even the polling process pointed to the poll numbers before and early in the war as proof that they must be right. The 28% who still agree with shrub must either have some personal interest in the policy or exist in the same mental alternate reality as the top people in the administration.

[jjomalia]

It is interesting to note that the poll respondents now and in the past have had a lower opinion of the congressional leadership than the president. Most of the posts here are pure propaganda and personal opinion supported in part by facts, part pure fiction and bias. I did find entertaining the story about Hillary and the cow.

[pakaal]

28%! We're in Nixon approval ratings territory now. The good news is that given a certain margin for error, we can safely say that everyone with eyes in their head and a basic understanding of job effectiveness now understand Bush isn't qualified to do his job.

The bad news is that Bush doesn't care.