CBS Poll: 76% Say War's Going Badly
Record Number In Survey Say Getting Involved In Iraq Was Mistake
-
Play CBS Video
Video
Bush Pushes New War Bill
CBS News RAW: During his speech in the Rose Garden, President Bush called on Congress to approve newly proposed legislation for Iraq war spending.
-
Photo
(CBS/AP)
-
Interactive
Iraq: 4 Years Later
The conflict wears on as the nation struggles to rebuild.
-
Interactive
Presidential Approval Ratings
A sampling of President Bush's overall job approval ratings at selected points during his term in office.
Nearly half of all Americans (47 percent) say the war is going very badly, while just 20 percent say the recent U.S. troop increase is making a positive difference.
Even a majority of Republicans, 52 percent, now say the war is going at least somewhat badly – a 16-point increase from the middle of April. Nine in 10 Democrats and eight in 10 Independents agree.
HOW IS THE WAR GOING?
Now
Well
Badly
4/2007
Well
Badly
Although Congress has backed down from attaching a timetable for a U.S. troop withdrawal to the war funding bill, six in 10 Americans would like one. The public also favors setting benchmarks the Iraqi government must meet as a condition for future funding of the war – something that Congress will include in the pending legislation.
The poll also finds a record number of Americans say getting involved in Iraq in the first place was a mistake. Only 35 percent say the U.S. did the right thing by invading Iraq, while 61 percent say the U.S. should have stayed out.
DID U.S. DO THE RIGHT THING GOING TO WAR WITH IRAQ?
Now
Right thing
Should have stayed out
In addition, the poll finds Americans are more pessimistic than ever about the overall direction in which the United States is headed. Seventy-two percent, the highest number since the CBS/NYT poll started asking the question in 1983, say the country is on the wrong track, while 24 percent say it's headed in the right direction.
DIRECTION OF THE COUNTRY
Wrong track
Right direction
President Bush's job approval rating in the poll is now at 30 percent, two points above its January low. Sixty-three percent of Americans disapprove of the president's job performance.
Congress fares only a little better, with an approval rating of 36 percent, and disapproval of 52 percent.
BUSH’S JOB APPROVAL RATING
Approve
Disapprove
APPROVAL OF CONGRESS
Approve
Disapprove
This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1,125 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone May 18-23, 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 192 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 7 percentage points.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
- Latest in Opinion: CBS News Polls
- Poll: Most Back Public Health Care Option
- Poll: Sotomayor Still An Unknown
- Poll: No Dent In Obama's Popularity



- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- next
See all 202 CommentsBush lied and our people died. Will someone impeach him please? We need to move on, not wait him out.
EVERYONE THAT WANTS TO HELP WITH THIS SHOULD BE TALKING TO ALL MEDIA OUTLETS AND TELLING THEM THAT AMERICANS ARE READY TO TAKE WASHINGTON ON AND ITS NOT A FEW AMERICANS ITMILLIONS OF AMERICANS THAT WILL TAKE BACK THERE COUNTRY..
I AM WILLING TO GIVE MY BLOOD FOR ALL AMERICANS TO GET OUR COUNTRY BACK TO WHAT OUR FORFATHERS WANTED.
AM A VET AND AM READY TO TAKE CHARGE OF THIS AMERICAN BOYCOT/COOP IF WE THE PEOPLE DONT DO THIS NOW WE WILL BE GIVENING UP ON OUR CONSTITUTION AND WHAT ALL OUR VET HAVE DIED FOR..
DAVID A BELANGER,VET US ARMY,for-america@hotmail.com
ok so wants to join in on this great american REVOLUTION
they cant kill millions of americans at once so if we charge them all at once we will win and take them out and hang them all..
just like in the old days of the west...hang them from the trees in front of the whitehouse and see how many start telling the truth about what they have done to all us americans..
if the american NOW dont stand up and start a NATIONAL REVOUTION ON THIS WASHINGTON BULL S/H/I/T/ THEN we as TRUE AMERICANS can say nothing!!!
its time to take all this *** and take our government back now..
they are the ones that started this and we will finnish it now..we the people will take our country back and everyone in washington can sit there and thinks we the people are ok with what they are doing..go ahead and let them think that we are comming to take them out
I want to know who the 34% are who say it's going well. I personally know of nobody.
thank you for your service. but...i think it's time for your meds.
Of course,
A Democrat congress running the Iraq war would be like a Democrat congress running the Vietnam war.
We ALL know what a mistake THAT was
...
I'm with ya.
Ret. Air force special OPS enlisted.
Why don't we take the immigrants and send them to fight in Iraq; if the win then they can have citizenship.
Of course,
A Democrat congress running the Iraq war would be like a Democrat congress running the Vietnam war.
We ALL know what a mistake THAT was
...
Of course,
A Democrat congress running the Iraq war would be like a Democrat congress running the Vietnam war.
We ALL know what a mistake THAT was
...
Congress represents the will of the people ?
What a joke.
what have you done for our country!!!!!!!!!!
These are IRAQI citizens people and whether you want to label them "yankess" or "rebs" neither of them are Americans and it is their destiny to decide the fate of their country!
You read the reports about IRANIANS traing Shia Militia and in IRAN and the other 100 Muslim Nations you read about the US Training Shia Security Forces - PLEASE TELL ME THE DIFFERENCE!!!
This is the type of deceit that Bush has been shielding from America for over four years in order to keep US Support behind Keeping our Soldiers in HARMS WAY - with Cheerleaders like V.P. Haliburton War Mongering Cheney saying on CNN - that we are making enormous progress in IRAQ - STATE of DENIAL!
How Tragically SAD!
EVERYONE THAT WANTS TO HELP WITH THIS SHOULD BE TALKING TO ALL MEDIA OUTLETS AND TELLING THEM THAT AMERICANS ARE READY TO TAKE WASHINGTON ON AND ITS NOT A FEW AMERICANS ITMILLIONS OF AMERICANS THAT WILL TAKE BACK THERE COUNTRY..
I AM WILLING TO GIVE MY BLOOD FOR ALL AMERICANS TO GET OUR COUNTRY BACK TO WHAT OUR FORFATHERS WANTED.
AM A VET AND AM READY TO TAKE CHARGE OF THIS AMERICAN BOYCOT/COOP IF WE THE PEOPLE DONT DO THIS NOW WE WILL BE GIVENING UP ON OUR CONSTITUTION AND WHAT ALL OUR VET HAVE DIED FOR..
DAVID A BELANGER,VET US ARMY,for-america@hotmail.com
ok so wants to join in on this great american REVOLUTION
they cant kill millions of americans at once so if we charge them all at once we will win and take them out and hang them all..
just like in the old days of the west...hang them from the trees in front of the whitehouse and see how many start telling the truth about what they have done to all us americans..
if the american NOW dont stand up and start a NATIONAL REVOUTION ON THIS WASHINGTON BULL S/H/I/T/ THEN we as TRUE AMERICANS can say nothing!!!
its time to take all this *** and take our government back now..
they are the ones that started this and we will finnish it now..we the people will take our country back and everyone in washington can sit there and thinks we the people are ok with what they are doing..go ahead and let them think that we are comming to take them out
Posted by arthurcl1
...and maliciously stubborn
the average one guarding is getting payed 185000 dollars a year..
put its ok to pay our troops min. wage what up with that picture
Some one in Washington needs to start doing their job or we need to start having recall elections!
If Chimp's brother wasn't the governor of Florida and Jeb's main squeeze-on-the-side Katherine Harris the Florida Secy of State and the Supreme Joke (err Court) a bunch partisan hacks that are for State's Rights (except in this one instance which they inform us overturning the Florida State Supreme Court should not be considered precedent) - we wouldn't have this ignorant, arrogant, greedy, lying, corrupt jerk as our President.
Do y'all remember back in 2003 when GW said on 60 minutes that 'a higher father' than his own instructed him to go into Iraq? Well, maybe GW just thinks he is speaking to God, actually maybe he has sold our country's soul to the devil instead? Sure looking that way to me...
Impeachment DOES NOT remove a president from office.
"Impeach" means "to accuse"
The House of Representatives has the sole power to impeach,
HOWEVER, it's the Senate that has the sole power to REMOVE a president from office.
It takes 67 Senators to remove a president from office, and there are only 49 Democrats.
It'll never happen.
AFTER ALL, CLINON WAS IMPEACHED, BUT HE REMAINED IN OFFICE.
...
Impeachment DOES NOT remove a president from office.
"Impeach" means "to accuse"
The House of Representatives has the sole power to impeach,
HOWEVER, it's the Senate that has the sole power to REMOVE a president from office.
It takes 67 Senators to remove a president from office, and there are only 49 Democrats.
It'll never happen.
AFTER ALL, CLINON WAS IMPEACHED, BUT HE REMAINED IN OFFICE.
...
Impeachment DOES NOT remove a president from office.
"Impeach" means "to accuse"
The House of Representatives has the sole power to impeach,
HOWEVER, it's the Senate that has the sole power to REMOVE a president from office.
It takes 67 Senators to remove a president from office, and there are only 49 Democrats.
It'll never happen.
AFTER ALL, CLINON WAS IMPEACHED, BUT HE REMAINED IN OFFICE.
...
Impeachment DOES NOT remove a president from office.
"Impeach" means "to accuse"
The House of Representatives has the sole power to impeach,
HOWEVER, it's the Senate that has the sole power to REMOVE a president from office.
It takes 67 Senators to remove a president from office, and there are only 49 Democrats.
It'll never happen.
AFTER ALL, CLINON WAS IMPEACHED, BUT HE REMAINED IN OFFICE.
...
I thought that the "surge" would not work, but I was hoping that it would. What we need is a plan that the experts can agree on.
If Junior went to business school, then he should be familiar with the term "buy in". Make the experts part of the decision making process and it becomes their plan as well.
George told the nation that he "would get good people", but apparently he never said that he would listen to them. Being the decider in chief in a vacuum is a fool's erand, and we have just the fool.
I am embarrased and ashamed that I did not do more to spread the word.
I am embarrased and ashamed that I did not do more to spread the word.
I disagree. Cheney is Bush's brain and Rove is his strategist. Bush is a clueless but friendly jerk who is good at remembering names and drinking. He is the 'friendly' cover for Cheney & Rove. Ever why when GW appointed Cheney to find a running mate for him, Cheney picked himself?!!
Impeachment DOES NOT remove a president from office.
"Impeach" means "to accuse"
The House of Representatives has the sole power to impeach,
HOWEVER, it's the Senate that has the sole power to REMOVE a president from office.
It takes 67 Senators to remove a president from office, and there are only 49 Democrats.
It'll never happen.
AFTER ALL, CLINON WAS IMPEACHED, BUT HE REMAINED IN OFFICE.
...
Posted by okmd58 at 01:09 PM : May 24, 2007
WOW, this is right our to the republican play book. DENY first. Place blame second. And always follow that up with an upsurd statement. Congratulations okmd58. You passed the play book with flying colors.
Impeachment DOES NOT remove a president from office.
"Impeach" means "to accuse"
The House of Representatives has the sole power to impeach,
HOWEVER, it's the Senate that has the sole power to REMOVE a president from office.
It takes 67 Senators to remove a president from office, and there are only 49 Democrats.
It'll never happen.
AFTER ALL, CLINON WAS IMPEACHED, BUT HE REMAINED IN OFFICE.
...
Impeachment DOES NOT remove a president from office.
"Impeach" means "to accuse"
The House of Representatives has the sole power to impeach,
HOWEVER, it's the Senate that has the sole power to REMOVE a president from office.
It takes 67 Senators to remove a president from office, and there are only 49 Democrats.
It'll never happen.
AFTER ALL, CLINON WAS IMPEACHED, BUT HE REMAINED IN OFFICE.
...
EVERYONE THAT WANTS TO HELP WITH THIS SHOULD BE TALKING TO ALL MEDIA OUTLETS AND TELLING THEM THAT AMERICANS ARE READY TO TAKE WASHINGTON ON AND ITS NOT A FEW AMERICANS ITMILLIONS OF AMERICANS THAT WILL TAKE BACK THERE COUNTRY..
I AM WILLING TO GIVE MY BLOOD FOR ALL AMERICANS TO GET OUR COUNTRY BACK TO WHAT OUR FORFATHERS WANTED.
AM A VET AND AM READY TO TAKE CHARGE OF THIS AMERICAN BOYCOT/COOP IF WE THE PEOPLE DONT DO THIS NOW WE WILL BE GIVENING UP ON OUR CONSTITUTION AND WHAT ALL OUR VET HAVE DIED FOR..
DAVID A BELANGER,VET US ARMY,for-america@hotmail.com
ok so wants to join in on this great american REVOLUTION
they cant kill millions of americans at once so if we charge them all at once we will win and take them out and hang them all..
just like in the old days of the west...hang them from the trees in front of the whitehouse and see how many start telling the truth about what they have done to all us americans..
if the american NOW dont stand up and start a NATIONAL REVOUTION ON THIS WASHINGTON BULL S/H/I/T/ THEN we as TRUE AMERICANS can say nothing!!!
its time to take all this *** and take our government back now..
they are the ones that started this and we will finnish it now..we the people will take our country back and everyone in washington can sit there and thinks we the people are ok with what they are doing..go ahead and let them think that we are comming to take them out
I'd like to know too where this poll sample comes from - maybe New York City where 80% are Dembots?
And if it's soo cut and dry what The People want, why are the Dembots in Congress running around like the Keystone Kops trying to get something done about it?
Polls are like the weather. They change every day.
President Bush Job Approval
Approve 33.4
Disapprove 61.4
2 out of 3 do not like his "leadership" (and I use that term very loosely when referring to Bush II).
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- next
See all 202 Comments