Poll: Support For Bush’s Iraq Policy Edges Up
September 12th, 2007
By JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief
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A new poll shows a small increase in support for President George Bush handling of the Iraq war — coming at a critical time when he’s trying to shore up Republican support and Democrats are pondering their next move.
The Wall Street Journal:
Public discontent with the Iraq war has slightly eased, increasing President Bush’s political maneuvering room at a critical point in debates over war costs and troop levels.
A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows an uptick in support for the president’s handling of the war. As Mr. Bush prepares to follow Congressional testimony by top Iraq Gen. David Petraeus with a speech to the nation tonight, the proportion of Americans who believe the troop surge is helping and that victory remains possible has edged up.
These aren’t massive increases…but most likely enough for Bush to maintain his Congressional control on this issue:
Those shifts in public opinion remain modest, the Journal/NBC poll shows. Solid majorities continue to disapprove the president’s performance, say victory in Iraq isn’t possible and that the war hasn’t been worth its human and financial costs. Yet only one in four Americans say troops should leave now regardless of conditions on the ground.
That’s bad news for the Democrats.
It means if they clamor for an immediate exit (as many in the party’s base including the netroots want) they will be at odds with the bulk of Americans. And Republican strategists and the White House could try to accentuate that divide by maneuvering the Demmies into taking positions and seeking votes that put them at odds with the majority. MORE:
The slight improvement in Iraq sentiment followed extensive news coverage anticipating the testimony of Gen. Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker; the telephone survey of 1,002 adults was conducted Sept. 7-10, with the vast majority of interviews completed before their Monday testimony. The survey’s margin for error is 3.1 percentage points.
The Journal notes that this may be enough for Bush to consolidate his control over policy until the end of his term. The Democrats would need a two-thirds majority to force an accelerated troop pullout…the vote needed to override a certain Presidential veto. And, as the Journal notes, there are no signs of that happening:
The proportion of Americans who say the war remains winnable has edged up to 37% from 32% in July, while the majority who say it isn’t has diminished to 56% from 62%. The proportion saying the troop surge is helping the situation on the ground has risen to 33% from 29% in July and 24% in April.
The proportion saying the Iraq war has been worth the financial and human costs ticked up to 35% from 33% in July. Mr. Bush’s approval rating on Iraq is still paltry at 30%. But that’s up from 22% in July.
This isn’t a massive shift. But the name of the game is for Bush to keep his GOPers in Congress in line and deprive the Democrats of the big majority they need. And all signs now indicate that the General’s testimony and the way the White House has positioned itself and “spun” its position has done just that.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 at 6:38 pm and is filed under Withdrawal, Surge, Bush Administration, Michael Chertoff, General David Petraeus, Republicans, George W. Bush, Congress, 2008 Elections, Polls, Iraq, Democrats, Politics. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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