WASHINGTON, 14 October 2005 — President George Bush’s job approval has plummeted to an all-time low of 40 percent, according to a NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released yesterday.
That’s a drop of 6 points from the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll taken in July, and it’s consistent with results from other recent national surveys. The poll also finds that just 37 percent of respondents approve of Bush’s job handling Iraq, compared with 58 percent who disapprove — another all-time low.
In addition, 55 percent want to reduce the number of troops in Iraq, while just 36 percent want to maintain the current level there.
“Yes, the president’s popularity is measurably down, but to conclude that he could turn his back on the Iraqi situation is incorrect and too premature,” said Richard Murphy, former assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs in the Reagan administration and now an independent consultant in New York.
“I think the political realities are such that in 2006 there will be a substantial withdrawal of American troops from Iraq for two reasons: the first is the pressure on the Army reserve units. Secondly, due to the American political calendar with congressional elections in November of next year, Republican candidates, in particular, are going to want to show that progress is being made and enabling a number of our troops to come home.”
When asked to choose between rebuilding Iraq and establishing a democratic government there or rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, 60 percent of respondents said New Orleans is the greater priority, while just 5 percent mentioned Iraq. 34 percent said both are equally important.
The survey comes after an eventful August when gas prices skyrocketed to record highs, Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq, and other anti-war protesters held a month-long vigil outside of Bush’s ranch in Texas and Hurricane Katrina demolished much of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
Bush and his administration have since been criticized for responding too slowly to the hurricane and its aftermath.
One Katrina-related story that has grabbed headlines is that many of the Gulf Coast residents who couldn’t escape the storm were poor and minorities. According to the NBC/Journal poll, only 37 percent agree with the statement that the Bush administration would have acted with greater urgency had the affected areas been mostly white suburban communities. But there is a huge discrepancy by race here: Seventy percent of African Americans agree with the statement, while 67 percent of whites disagree.
After Katrina, 75 percent polled now believe the US is not adequately prepared for a nuclear, biological or chemical attack. That’s an increase since June 2002, nine months after Sept. 11, when 66 percent believed this.
Earlier this month, a CBS News also poll found the American public increasingly pessimistic about the economy, the war in Iraq, the overall direction of the country, and the president. Americans’ outlook for the economy is the worst it has been in four years. Most expect the price of gas to rise even further in the next few months.
Significantly, more Americans than at any time since he took office think he does not share their priorities.
The public’s concerns affect their view of the state of the country. Sixty-nine percent of Americans say things in the United States are pretty seriously off on the wrong track — the highest number since CBS News started asking the question in 1983. Just 26 percent say things are going in the right direction.
But erosion of Bush’s popularity is no sudden phenomenon. In July, a MSNBC/WSJ poll revealed that only 41 percent give Bush good marks for being “honest and straightforward” — his lowest ranking on this question since he became president. That’s a drop of nine percentage points since January, when a majority indicated that he was honest and straightforward.
