WASHINGTON, 8 September 2003 — US President George W. Bush’s strength with the public is based largely on the perception that he has helped make the United States safer from terrorists, polls suggest.
That is raising the stakes for Bush to improve the situation in Iraq — which he describes as central to the fight against terrorism.
Almost three-fourths in a CBS News poll released yesterday said the president has helped make the country safer. Even a majority of Democrats agreed.
But the president is not viewed as favorably on his handling of the economy. Almost two-thirds of the respondent said he has had almost no success creating jobs, and half said Bush has not helped the economy.
Seven in 10 surveyed in the CBS poll said domestic issues, rather than international issues, will decide their vote in the 2004 presidential election. The Bush administration is now seen as responsible for the current condition of the economy, which has shown signs of life though job losses have continued. Almost nine in 10 surveyed said the president has a lot or some responsibility in the condition of the economy.
Recent polls suggest just over half of the public approves of Bush’s job performance after months where his job approval was in the 60s and 70s. With the presidential campaign gaining momentum, Bush needs to bolster his stance with the public. In a recent CNN-Time poll, more said they would definitely vote against him than definitely vote for him. The CBS poll of 930 adults, including 775 registered voters, was taken Aug. 26-28 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Bush, however, wants billions of dollars more to pay for US troops in Iraq and rebuilding the country, and congressional aides say the figure could top $80 billion in the upcoming budget year. Bush, who was discussing Iraq and the terrorism fight in a nationally televised address from the White House yesterday night, believes the “cost of freedom and the cost of peace cannot be measured and that it is important that we put adequate resources to this task,” National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said.
The president is talking with lawmakers about what is needed and working on ways to increase the participation of Iraqis and other nations in stabilizing and reconstructing Iraq, Rice said. “The key here is we must remain resolute,” she told CNN’s “Late Edition.”
“There’s a reason that foreign fighters are coming into Iraq. There is a reason that we’re seeing evidence — not really yet completely clear evidence — of terrorists trying to operate in Iraq,” Rice said. “They know that this is the central battle in the war on terrorism.”
Rice declined to offer specifics on how much money would be needed. Congressional aides, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they would not be surprised if the amount the president requests is higher than the $60 billion to $80 billion figure that has been reported for the budget year beginning Oct. 1.
“It could be bigger than $80 billion,” said a congressional aide. “The expectation is that it’s going to be a very, very big number.”
A second congressional aide said: “I’m thinking we’re in the $70 billion to $80 billion range and I would lean to the higher end of that.” Rice said commanders in the field believe there are enough US troops in Iraq. She would not speculate about how long they would remain there.
“It is really difficult to put a time frame on this,” she said. “The key is to get the job done.” The kind of troops is more important than the number, she said.
Secretary of State Colin Powell, on ABC’s “This Week,” said: “If we can get Iraqis trained and equipped quickly to start doing these guard functions and to go to places that are relatively stable and keep them stable, then that’s what we should do, and not send more US troops to stand around in these places.”
