Bush's Integrity Is Questioned, According to Post-ABC Poll

Well, this is interesting. From the Washington Post:

For the first time in his presidency, a majority of Americans question the integrity of President Bush, and growing doubts about his leadership have left him with record negative ratings on the economy, Iraq and even the war on terrorism, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

On virtually every key measure of presidential character and performance, the new survey found that Bush has never been less popular with the American people. Currently 39 percent approve of the job he is doing as president, while 60 percent disapprove of his performance in office -- the highest level of disapproval ever recorded for Bush in Post-ABC polls.

Going through the Post story, the numbers pretty much correspond to what yesterday's CBS News poll reported. But there's also some interesting differences.

Virtually the only possible bright spot for Bush in the survey was generally favorable, if not quite enthusiastic, early reaction to his latest Supreme Court nominee, Samuel A. Alito Jr. Half of Americans say he should be confirmed by the Senate and fewer than a third view him as too conservative, the poll found.

The CBS News poll did not measure the American public's reaction to Supreme Court nominee Alito. The ABC News / WaPost result was measured too soon, considering that Alito was picked last week by Bush. Right now, everyone--the press, the public, the Senate, and the blogosphere--are going through Alito's 15-year judicial record, trying to discern his judicial philosophy. In addition, Alito has not started the confirmation hearings, where the public will be able to get a good look at who he is and how he responds. Here's an interesting stat: "One in five Americans -- 22 percent -- didn't yet know enough about him [Alito] to make a judgment."
So while it may be favorable for the moment, it is still too early to tell.

The ABC News poll did not measure Vice President Dick Cheney's job performance, whereas the CBS News poll measured Cheney's performance at 19 percent.

But there is a growing hostility towards Bush.

The intensity of Bush's support has changed since his reelection a year ago, with opponents deepening their hostility toward the administration. In the latest survey, 47 percent said they strongly disapproved of the way he was performing in office, compared with 35 percent who expressed strong disapproval in January. At the same time, the percentage who say they strongly approve of his performance has fallen from 33 percent last January to 20 percent today.

I find the number of people who strongly approve of Bush's job performance dropping from 33 percent to 20 percent to be especially interesting. I'm interested to know if this drop is due to a defection of moderates and independents, who originally supported Bush, possibly due to the war and terrorism issues that were brought up in the 2004 re-election. This could be another example of where Bush is losing everyone except his base supporters. There are other numbers here that are interesting:

Iraq remains a significant drag on Bush's presidency, with dissatisfaction over the situation there continuing to grow and with rising suspicion over whether administration officials misled the country in the run up to the invasion more than two years ago.

The CBS News poll extensively measures how the Valerie Plamegate and Scooter Libby indictments have hurt Bush. The ABC News poll shows some numbers regarding the war in Iraq:

Nearly two-thirds disapprove of the way Bush is handling the situation there, while barely a third approve, a new low. Six in 10 now believe the United States was wrong to invade Iraq, a 7-point increase in just over two months, with almost half the country saying they strongly believe it was wrong.

About three in four -- 73 percent -- said there have been an unacceptable level of casualties in Iraq. More than half -- 52 percent -- said the war with Iraq has not contributed to the long-term security of the United States.

A bare majority -- 52 percent -- say the United States should keep its military forces in Iraq until civil order is restored, and only about one in five -- 18 percent -- said the U.S. should withdraw its forces immediately. In the week after U.S. deaths in Iraq passed the 2,000 mark, a majority of those surveyed -- 55 percent -- said the U.S. is not making significant progress toward stabilizing the country.

The war has taken a toll on the administration's credibility, with a clear majority -- 55 percent -- now say the administration deliberately mislead the country in making its case for war with Iraq -- a conflict that an even larger majority say was not worth the cost.

These numbers are schitzoid. So 2/3rds of the public disapprove of the way Bush is handling Iraq, with almost 60% saying the U.S. should have never invaded Iraq in the first place. The invasion of Iraq contributed to an unacceptable level of U.S. casualties, and it has not contributed to the U.S. long-term security. However, the American public still believes we should stay in Iraq--stay the course, as Bush wants. What this tells me is that the American public has no idea as to how to get out of Iraq, now that we're stuck in this mess. And the Bush administration has not provided any explanation or sense of leadership in resolving this war. If this war continues on over time with no resolution, that 18% of the public, who wants to withdrawal U.S. forces immediately, is going to start increasing. And the congressional midterm elections start next year.

Finally, the ABC News poll has some numbers on President Bush's performance regarding the economy and values:

Bush also set new lows in the latest Post-ABC News poll for his management of the economy, where disapproval topped 60 percent for the first time in his presidency. And six in 10 are critical of the way Bush is dealing with health care -- a double-digit increase since March. On gasoline prices, Bush's numbers have increased slightly over the past two months, but still remain highly negative, with just 26 percent rating him positively.

The survey suggests a rapidly widening gulf between Bush and the American people/Two in three say Bush doesn't understand the problems of people like them, a 10 percentage-point increase since January.

Nearly six in 10 -- 58 percent -- doubt Bush shares their values while 40 percent say he does, another new low for this president. For the first time since he took office, fewer than half -- 47 percent -- currently say Bush is a strong leader, and Americans divide equally over whether Bush can be trusted in a crisis.

To sum up, the Bush presidency is sinking into a fantasyland, where Bush has been completely disconnected with the values and daily lives of ordinary Americans. In the 2000 and 2004 re-elections, that was Bush's key strength--connecting with the ordinary American. A perfect 2004 election analogy was that an average American could have a beer with President Bush, rather than with John Kerry. But with the constant scandals that have battered the Bush administration over this past year--Iraq, Katrina, FEMA, energy prices, Scooter Libby and Valerie Plamegate, the White House has bunkered down in a siege mentality, completely isolating the president. If the Bush administration doesn't respond quickly and proactively in changing their policies to reflect the will of the American people, not only will President Bush's poll numbers slide even further, but you may see a political revolt against President Bush and the Republican-controlled government.