7 out of 10 Americans disapprove of Bush's handling of Iraq

This is off The Washington Post:

In a new Post-ABC News poll, seven in 10 Americans disapprove of the way the president is handling the situation in Iraq -- the highest percentage since the March 2003 invasion. Six in 10 say the war was not worth fighting.

While both gauges on the war have been negative since late 2004, Bush's approval rating on Iraq has deteriorated further since early October, likely weakened by recent high-profile criticisms of the administration's Iraq policy.

The bleak appraisals of the war include the release last week of the much-anticipated report from the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan government advisory panel, which described conditions in Iraq as "grave and deteriorating."

In other words, the American public has been digesting the Iraq Study Group, and has decided that they still don't like President Bush's "stay the course" strategy. Some more details with the WaPost story:

In this poll, 36 percent approve of how Bush is handling his job, which is the second lowest percentage in Post-ABC polls since Bush took office in 2001; 62 percent disapprove.

And as has been true throughout this year, the intensity of sentiment runs starkly against the president: Those who strongly disapprove of Bush's job performance outnumber those who strongly approve by nearly a 3-to-1 margin.

While Bush enjoys significant support among Republicans (77 percent approve), just three in 10 independents, and three in 10 moderates, approve of his job performance. Democrats continue to give an overwhelmingly negative assessment of how Bush is handling his job (86 percent disapprove, 75 percent do so "strongly").

Attitudes about the Iraq war also showed a deep political division. Eighty-one percent of Democrats and 65 percent of independents say the war in Iraq was not worth fighting, while most Republicans -- 69 percent -- say that on balance the war was worth fighting.

Overall, 61 percent of Americans feel the war was not worth fighting. Half of Americans feel "strongly" that the war was not worth fighting, double the number who strongly believe that it was.

I should also note how this WaPost poll has the same results as the December 9th Newsweek poll, and the December 8th AP-Ipsos poll. The American public is now opposed to this war--no amount of Bush marketing spin can change that cold hard reality.

And yet, the Bush administration is completely blind to this. Here is part of the transcript to December 11th White House Press briefing with Tony Snow:

Q There's a new Newsweek poll that says that 67 percent of Americans would support keeping large numbers of U.S. military personnel in Iraq for no more than another year or two. Now we know that the President doesn't like to take very much notice of polls, and this week he's talking to a lot of experts and listening to them, but it seems that the American people are also speaking very loudly. I'm wondering how much is he going to factor in what they seem to be saying?

MR. SNOW: Well, let me put it this way --

Q And is he going to be listening to them?

MR. SNOW: The President has listened, but the other thing that will be interesting is what I talked about before. Public opinion is not something chiseled in stone. Quite often it's shaped by, among other things, political campaigns. And now there's an opportunity for both parties to work together.

And I think when the President comes out and has an opportunity to make clear what the goals are -- and, again, I don't know that there's widespread disaffection with the notion of a free, democratic Iraq standing on its own, with the United States supporting that, and as Iraq becomes more capable having American forces move out, and to do those swiftly as possible. I think that's something that the American public can support, and Democrats and Republicans alike can support.

We understand right now the anxiety about the situation in Iraq. And the President shares it. But on the other hand, the costs of leaving short of victory could be utterly catastrophic for the region and for the United States. The President has outlined that many times, therefore understanding not only what the stakes are for not completing the job, but also with the promise for completing the job. It's important for people to consider.

In other words, the Bush administration is not going to listen to what the American people are saying. Public opinion is not something chiseled in stone. Mr. Snow is actually right on this topic--public opinion can change, be shaped, and adapted according to political policies and events. The big problem for both Tony Snow and President Bush is that American public opinion has changed to a negative liability against the Bush administration over the long term. What was once American support for the war has changed to American opposition. And yet, the Bush administration refuses to acknowledge the American people's desire for change--for getting out of Iraq. In fact, Snow actually deflects the question of the American public's dissatisfaction of the U.S. war in Iraq with a supposed "disaffection with the notion of a free, democratic Iraq standing on its own...." The question was never about American public opinion on a free, democratic Iraq standing on its own. The question was that the American public would only support keeping American troops in Iraq for no more than two years--the American public wants a timetable for withdrawal. And the Bush administration still refused to accept a timetable. Continuing with the White House transcript:

Q So seeing as they're also saying that they do want a timetable -- both CBS and the Newsweek poll are saying that --

MR. SNOW: Well, as I said, Victoria, let's wait for the President to deliver his speech. My guess is that you will see, when the President is addressing the American people and addressing many of the concerns you're talking about, it will create a basis of support.

More White House spin here--let's not talk about timetables now. Let's wait until the president makes his big Iraq speech--whenever that will be. And after President Bush makes his big Iraq speech, the American people will embrace him and throw flowers at his feet. And of course, when the president does make that big speech, the attention will be focused on whatever the president said in his speech, whiles the American public's desire for a withdrawal timetable will be forgotten--at least until the next public opinion poll.