Jan. 27, 2007 - President George W. Bush concluded his annual State of the Union address this week with the words “the State of our Union is strong … our cause in the world is right … and tonight that cause goes on.” Maybe so, but the state of the Bush administration is at its worst yet, according to the latest NEWSWEEK Poll. The president’s approval ratings are at their lowest point in the poll’s history—30 percent—and more than half the country (58 percent) say they wish the Bush presidency were simply over, a sentiment that is almost unanimous among Democrats (86 percent), and is shared by a clear majority (59 percent) of independents and even one in five (21 percent) Republicans. Half (49 percent) of all registered voters would rather see a Democrat elected president in 2008, compared to just 28 percent who’d prefer the GOP to remain in the White House.
Public fatigue over the war in the Iraq is not reflected solely in the president’s numbers, however. Congress is criticized by nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of Americans for not being assertive enough in challenging the Bush administration’s conduct of the war. Even a third (31 percent) of rank-and-file Republicans say the previous Congress, controlled by their party, didn’t do enough to challenge the administration on the war.
So Bush is now at a 30 percent job approval rating for the Newsweek poll. A 58 percent majority of Americans wish that the Bush presidency could just be over now. And an even more interesting number is that 64 percent of Americans are now criticizing Congress for not being more assertive and challenging this Bush presidency. The American people want out of Iraq. So far, they've been giving the Democratic Congress the benefit of the doubt with more positive poll numbers over that of the Republicans. But what this Newsweek poll shows is that even the American public does not have infinite patience. If the Democrats in Congress cannot find a way to get out of Iraq, then even the Democrats could find themselves in trouble during the 2008 presidential elections.
Now some thoughts on President Bush. One thing I've certainly noticed over time is that as his job approval numbers continue to drop, the more belligerent and stubborn Bush has become regarding his policies. Consider this Washington Post article regarding the Bush administration's escalation of war talk with Iran:
President Bush said today he has no intention of sending U.S. forces into Iran, but he vowed to "respond firmly" if Iran steps up a campaign that the United States charges is aimed at killing U.S. troops and derailing democracy in Iraq.
Bush told National Public Radio that he is willing to do "whatever it takes" to protect U.S. troops in Iraq from what the White House says have been attacks with weapons supplied by Iran.
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"We'll wait and see whether it's a positive development or not," [White House Press Secretary Tony] Snow told reporters in a news briefing. However, "to the extent that anybody, including Iranians, are smuggling weapons, bringing in fighters, killing Americans, trying to destabilize the democracy in Iraq, we will take appropriate measures to defend our troops and also to defend the mission," he said.
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Asked how the Bush administration views Iranian activities inside Iraq at present, Snow said, "Right now, what we are seeing is some evidence that the Iranians have been involved in activities that have led to the deaths of American soldiers and also the deaths of innocent Iraqi civilians. And to the extent that that kind of activity continues, we will respond appropriately."
President Bush has consistently refused to negotiate with Iran, while increasingly escalating the tensions between the two countries over this past month. The Iranians have refused to back down. And as a result, the Bush White House continues increasing their threats to Iran. You could almost say that this Bush White House is acting like a belligerent bully throughout the world. And the lower this administration sinks in its job approval ratings, the more stubborn the administration becomes in refusing to negotiate or compromise its own misguided, hard-lined ideology, lashing out against everyone that will not submit to their demands.
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