WASHINGTON - When President Bush delivers his next-to-last State of the Union address Tuesday night, he will confront this reality, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll: Nearly two-thirds of Americans appear to have given up on success in Iraq and also on his presidency.
In addition, the poll finds that nearly another two-thirds believe he shouldn’t move ahead with his troop increase to Iraq, if Congress passes a non-binding resolution opposing it. And it shows that just two in 10 want Bush taking the lead role in setting policy for the country.
“Essentially, the president is really in the cellar of public opinion,” says Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, who conducted this poll with Republican Bill McInturff. “As he faces the audience for his State of the Union, he’s going to find a mood dramatically different to the mood that greeted him at his second inaugural.”
In the cellar. A majority of Americans have given up on Iraq, and his presidency. A majority of Americans believe that Bush shouldn't go ahead with his troop surge plan. And it is not just the MSNBC poll here--consider the January 22, 2007 Associated Press-AOL News poll, where two-thirds of Americans believe that the country is on the wrong track and 65 percent of Americans disapprove of Bush's handling on Iraq. The January 22, 2007 ABC News-Washington Post poll also reflects the same numbers. Even the Newsweek January 20, 2007 poll shows President Bush's surge plan and job approval ratings sinking.
Continuing with the MSNBC story:
In the survey, Bush’s job approval rating stands at 35 percent, which is virtually unchanged from December, when it sank to 34 percent — the lowest mark of his presidency. In the NBC/Journal poll taken right before his second inaugural address, 50 percent said they approved of his job performance.
Perhaps more significant, a whopping 65 percent believe that Bush is facing a longer-term setback from which he’s unlikely to recover. That’s compared with 25 percent who think he’s facing just a short-term setback, and 7 percent who believe he’s facing no setback at all.
What’s more, only 22 percent say they want the president taking the lead in setting policy for the nation. Fifty-seven percent say they would prefer the Democratic-controlled Congress holding the reins.
There are some damaging numbers here. A two-thirds majority of Americans believe that Bush is facing a longer-term setback that he's unlikely to recover. This tells me that President Bush's SOTU PR-pitch is pretty much thrown in the trash. Bush will probably get no bounce from his SOTU speech--in fact, I would say he would get even more serious criticism from both congressional Democrats and possibly Republicans over the troop surge plan. And with the violence in Iraq continuing to increase, President Bush has become so isolated and out-of-touch with Congress and the American people. Who knows if he will try something impulsive and dangerous as attacking Iran? The American public have already expressed that they would rather have Congress take the lead in setting policy. King George The Deciderer will never accept that.
The MSNBC story really sums this poll up here:
“The public really says, ‘I just think it’s over,’” Hart says of Bush’s presidency. “If we had a British parliamentary system, there would be a call for a vote of no confidence. Essentially what the poll is, is a vote of no confidence.”
Here are the PDF results of the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll.
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