Bush's numbers going down

You know that when Newsweek leads with "Quagmire for Bush? Americans are increasingly skeptical about the war in Iraq and the intelligence leading up to it", that things aren't looking good for the president.

Amidst Bush's woes:

• 45 percent of Americans think Bush misinterpreted intelligence reports about Iraq's WMDs.

• 38 percent think he purposefully misled the public.

• Only 55 percent approve of his job performance, a drop of six points in just two weeks.

We get much of the same from the Washinton Post/ABC News, whose polls have consistently given Bush his highest numbers.

Public support for President Bush has dropped sharply amid growing concerns about U.S. military casualties and doubts whether the war with Iraq was worth fighting, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Bush's overall job approval rating dropped to 59 percent, down nine points in the past 18 days. That decline exactly mirrored the slide in public support for Bush's handling of the situation in Iraq, which now stands at 58 percent.

And for the first time, slightly more than half the country -- 52 percent -- believes there has been an "unacceptable" level of U.S. casualties in Iraq, up eight points in less than three weeks.

What's really interesting about these polls is that they were conducted just prior to the current media storm over Bush's Yellowcake LIES. These drops in Bush's approval ratings are seemingly predicated on the growing casualty figures in Iraq.

So what happens when people -- already upset over the turn of events in Iraq -- find out the war was sold to them with LIES?

Do I hear numbers in the 40s? 30s?

Posted July 12, 2003 01:32 PM