A new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll finds that a majority of americans oppose the surge, think Bush has no plan for Iraq, and would rather Democrats in congress were running the show.
CNN:
Two out of three Americans oppose President Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq, a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Friday indicates.
Nearly two-thirds of those polled also say Bush has no clear plan for Iraq.
While his numbers have inched up slightly on that question since the previous poll last week, Bush's address to the nation Wednesday night seems to have made little difference.
And it was such a stirring speech, too... Bush looked like a mannequin and delivered it with all the oratorial skill and passion of a third grader reading his book report to the class. Not one of his better efforts.
On other questions, the respondents were clearly not on Bush's side of the argument.
"Do you favor or oppose the U.S. war in Iraq?" -- 67% oppose, 31% favor
"Who do you have more confidence in when it comes to handling the situation in Iraq: President Bush or the Democrats in Congress?" -- Bush 34%, Democrats 51%
If dems in congress take decisive action, such as defunding the escalation, the administration will accuse them of abandoning the troops and try to make it seem like they're withdrawing support for troops already in Iraq. Idiots like Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Rush Limbaugh are sure to spread visions of starving troops running out of ammo. It's a sure bet.
But it won't work. The poll shows that americans aren't only opposed to the escalation, they want it stopped.
"Congress may consider several different resolutions on President Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq. Some resolutions would take steps to prevent this, while other resolutions would express opposition to the plan, but not attempt to block it. Suppose Congress considers a resolution which would take specific steps designed to prevent the U.S. from sending more troops to Iraq. What would you want your members of Congress to do? Should they vote to allow the U.S. to send more troops to Iraq or vote to prevent the U.S. from sending more troops to Iraq?" -- 36% allow, 61% prevent
It's important to note that the question asks, "What would you want your members of Congress to do?" That's specific. It means that if their members of congress -- i.e., reps. and senators -- don't vote to prevent, voters will be unhappy with them, not congress in general.
In fact, respondents want congress not block funding for the escalation:
"Thinking specifically about the additional troops President Bush plans to send to Iraq, what would you want your members of Congress to do? Should they vote to allow the government to spend money in order to send more troops to Iraq, or vote to block the government from spending money to send more troops to Iraq?" -- 38% allow, 60% block
In fact, Russ Feingold's call to defund the war altogether is unsurprisingly popular:
"And thinking about the U.S. troops currently stationed in Iraq, what would you want your members of Congress to do? Should they vote to allow the government to spend money to keep those troops in that country, or vote to allow the government to spend money only to withdraw those troops from Iraq?" -- 41% keep, 54% withdraw
The war is over -- both abroad and on the home front. President Bush's plan to send more troops is analogous to keeping a brain dead patient on life support; it's just never going to get any better. All it does put off the inevitable and cost a whole boatload of money.
Not surprisingly, in a separate, unscientific poll, 66.9% find President Bush annoying.
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