Poll: Support for Bush, War Grows By Richard Morin and Claudia Deane Washington Post Staff Writers Tuesday, March 18, 2003; 8:05 AM Americans have rallied strongly around President Bush and accepted his call for war with Iraq as the only practical way to remove Saddam Hussein and end the threat posed by his weapons of mass destruction, according to a Washington Post-ABC News Poll conducted last night. Seven in 10 said they supported Bush's televised call to go to war without the blessing of the United Nations unless Saddam Hussein and his sons leave Iraq within 48 hours. An equally large majority believe that Bush has done enough to win support from other nations. More than two in three said his policies on Iraq are the right ones, although fewer than half are strongly convinced. The public's preference for a U.N.-endorsed war also has faded into the background following the collapse of efforts by the United States and its allies to win support for a second war resolution in the U.N. Security Council. Three in four disapprove of the way the United Nations has handled the Iraqi crisis, up from slightly more than half three weeks ago. But the anger shown in these poll numbers does not reflect a desire to withdraw from the international community or to punish France for successfully derailing the second U.N. resolution backing war. Clear majorities want the United States to maintain current relations with both France and the United Nations. Only a third believe that the United States should punish France by withholding support and being less cooperative with the French government, and even fewer (one in five) say the United States should change its relationship with the United Nations. While endorsing war, Americans also acknowledge its risks. Six in 10 believe that the threat of terrorism will increase in the short term -- a view that echoes the administration's decision yesterday to raise the terrorism threat warning from yellow to orange. And they are divided on whether war with Iraq will reduce terrorism in the long run, a view at odds with Bush's justification that war with Iraq was necessary to reduce the threat of terrorism. Half of those interviewed -- 48 percent -- said the conflict would reduce terrorism in the long run, while four in 10 said it would increase the risk. A total of 510 randomly selected adults were interviewed Monday night after Bush's speech. Margin of sampling error is plus or minus 5 percentage points. The practical difficulties of doing a survey in a single night represent other potential sources of error in this poll. As at the start of previous confrontations abroad, the poll found that the country has largely united behind its president -- a unity that will be tested as the war unfolds and circumstances on the battlefield change. Nearly two in three -- 64 percent -- said they approve of the way Bush is handling the confrontation with Saddam Hussein, up from 55 percent in an ABC News survey conducted last week. Overall support for a war with Iraq also surged from 59 percent two weeks ago to 71 percent today. And the poll found equally broad support for beginning the war immediately after Bush's 48-hour deadline expires on Wednesday. At this point, roughly one in four Americans opposes the invasion. The survey was conducted as diplomatic efforts collapsed and the United States began making final preparations to begin a war that most of the world now believes is inevitable. Seven in 10 rejected giving amnesty to Hussein or his sons for crimes they may have committed if they accept exile outside Iraq, a compromise plan suggested by some Middle Eastern leaders but not embraced by the Bush administration and already rejected by Hussein. And an equally large majority -- 71 percent -- agrees with Bush that war is the only way to disarm Iraq, while about one in four believes there were other practical options. The prospects of an imminent war with Iraq clearly have captured the public's attention. More than seven in 10 poll respondents reported watching or listening to at least portions of Bush's brief speech last night. Respondents who reported having watched Bush's televised address were somewhat more likely to back the Iraqi invasion (77 percent, compared to 60 percent among those who had not seen the president's speech.) The poll suggests that the increased support for war is largely due to Democrats coming around to the president's view. Currently, roughly six in 10 Democrats said they support an attack on Iraq, compared to about four in 10 in an early March poll. At the same time, however, nearly half said they disapproved of the way Bush has handled the conflict with Iraq. Republicans remain nearly unanimous in their support for war: nine in 10 back the U.S.-led invasion, similar to polls conducted in recent weeks, and substantially higher than Democrats and political independents. Confidence in Bush's policy also differs starkly by party. An overwhelming 96 percent of Republicans said they were at least fairly confident that Bush's Iraq policy is the right one, compared to 65 percent of independents and 53 percent of Democrats. A majority of women now back the invasion of Iraq. Two thirds of those surveyed said they support a war with Iraq, compared to about half in a poll conducted two weeks ago. Eight in 10 men supported a war.
worth restating from the article: The public's preference for a U.N.-endorsed war also has faded into the background following the collapse of efforts by the United States and its allies to win support for a second war resolution in the U.N. Security Council. Three in four disapprove of the way the United Nations has handled the Iraqi crisis, up from slightly more than half three weeks ago.
I maintain that pre-war public sentiment is not of great importance now. No matter how high the support is, if the war goes disastrously wrong people would pile on Bush. On the other hand, success would dramatically increase public support. However the popular hostility towards France and the suspicion of UN would have long-term ramifications.
This is exactly what I was referring to when I said that Batman's poll taken on March 16 was outdated. Americans are in favor of President Bush's course. There is no disputing this. The protests have failed and the anti-war protesters must now accept defeat and move on.
Yawn. Stop calling it my poll you shameless spin-meister. It was a Zogby poll. If you'd like to call their credibility into question, go ahead. Expose yourself as the stubborn extremist you are. The Zogby poll noted that there is a steady trend of support for the action rising every time Bush spoke and then slipping back down to pre-speech levels. The ABC and Gallup polls have been snapshot polls, taken over the course of hours, and in the Gallup poll article they take pains to note that that sort of polling dampens the reliability of the results. But all that aside... Support always rises when war becomes inevitable. In the Gallup poll, 21 out of the 65% backing it said they weren't sure it was the right thing but that they were supporting the president anyway. This is not an endorsement of the policy -- it is an attempt at patriotic support in a time of war. The entire world, outside America and Israel, remains staunchly opposed to this war and America remains divided even while many Americans try to do what they believe to be the right thing in registering support. And, by the way, who are you to tell protesters to "accept defeat and move on?" A lot of people felt that way during Viet Nam. Thankfully, the protesters didn't listen to that crap. If they had, our leaders would have been responsible for even more meaningless deaths, on both sides, than they were. I don't care if American support rises to 99%. We are acting against the will of the world in an unprecented, pre-emptive act of aggression. It is wrong and it will continue to be wrong regardless of how many flags wave in support of it.
Hey folks, let's all go along with Batman's great ideas! It's time to disband our entire legislative process. Instead of actual Americans making decisions on matters of national security, why don't we just poll the world! Let's just ask Saddam what the best way is to defend ourselves. What matters most is what others think of us! Not what we actually believe in! Ahh, how simple! How could we have been so silly for so long? Are you listening Framers of the Consitution? You were wrong! Batman was right! Fact: A majority of Americans support the President. Fact: Anti-war protests have been unsuccessful in persuading the coalition of international bodies to avoid disarming Saddam by force. Fact: A poll taken before a very effective speech and then cited as evidence can be considered worthless. Firmly Held Opinion: We should support our nation in this time of war. We should support our troops.
I'd love to just let this nonsense speak for itself but I'm not that strong. Your sarcasm on this issue is gross, by the way. And your attempts to marginalize people with sincere, thoughtful, heartfelt problems with this, at home and abroad, as crazy freaks is despicable. It is you (and Bush) who are so dead set on ignoring the opinions of the American people any time they don't agree with you. Fact: The elder Bush knew it was important to have solid support at home and abroad before launching a war. That's why he had a broad coalition, the support of the UN and 90% support at home. Bush Jr. does not understand this and that's why there still, even on the eve of war, only 1/3 strongly supporting, 1/3 weakly supporting and 1/3 opposed here at home, while the internationally community remains staunchly opposed. Fact: We do not have an international coalition of any meaning. If my band plays in Houston and Stavanger, Norway I have not gone on a world tour. It is Bush who has failed to convince the international community that this is necessary. Every time you point to our international support (which amounts to Spain and Tony Blair acting against the will of his country) I will point to the hundreds of countries who remain staunchly opposed. Fact: If you're Trader_Jorge you have the unique ability to dismiss polls you don't like and embrace ones you do. The Zogby poll (or, as you stupidly call it, "Batman's poll") was the most recent poll taken which wasn't a flash poll. Firmly held opinion: If you're Trader_Jorge you have the audacity to "support" the troops while they're risking their lives as well as their mental health and then oppose a veteran's shelter when they stop "contributing to society." You disgust me.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0205/p01s01-usgn.html 90% of america didn't support the first war. Less than half did. Interesting as that war was a clear cut issue and this one is a harder sell yet has more support.
Batman Jones, where is the evidence that the rest of the world does not support the war? I know France and Germany are strongly against it, but how about Japan and India? And from what I have seen, Great Britain is pretty split, and the Eastern European countries support it.
I don't have a link, though I'm sure you could find a British poll if you looked. They aren't split. They're opposed. The numbers on the rest of the world may be in Newsweek. I don't know. I'm basing this on last night's ABC special after the speech in which a senior editor from Newsweek said that, while the leaders of several countries (I think he said maybe 18 or so) back this formally or informally, as far as the actual people in these countries go, only two countries boast 50% or better popular support: US and Israel.
Since we're in to polls now: http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr030317.asp Nevertheless, most Americans positively assess the way the United States has handled these negotiations -- 26% say the Bush administration did the best job possible given the circumstances, and an additional 42% say it did a fairly good job but made some mistakes. Only 14% say the Bush administration "completely mishandled the diplomatic efforts." Most people believe the international community failed, not Bush.
From Dream Sequence's article: In the final days before the 1991 Persian Gulf War, a Gallup poll found that 46 percent of Americans felt the situation in Iraq was "worth going to war" over. This time around, the latest Gallup poll finds overall support for an invasion at 58 percent. And according to a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, a bare majority now say they would support military action even without UN approval. Given that the administration hasn't even finished making its case - and hasn't actually called for war - analysts say the current level of support is striking. Behind it lies a complex range of factors, from a diminished fear of casualties to a near- universal view of Mr. Hussein as a menace. General trust in Mr. Bush's judgment - and even more trust in Powell's - may also be swaying many Americans, along with a growing sense of the inevitability of war. "It is very unusual for members of the public to support an operation before the president actually has made his full case," says Eric Larson, a senior policy analyst at RAND who specializes in public opinion and war. "Americans just have a set of beliefs about Iraq and the nature of the threat."
Here is a link to a British poll where support is almost even with opposition, and Bush gets an approval of 53%. http://politics.guardian.co.uk/polls/story/0,11030,916494,00.html But from this article it looks like you are right: http://www.msnbc.com/news/885222.asp
