Posted on 10/08/2005 7:35:16 PM PDT by neverdem
Poll finds fears about gas prices, Iraq, the economy and disaster costs
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Evangelicals, Republican women, Southerners and other critical groups in President Bush's political coalition are worried about the direction the nation is headed and disappointed with his performance, an AP-Ipsos poll found.
That unease could be a troubling sign for a White House already struggling to keep the Republican Party base from slipping over Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, Gulf Coast spending projects, immigration and other issues.
"Politically, this is very serious for the president," said James Thurber, a political scientist at American University. "If the base of his party has lost faith, that could spell trouble for his policy agenda and for the party generally."
Sentiment about the nation's direction has sunk to new depths at a time people are anxious about Iraq, the economy, gas prices and the management of billions of dollars being spent for recovery from natural disasters.
Only 28 percent say the country is headed in the right direction while two-thirds, 66 percent, say it is on the wrong track, the poll found.
"There is a growing, deep-seated discontentment and pessimism about the direction of the country," said Republican strategist Tony Fabrizio.
Supporters uneasy
Among those most likely to have lost confidence about the nation's direction over the past year are white evangelicals, down 30 percentage points since November, Republican women, down 28 points, Southerners, down 26 points, and suburban men, down 20 points.
Bush's supporters are uneasy about issues such as federal deficits, immigration and his latest nomination for the Supreme Court. Social conservatives are concerned about his choice of Miers, a relatively unknown lawyer who has served as White House counsel.
The president's job approval is mired at the lowest level of his presidency 39 percent. While four of five Republicans say they approve of Bush's job performance enthusiasm has dipped over the last year.
Party backing slips
In December 2004, soon after his re-election, almost two-thirds of Republicans strongly approved of the job done by Bush. The AP-Ipsos survey found that just half in his own party feel that way now.
The poll of 1,000 adults was conducted by Ipsos, an international polling company, from Monday to Wednesday and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Any time I start to think the country might be going in the wrong direction, I simply state two little words:
President Kerry
After considering that possibility, things don't look too bad
Look for a LOT more articles like this since his base started dining on him.
Count me among those who think Bush is leading the country down the wrong path. I've lost complete confidence in him.
Nobody seems to think we are heading in the right direction.
We are often told that the government will end up being ruled from the middle, where everybody will be happy.
But we are being ruled from the middle, and it turns out NOBODY is happy. Liberals are still upset, and now conservatives are upset.
And moderates? Some are upset because upset is right in the middle between upset and upset.
Other moderates just haven't figured out which upset to be yet, so they aren't upset yet.
This is why, in the end, governing in the middle isn't a viable strategy. That and the fact that taking some ideas from each side gives you a result that is certain to fail.
We are spending too much. But that should make liberals happy, but they hate the war, and plus they simply hate that Bush is president.
What we are now learning is that the democrats won't be happy until democrats are in charge. So the republicans aught to be steering to the right, because they are just pissing off the ONLY PEOPLE who will every support them.
That's a shame, because not being worse does not = better
The nation is going in the wrong direction. Bush is one of the better Presidents we have ever had. What is the problem? The two are not mutually exclusive. DUH.
Next week, the AP will be reporting on the high percentage of Bush voters who have entertained thoughts of suicide, the number of Republicans who think Karl Rove and Tom Delay are evil, etc...
If we are going in the wrong direction it is the direction the Dems and other liberals have pushed us in. Bush has us going in the right direction, mostly. He is not perfect, as is no one in this world.
This is just an article to encourage Dems.
I'm sorry you're blaming the president for all the ills in the world.
The world and our country are in very precarious times, if you haven't noticed. Our President is far from perfect, but he has also done a lot of GREAT things. I just went to an event where the guest speaker was a young USAF Captain who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was so proud and enthusiastic about the positive things that our people are doing there that we never hear about.
Please keep praying for the president and for our country and get involved, and try to make a difference instead of giving up on the president.
Wasn't it Alan Keyes who said that the only thing you find in a big tent is a bunch of clowns? That's the result when the legislators and the executive start pandering to the middle.
"Count me among those who think Bush is leading the country down the wrong path. I've lost complete confidence in him."
And people think the President didn't believe the Republican Senators would have backed him in a ideological fight over a Democratic filibuster.
Based on what we've seen this week, he was probably correct, if the so-called base composed of his so-called supporters turns on him the way they--some of you--have.
I used to believe the line that Christians were the only army that killed its wounded. Now I have to include the Conservative army. What message do you think the men and women overseas fighting for us are getting from you gallant warriors who are abandoning the President in droves?
I'm not sure ole Cindy could have done any better demoralizing our troops than you folks have. Thanks a lot from the dad of one who has put his life on the line for you. I sort of know what it's doing to him and his buds.
(I have not served. My tagline honors my son and my cousin.)
"Wasn't it Alan Keyes who said that the only thing you find in a big tent is a bunch of clowns"
LOL!!!!!
www.ipsos-na.com/news/images/ratings/presidential_issues.gif
wait a minute, I was told only the elitists were upset with what Bush is doing????
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