Posted on 08/15/2007 6:05:59 PM PDT by bnelson44
NEW YORK Despite rising criticism from some quarters, Gen. David Petraeus appears to command considerable respect from the average American, a new Gallup poll reveals, booosting the chances that his much-publicized September report on the "surge" will be treated as credible by most.
The poll of 1,012 adults, taken earlier this month, found that 47% give him a favorable rating, and only 21% unfavorable. The rest had not heard of him or had no opinion.
This is the first time that Gallup asked Americans about their overall opinion of Petraeus.
In April, however, Gallup asked about the reliability of various leaders as "a source of accurate information about current conditions in Iraq." Eighty percent of Americans said Petraeus was a "very" (43%) or "somewhat" (37%) reliable source of information about conditions in Iraq, while just 13% said he was "not too" or "not at all" reliable.
"Americans viewed Petraeus as a much more reliable source than any of the other 16 leaders listed in the poll, including President Bush, members of the Bush administration, and leading Republican and Democratic presidential candidates," Gallup reports today.
"These results help explain why a majority of Americans, 56%, say Congress should not develop a new policy on Iraq until September when Petraeus reports on the progress of the U.S. troop surge."
Critics have charged tha Petraeus has been a strong booster of the war since the beginning, has been proven wrong in some of his earlier projections, and made up his mind long ago that the "surge" deserved to keep moving forward.
FR WAR NEWS! Mean while Democrats are working to make his speech heard only behind closed doors. See Mark Levin 08/15/07 during his interview with Tony Snow.
This is the precursor to the attacks on the General from the left. You can’t judge how well the attack dogs are doing without a baseline. This is the baseline.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
I’m hearing that it will actually be the White House that will write the report and not General Petraeus. If true, that will be another bad move by this administration because that will only serve to deminish the General’s credibility in the eyes of the public.
Ouch. Big problem for the Rats...
Actually, it’s the White House that is proposing a ‘closed door’ session with Petraeus and Crocker prior to the “official” release....Followed by a more public presentation by Condi and Gates, surely dumbed down so we “Little People” can understand it in the way they want us to.
Actually I believe it will be presented in simplified form for the benefit of the press, to minimize spin...
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