The day of the London bombings I asked how the war on terror was going, and few of you responded just fine… with the single caveat that it would be going even better if I were to somehow fall victim to it. Heartwarming. Conventional MSM wisdom (such as it may be) seemed to say that Americans would rally to President Bush in the aftermath of the London attacks… and one of my righty regulars even suggested that public support for Bush’s policies would increase “ten fold.”
Well, excoriate me as a coward, appeaser and traitor if you want, for questioning U.S. policy in Iraq and elsewhere, but it turns out a majority of Americans share my concerns. According to a Wall Street Journal/NBC poll taken in the days following the attack, Bush’s job approval rating has dropped to its lowest level in over a year, with respondents disapproving of the President’s performance by a 49% to 46% margin.
Even worse for Bush, only 41% of respondents agreed that Bush was “honest and straightforward” — his lowest rating since becoming president, and a drop of nine percentage points since January. I guess that’s what happens when you constantly lie to the American people. And get caught.
Remember, this is no liberal gotcha poll… this the Wall Street Journal, the flagship of the right-wing press. And the poll was conducted just before the Karl Rove allegations exploded in the MSM, so the current controversy isn’t even represented in Bush’s sagging honesty ratings.
Interestingly, support for the President is eroding faster than support for the Iraq War. By a 57% to 42% margin, respondents say it is important to maintain a military presence in Iraq until we finish the job… whatever that may be. Yet Americans disapprove of Bush’s handling of the war by a 55% to 39% margin. Clearly, Americans are starting to question the administration’s honesty about, and execution of the war. And that leaves me in good company.