President facing 'gray and gloomy'
electorate
NBC News
By Mark Murray
Political reporter
Updated: 7:53 p.m. ET Jan. 30, 2006
WASHINGTON - Heading into Tuesday's State of the Union address and the
beginning of the 2006 political season, President Bush faces an electorate that
continues to be dissatisfied with his job performance, increasingly wants U.S.
soldiers to come home from Iraq, and believes the Republican Party is
associated more with special interests and lobbyists, according to the latest
NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
The overall political climate for Bush is "gray and gloomy," says Republican
pollster Bill McInturff, who conducted this survey with Democratic pollster
Peter D. Hart. "In general, people are just not in a happy mood."
The poll, however, contains a slice of good news for the Bush
administration: A small majority approves of the administration's
controversial use of domestic wiretaps without a court order to track calls
between terrorist suspects and U.S. residents. But a majority also believes
that these wiretaps could be misused.
The survey, which was conducted from Jan. 26-29 of 1,011 adults and which
has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, shows
Bush's approval rating at 39 percent, which is unchanged from last
month's NBC/Journal poll. (Other recent national surveys have shown his
approval rating to be slightly higher, in the low 40s.) In addition, only 25
percent say they want to see Bush take the lead role in setting policy for the
country, while 49 percent say they prefer Congress.
"He's off track," says Hart, who wonders if Bush will use his State of
the Union address to strike a more conciliatory tone with his political
opponents. "If it is 'our way or the highway,' it will be a very long year for
the president."
'Elevate the tone here in Washington'
In a brief preview of his address Monday morning, after he met with his
Cabinet, Bush seemed to suggest he'll be seeking the middle ground. "I'll do my
best to elevate the tone here in Washington, D.C., so we can work together to
achieve big things for the American people," he said.
Yet one of the big things that the American people want accomplished is
something that Bush — as of now — isn't prepared to do: bring U.S.
troops home from Iraq. Asked which goal they'd pick if America could achieve
just one thing in the coming year, 35 percent said they'd choose bringing most
of the American forces home from Iraq; 20 percent cited dealing with the cost
of health care and coverage for the uninsured; 17 percent said stimulating the
economy and job growth; and 11 percent said simplifying the Medicare
prescription-drug benefit for seniors. Only 7 percent chose reducing taxes as
their No. 1 goal.
In another sign that Americans want to bring the soldiers home, the poll
shows that 66 percent want to reduce the number of U.S. troops. Yet just 28
percent want to maintain the current troop level — down from 35 percent
in December. McInturff explains that Republicans and others expected the
largely successful Iraqi election in December would help justify the
administration's stay-the-course Iraq strategy with the public. "It may have
done just the opposite," he says.
Bush has continually stated that it would be a mistake to immediately
withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq, but he has vowed that as "the Iraqis stand up,
we will stand down."
On the politically charged subject of domestic wiretapping, 51 percent
approve of the administration's use of these wiretaps — without a court
order — to monitor the conversations between al-Qaida suspects and those
living in the United States, compared with 46 percent who disapprove. However,
56 percent say they're concerned that such wiretaps could be misused and could
violate a person's privacy.
GOP tarred by ethics issues
Another issue that also has recently dominated the political headlines is
ethics and lobbying reform. In fact, Democrats, citing the recent guilty pleas
by GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff and Rep. Duke Cunningham, R-Calif., are trying to
take back control of the House and Senate with the message that Republicans are
engaged in a "culture of corruption." Republicans counter that the ethics
problems in Washington are bipartisan.
According to the poll, 36 percent believe that the Republican Party is more
influenced by special interests and lobbyists, while 22 percent say that's true
of the Democratic Party. Thirty-three percent argue that both parties are
equally influenced by special interests and lobbyists.
With Republicans and Democrats divided on these issues — and many
others ' Hart says there's one thing you can easily predict for Tuesday's State
of the Union address: Republicans will constantly applaud Bush and his
statements, while Democrats will mostly sit on their hands. "There are going to
be few times when you see both sides of the chamber rise up in unison."
Mark Murray covers politics for NBC News.
© 2006 MSNBC Interactive
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