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Poll: Americans trust Congress over Bush on IraqReutersJuly 24, 2007 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most Americans see President George W. Bush as too inflexible on the war in Iraq and prefer that the Democratic-run Congress have the final word on when to withdraw U.S. forces, a Washington Post/ABC News poll showed on Monday. Nearly 80 percent of those polled said Bush is not willing enough to change policies over the unpopular war that has taken a huge toll on his approval ratings, the Post reported. The poll was conducted last week, after Senate Democrats failed to advance a plan that would force Bush to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq by April 2008. More than six in 10 Americans -- 62 percent -- said Congress should have the final say on when to pull out U.S. forces, compared with 31 percent who said the decision should rest with Bush, the poll showed. A narrow majority, 55 percent, said they supported the proposed pullout plan, which the Senate may not consider again until after its August recess. The percentage of Americans seeing Bush as too rigid on Iraq has climbed 12 percentage points since December, the Post said. It said Bush's approval rating of 33 percent matched his all-time low, with 65 percent disapproving. In previous Post/ABC polls, Bush was also at the 33 percent mark in May 2006 and January 2007. Congress did not rate much better with a 37 percent approval and 60 percent disapproval rating, which the Post said was equal to dissatisfaction late last year when Republicans controlled Congress. Other recent polls have shown Bush's approval rating below 30 percent and Congress even lower. But on the issue of Iraq, the Post/ABC poll showed that the public stands with Congress. Fifty-five percent said they trusted congressional Democrats on the war, compared with 32 percent who said they trusted Bush, the Post said. The poll of 1,125 adults was conducted on July 18-21 and had a three-point margin of error. |
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