Voters Don't Want Bush Re-Elected - Poll

VOA News

24 Aug 2003, 06:50 UTC

The majority of American voters would not like to see President Bush re-elected to another term according to a poll by Newsweek magazine.

The survey released Saturday showed that 49 percent of registered voters would not back the president for a second term if the vote were held now. Forty-four percent would support Mr. Bush's re-election.

The poll marked the first time in a Newsweek survey that supporters of Mr. Bush were out-numbered by those who would not like to see him back remain in office. In April, 52 percent of voters backed the president for a second term, while 38 percent did not.

The Newsweek report attributed the decline in the president's popularity to public disenchantment over the Iraq war. The poll found 69 percent of respondents said they were concerned that the United States will be bogged down for many years in Iraq without achieving its goals there.

Nearly half of those polled said they were concerned that the cost of the war will lead to a large budget deficit and seriously impact the U.S. economy. And more than half said they thought the estimated $1 billion per week the United States is paying for the war effort is too much and should be scaled back.

However, 61 percent still believe the United States was right to take military action against Iraq in March.

Only 18 percent of those polled believe a stable, democratic government can be set up in Iraq in the long term. And only 13 percent of respondents said U.S. efforts to establish security in Iraq and rebuild the country have gone well since May 1, when combat officially ended.

The Newsweek poll results are based on telephone interviews with more than one thousand adults aged 18 and older. It was conducted on August 21 and 22. The margin of error is plus or minus three percent.

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