Nonetheless, Americans remain mixed about U.S. policy in Iraq. Forty-nine percent of those polled think that the Bush administration does not have a well-thought out plan for establishing stability in Iraq; 39 percent do. While the majority of Americans–59 percent–believe that the United States did the right thing by taking military action in Iraq, 58 percent also think that too much money is being spent on the operation. The majority–56 percent–think troops should be reduced and some should come home, up 7 points from the end of September. Far fewer–12 percent–think the United States should send in more troops. And about one-quarter–23 percent–think the number of soldiers in Iraq should remain the same, down 6 points from the end of September.
The president’s overall approval rating remains at 51 percent, 35 points below his ratings in the weeks immediately following September 11.
Although Iraq may currently top the Bush administration’s agenda, voters say they are most concerned about domestic policy. The economy seems to weigh heaviest on people’s minds, with a large majority of register voters–80 percent–saying it is a very important issue in determining who they will vote for. Other issues voters ranked as very important: education (78 percent), healthcare (75 percent), Social Security and Medicare (73 percent) and terrorism and homeland security (70 percent). Fewer registered voters, although still a majority, gave the situation in Iraq as much weight: 60 percent thought the decision to go to war was very important; while 57 percent thought the commitment of U.S. money and troops to Iraq was very important.
When asked how various Bush administration policies would influence their decision to vote, Bush scored highest for his response toward terrorist threats since the September 11 attacks. Fifty-five percent of registered voters said his policies in this area would make them more likely to vote for him, while 26 percent said Bush’s policies on terrorism would make them less likely (16 percent said it would not effect their vote.) Voters were more evenly divided on other issues: 29 percent said Bush’s tax cuts would make them more likely to vote for him, while 28 percent said they would make it less likely to vote for him (39 percent said it made no difference).
The amount of money the United States is spending to rebuild postwar Iraq weighed the most heavily against Bush–48 percent of voters said this would make them less likely to vote for him, while only 28 percent said it would make them more likely. Twenty-one percent said it would have no effect upon their vote.
Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean now ranks first among the Democratic Party’s 2004 presidential candidates, taking the lead from retired General Wesley Clark. Dean now polls at 15 percent among registered Democrats and Democratic leaners, trailed by Clark (12 percent), Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman (10 percent), Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry (8 percent), Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt (8 percent) and the Rev. Al Sharpton (8 percent). The other Democratic nominees each have 6 percent or less of votes.
While Bush still leads in the polls against every one of the Democratic candidates, the gap between Bush and Dean has grown markedly tighter in recent weeks, from a 14 percent gap (52 percent vs. 38 percent) at the end of September, to a 6 percent gap (49 percent vs. 43 percent) in the latest poll. Clark fares identically against Bush, with a 6 percent gap (49 percent vs. 43 percent), while Lieberman, Kerry and Gephardt have slightly wider gaps (7, 8 and 9 percent, respectively).
