Public Opinion Snapshot: Your Priorities Are All Wrong

Public Opinion by Ruy Teixeira

This week’s Washington Post/ABC News poll puts the massive unpopularity of Bush’s agenda into stark relief. The survey asks questions about two of Bush’s top legislative priorities—passing his $190 billion funding request for the Iraq war and Afghanistan, and defeating the bipartisan reauthorization and expansion of SCHIP. As the chart shows, the public opposes full funding of Bush’s Iraq request by 70-27 and supports the expansion of SCHIP by 72-25.

The public’s message could not be clearer: they just don’t like or support where Bush is trying to take the country. These feelings are underscored by the public’s disapproval of Bush’s performance in a wide variety of areas: handling the Iraq situation (68 percent), the federal budget deficit (64 percent), health care (63 percent), the economy (61 percent), and the U.S. campaign against terrorism (57 percent).

The logical action, given these figures, would be to change course and take the country in a different direction. Alas, doing the logical thing has never been the Bush administration’s strong point.

For more information on the public opinion on this issue, see:

• President Bush Fails America's Children

• Everyone but Bush Supports SCHIP Reauthorization and Expansion