Editorial: Polls showing rising unrest over Iraq war

Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2005 | 9:03 a.m.

President Bush no doubt felt secure this past April in nominating Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, as U.S. trade representative. Portman was from Ohio's solidly Republican 2nd district, whose voters had elected him to seven terms by overwhelming margins. The appointment could not possibly cost the Republicans a seat in the House. Yet a special election this month to fill Portman's seat turned out to be a cliffhanger. Democrat Paul Hackett, a Marine veteran of Iraq who criticized Bush's decision to go to war there, lost the race against Republican Jean Schmidt by only 4 percentage points. Portman had always sailed into office by margins of 28 percent and more.

As Schmidt is a solid supporter of President Bush, so much so that Hackett called her a "rubber stamp," many analysts saw the election results as a sign of growing unrest toward the administration. They may have been right. The latest polls show that the American people are losing confidence in the president's performance.

A Gallup poll at the end of last month found the president's approval rating at 44 percent, with 51 percent disapproving. A new Newsweek magazine poll shows that Bush's job approval rating has fallen to a low of 42 percent, again with 51 percent disapproving. A joint poll by the Associated Press and Ipsos (an international polling firm), shows that 50 percent of Americans say Bush is not honest. The poll also shows that only 38 percent approve of his handling of the Iraq war. A USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll released Monday shows that an "unprecedented 57 percent majority" say the war in Iraq has made the United States more vulnerable to terrorism. And 54 percent of the respondents in that poll said going to war in Iraq was a mistake.

Polls rise and fall depending on the news. It's possible that Bush could get a momentary bounce if Iraq has a new Constitution by its Monday deadline. But we see no hope for his numbers steadily rising until he begins an honest dialogue with the American people about Iraq. Bush's first reason for going to war, to prevent Saddam Hussein from using weapons of mass destruction against us, turned out to be mistaken and his second reason, to turn Iraq into a modern democracy, has only been superficially explained. We believe the polls are showing the desire for a more humble and honest president who will level with the American people about the true progress and objectives of this war.