A new poll released Monday reflects increasing hostility — a 67 percent disapproval rating — for the Bush administration's already failing war effort. In the newest poll, a meager 27 percent of Americans polled believe that the U.S. involvement in Iraq will result in "victory," while a full fifty percent expect that "stalemate" will be the likely outcome.
The details are particularly damning. For example, only 11 percent of those polled support Bush's expected call for a "surge" of up to 30,000 additional combat troops; in contrast, 54 percent favor withdrawing all troops within one year.
The alarming dissonance between the administration's plans and public opinion is not news to us, of course, but these numbers should provide some measure of focus with regard to the viability of impeachement and criminal charges against a president whose policies continue to fly in the face of popular will and opinion.
Many of us wouldn't mind supporting the so-called 'surge' if it means Bush would essentially "hang himself with his own rope," but it might be high time to reconsider this proposal, as it seems that most Americans see right through the latest thinly-veiled explanation for what amounts to an escalation in violence.
I'm not sure if these numbers are posted on CNN's website yet, but the poll got about a minute and a half of airtime on "The Situation Room," squished between hour-long vigils for the two missing climbers.
Oh, and I don't watch CNN on purpose — it's just on in the cafe where I'm working.
Here's a link to the PDF detailing the complete poll results.