link; all emphasis is mine.
President Bush will begin his second term in office without a clear mandate to lead the nation, with strong disapproval of his policies in Iraq and the public both hopeful and dubious about his leadership on the issues that will dominate his agenda, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.
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Fewer than half of those interviewed -- 45 percent -- said they preferred that the country to go in the direction that Bush wanted to lead it while 39 percent said Democrats should lead the way. During the first months of his presidency, after the bitterly disputed 2000 election, Americans said they preferred Bush to take the lead by 46 percent to 36 percent.
And what about SS? The public is dubious, but doesn't understand all the alternatives yet. Framing is the key:
On Social Security, the poll offered mixed findings that underscore the enormous challenge facing Bush at the start of what both parties see as the most significant legislative battle of the second term.
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Other polls have shown sizeable opposition when the Bush plan is described as cutting future benefits, and the varying results in different surveys suggest that the communications battle to frame the problem and the solutions may prove crucial to the outcome, as was the case in the fight over Clinton's health care plan in 1993 and 1994 and the battle to reduce the rate of growth in Medicare spending, which cost Republicans after they took control of Congress in 1994.
However, the public expects Dems to compromise because Bush won:
But the public also wants cooperation from the Democrats. At a time when Democratic leaders are preparing to challenge many of Bush's major initiatives, nearly seven in 10 Americans agree that Bush's victory means that congressional Democrats should compromise with him -- even if it means compromising on their party's principles. Only one in four say Democrats must not compromise on principles, even if it means less gets accomplished.
Well, no doubt the one in four post here every day. See first comment re the expectations of the public that partisanship will go away (they doubt it will). And on the all important question of Iraq:
No other issue, including the economy, education, health care and Social Security, is viewed by a majority of the public as equally pressing.
Bush said in an interview last week with The Washington Post that the 2004 election was a moment of accountability for the decisions he has made there, but the poll found that 58 percent disapprove of his handling of Iraq to 40 percent who approve, and just 44 percent said the war was worth fighting.
The survey also found that, while Americans overwhelmingly oppose delaying the upcoming elections in Iraq, scheduled for Jan. 30, they are pessimistic that the vote will produce a stable government. Nearly six in 10 said it will not bring a stable government, but 57 percent said they see the elections as a step to the day that U.S. troops can be withdrawn from the country.
"Only Richard M. Nixon had a lower job approval rating at the start of his second term", says the WaPo. Bush is stuck at 52%, which I continue to believe is a ceiling and not a floor. Americans (especially Republican Americans) do not yet grasp that their vote has been a mistake, nor has Bush won over anyone who didn't vote for him. iraq will prove to be, IMHO, Bush's downfall in the end.
It took a short year for 1972 to turn into 1973 for RMN. Bush may yet find that claiming a mandate is easier than proving he's won a damned thing.