Poll: 2/3 Approve Bush Handling of War on Terror

CNN.com – Poll: Bush gets higher marks on terror – Feb 9, 2005

Nearly two-thirds of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going in the war on terrorism, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released Tuesday. Sixty-four percent of those polled said they were “very” or “somewhat” satisfied with the way things are going in the war on terrorism, while 35 percent said they were dissatisfied. That is a significant change from October, when 53 percent said they were satisfied and 47 percent were dissatisfied with the war on terror. The telephone poll of 1,010 adult Americans was conducted between Friday and Sunday, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Asked about their confidence in the Bush administration’s ability to protect U.S. citizens from terrorism, 38 percent said they had a “great deal” of confidence and 35 percent said they had a “moderate amount.” Sixteen percent said they had “not much” confidence in the administration’s ability to protect Americans, and 10 percent said they had “none at all.”

Neither Gallup nor USA Today mention the poll on their sites yet, although they do mention results on Bush’s Social Security plan, which was part of the same survey. USAT has the survey questions and responses up here.

Presumably, the successful elections in Iraq and the Palestinian Authority are the chief reasons for the swing. While no questions were asked on the latter, questions 23-27 were on Iraq. In all cases, the numbers were better than they’ve been in months. Obviously, they could swing back the other way should events on the ground deteriorate.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.