On Special Report, Jeffrey Birnbaum baselessly asserted that “if you compare Americans' view of the war in Iraq and the war against terrorism this Fourth of July compared to last Fourth of July, the president and his policies are in a much better position.” However, polling shows otherwise.
Birnbaum asserted that Americans have higher opinion of Bush's Iraq and terrorism policies than a year ago; polling shows otherwise
Written by Raphael Schweber-Koren
Published
During the “All-Star Panel” segment on the July 4 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume, Washington Post staff writer Jeffrey Birnbaum baselessly asserted: “I don't think there's any question ... but if you compare Americans' view of the war in Iraq and the war against terrorism this Fourth of July compared to last Fourth of July, the president and his policies are in a much better position.” However, polling does not support Birnbaum's assertion. Compared with a year ago, polls show that President Bush's approval ratings regarding the Iraq war have declined, while the percentage of Americans who believe progress has been made in Iraq have gone up minimally. Moreover, while slightly more Americans think the United States and its allies (as opposed to “neither side” or “terrorists”) are “winning the war against terrorism,” Bush's approval ratings on that issue have remained stagnant over the same one-year period.
President Bush's approval ratings on Iraq
(margin of error: +/- 4.5)
6/25/2006
6/26/2005
Approve
37
43
Disapprove
62
56
Pew (+/- 3)
6/19/2006
7/17/2005
Approve
35
35
Disapprove
57
57
Gallup (+/- 3)
6/11/06
6/26/2005
Approve
36
40
Disapprove
60
58
NBC / Wall Street Journal (+/- 3.1)
6/12/2006
7/11/2005
Approve
35
39
Disapprove
61
55
President Bush's approval ratings on terrorism
ABC / Washington Post (+/- 4.5)
6/25/2006
6/05/2005
Approve
51
50
Disapprove
47
49
Pew (+/- 4)
6/19/2006
July 2005
Approve
47
49
Disapprove
41
40
Gallup (+/- 3)
6/11/2006
6/26/2005
Approve
51
55
Disapprove
44
41
CBS
News / New York Times (+/- 4)
6/11/2006
8/02/2005
Approve
47
55
Disapprove
46
39
Americans' view of the war in Iraq
ABC/Washington Post (+/- 4.5): “Do you think the United States is or is not making significant progress toward restoring civil order in Iraq?”
6/25/2006
6/26/2005
Yes
48
48
No
49
51
ABC/Washington Post (+/- 4.5): “How confident are you that Iraq will have a stable, democratic government a year from now -- very confident, somewhat confident, not too confident or not confident at all?”
6/25/2006
6/26/2005
Very confident
3
6
Somewhat confident
36
34
Not too confident
30
33
Not confident at all
29
27
Pew Research Center for People and the Press (+/- 3): “How well is the U.S. military effort in Iraq going ... ?”
6/19/2006
July, 2005
Very well
16
14
Fairly well
37
38
Not too well
25
27
Not at all well
18
17
Gallup (+/- 3): “In general, how would you say things are going for the U.S. in Iraq?”
6/11/2006
8/7/2005
Very well
8
5
Moderately well
39
38
Moderately badly
30
28
Very badly
23
28
NBC News/Wall Street Journal (+/- 4.4): “And do you feel more confident or less confident that the war in Iraq will come to a successful conclusion?”
6/12/2006
7/11/2005
More confident
38
36
Less confident
53
55
Americans' view of the war on terrorism
Gallup (+/- 3): “Who do you think is winning the war against terrorism: the U.S. and its allies, neither side, or the terrorists?”
6/11/2006
7/11/2005
U.S. and its allies
38
34
Neither side
41
44
The terrorists
16
21
CBS News/New York Times (+/- 4): “Who do you think is currently winning the war against terrorism: the United States and its allies, neither side, or the terrorists?”
6/11/2006
8/2/2005
U.S. and its allies
43
40
Neither side
42
38
The terrorists
11
17
From the July 4 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume:
BIRNBAUM: I don't think there's any question, that -- but if you compare Americans' view of the war in Iraq and the war against terrorism this Fourth of July compared to last Fourth of July, the president and his policies are in a much better position, and that, I think, is worth talking an extra 15 minutes on the Fourth of July.
SAMMON: He even talked about it. A year ago today, the Iraqis didn't have a government -- you know, a permanent government -- they didn't have a prime minister; they didn't have a lot of things. And if you look at the progress that's been made in 12 months, it's quite dramatic.
BRIAN WILSON (guest host): All right, that's it for the panel.