A clear majority of Americans say Congress should pass a resolution that outlines a plan for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday. Half of those surveyed would like all U.S. forces out of Iraq within 12 months.
The poll finds support for the ideas behind Democratic proposals that were soundly defeated in the Senate last week. An uptick in optimism toward the war after the killing of terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi earlier this month seems to have evaporated.
Richard Eichenberg, a political scientist at Tufts University who studies presidential polling, says views on Iraq are too set to be changed by momentary developments.
"The other piece of quote-unquote 'good news' is the unity government in Iraq, but it's not as if we're hearing that they have made great strides in eliminating the militia influence or violence anywhere in Iraq," he says. "There's still a steady drumbeat of bad news."
Bush's approval rating is at 37%. After hitting the low point of his presidency at 31% in May, it had risen to 38% in early June. His standing, which slipped below 40% in February, hasn't rebounded above that level since then.www.usatoday.com
