Public Support for Bush Reverts to Pre-war Levels

The surge in US public support for President Bush seen during the war with Iraq has subsided, leaving his ratings in a similar position to that at the beginning of the year - but still fairly strong - according to Ipsos-Public Affairs / the Cook Political Report.

Support for George W. Bush peaked during the war with Iraq when the percentage saying they would definitely vote for him was 19% higher than that saying they would definitely vote for someone else. Two months plus after the end of 'major hostilities' the effect has worn off and the difference is down to 11%.

Similarly, support for Republican control of Congress reached a peak in April, with a 7-point lead over the Democrats in terms of the percentage wanting them to win control. This has also dissipated, as Americans now prefer Democratic control of Congress by a narrow margin (4 points).

Voting intentions for the next election showed President Bush's share steadily declining through the first three quarters of 2002, before stabilizing in the 4th quarter.

Ipsos-Public Affairs interviewed Americans for the Cook Political Report between June 3 and 19. A representative sample of 2,000 adults were interviewed nationwide, including 1,553 registered voters.

Results of this and other Ipsos/Cook Political Report surveys can be found at www.ipsos-na.com/pubaff/dsp_cook.cfm

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

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