United for Peace of Pierce County, WA - We nonviolently oppose the reliance on unilateral military actions rather than cooperative diplomacy.

U.S. President George W. Bush made polling history this week when a USA TODAY/Gallup poll found that 50% of adult Americans "strongly disapprove" of Bush's handling of the presidency, Editor & Publisher said Tuesday.[1] -- On Thursday, a CNN/Opinon Research Corp. poll showed that "[s]ixty-eight percent of poll respondents opposed the war, setting a new record. The level of opposition is slightly up from last month and 1 percentage point higher than the previous record of 67 percent, first set in December 2006. . . . Support for the war in Iraq among Americans has dropped to 31 percent from 34 percent last month, the new poll found."[2] -- "Sixty-three percent oppose airstrikes on Iran, while 73 percent oppose using ground troops in that country." -- These figures are very different from those reported last week from a Zogby International survey showing that 52 percent of Americans would support a strike on Iran. -- The difference lies in the phrasing of the question. -- Zogby asked whether respondents "would support a U.S. military strike to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon"; the different results illustrate the well-known truism that results depend greatly on how a question is phrased....

GALLUP: BUSH FINALLY TOPS NIXON -- IN UNPOPULARITY -- AS CALL FOR IRAQ PULLOUT HITS NEW PEAK
By Editor & Publisher Staff

NEW YORK -- For almost two years, President Bush has been threatening to unseat Richard M. Nixon as the most unpopular president in the history of the Gallup poll, and it finally happened this week.

The latest USA TODAY/Gallup survey finds Bush with a 31% approval rating -- and for the first time ever in the polling history, 50% say they "strongly disapprove" of a president.

The previous high (or low?) was a 48% strong disapproval rating for Nixon at the worst moments of Watergate in 1974.

Meanwhile, ABC News relates today, "Recent reports of fewer casualties in Iraq haven't altered most Americans' perceptions of the war: Fifty-nine percent still don't think the United States is making significant progress restoring civil order there, and a record six in 10 want the level of U.S. forces reduced.

"Those results in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll seem to reflect a continued hardening of attitudes on Iraq. Views on progress are unchanged from early September, and they haven't been positive since December 2005, shortly after the Iraqi elections."

WASHINGTON -- Opposition to the Iraq war is at an all-time high despite reports of a reduction of violence in the country, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Thursday.

Sixty-eight percent of poll respondents opposed the war, setting a new record. The level of opposition is slightly up from last month and 1 percentage point higher than the previous record of 67 percent, first set in December 2006 in a CNN/Opinion Research survey.

Support for the war in Iraq among Americans has dropped to 31 percent from 34 percent last month, the new poll found.

The last time CNN reported a majority supporting the war was in October 2003, with 54 percent backing it, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll.

This year has marked the deadliest for U.S. forces in Iraq, corresponding with an American troop buildup and offensives against insurgents in the Baghdad area. The number of U.S. troops who died reached a peak for 2007 with 126 fatalities in May. Thirty-eight U.S. troops died in October, the lowest monthly figure this year.

In addition to the recent decline in U.S. military deaths, militant attacks and civilian deaths also have been dropping, U.S. and Iraqi authorities said.

However, those reports don't appear to have resonated with the public, the poll suggests.

Just one quarter of Americans believe the United States is winning the war, while 62 percent said neither Americans nor insurgents are winning, the latest survey found. There has been virtually no change in the past month in the number of Americans who believe that things are going badly for the United States in the war in Iraq.

President Bush on Wednesday dismissed a reporter's use of "quagmire" to describe the situation in Iraq, insisting the United States was making progress.

"If you lived in Iraq and had lived under a tyranny, you'd be saying, 'God, I love freedom,' because that's what's happened," he said. "And there are killers and radicals and murderers who kill the innocent to stop the advance of freedom. But freedom's happening in Iraq. And we're making progress."

The public also opposes U.S. military action against Iran. Sixty-three percent oppose airstrikes on Iran, while 73 percent oppose using ground troops in that country, the poll found.

Seventy percent said they oppose any military strike on Iran, slightly higher than 66 percent in 2005 but significantly higher than 23 percent in 2002 in CNN/USA Today/Gallup polls.

Bush has refused to rule out possible military action against Iran for its nuclear ambitions while insisting that diplomacy is the first option.

The president said Wednesday that his strong language was necessary to send "clear signals" to Tehran "that the free world understands the risks of you trying to end up with a nuclear weapon. "

Overall, 56 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with progress in the war on terrorism, representing a steady decline since 2002, when 24 percent said they were dissatisfied in a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll.

The CNN/Opinion Research telephone poll of 1,024 American adults was carried out Friday through Sunday. The sampling error for the full sample was plus or minus 3 percentage points; some questions were asked of a half sample of about 500 respondents and carry a sampling error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.