US discontent over Iraq, Democrats rising: Poll

Washington, June 5: Americans are becoming more discontented over the situation in Iraq and more unhappy with Democrats who won control of Congress last November largely because voters want to see an end to the war, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll.

Just 39 per cent said they approve of the job Congress is doing, down from 44 per cent in April. Approval of congressional Democrats dropped to 44 per cent from 54 per cent, according to the poll results.

Much of that drop was fueled by lower approval ratings of congressional Democrats among strong opponents of the Iraq war, independents and liberal Democrats, The Washington Post reported today.

In April, Americans, by a 25-point margin, trusted the Democrats over US President George W. Bush to handle the situation in Iraq. In the new poll, Democrats held their advantage but only by 16 points, the Post reported.

Bush's job-approval rating stands at 35 per cent, unchanged from April.

Deep public skepticism about Iraq, concerns about the Democrats and Bush, and near-record-high gasoline prices appear to have combined to sour the overall mood in the country, the Post said.

73 per cent of Americans said the country is pretty seriously on the wrong track, the newspaper said.

Overall, 61 per cent said the war in Iraq was not worth fighting, and nearly two-thirds said the United States is not making significant progress restoring civil order in Iraq, the Post said.

55 per cent, a new high, said the number of US military forces in Iraq should be decreased, but only 15 per cent called for an immediate withdrawal, the report said newspaper.

The telephone poll of 1,205 adults was conducted May 29 to June 1 and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

Reuters>