ShiningIce
3rd Level Green Feather
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2002
- Messages
- 4,702
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- 36
A solid majority of Americans believe President Bush should give U.N. weapons inspectors time to act and should wait for support from allies before invading Iraq, a new poll says.
The CBS-New York Times poll out Sunday also found a large and growing number of people want Bush to get congressional approval before going to war, with many saying Congress has not asked enough questions about Bush's policy toward Iraq.
The poll comes as Bush prepares to address questions about potential war in a prime time speech Monday evening. Congress is preparing to vote on authorizing force in Iraq later this week, and Bush hopes to persuade Americans — as well as skeptical world leaders — that now is the time to confront Saddam Husse
The poll suggests Americans want him to move slowly.
By a 2-to-1 margin, they said they would prefer to see U.N. weapons inspectors have more time to do their work before military action is taken.
A majority, 56 percent, said that one country should not be able to attack another country unless it is attacked first. When people were asked the same question specifically about the United States, they were evenly split.
Two-thirds said they approve of military action to remove Saddam Hussein as leader of Iraq, but a large majority — 70 percent — want the Bush administration to get approval from Congress. Sixty-five percent think it would be better to wait for allies before acting against Iraq.
And 51 percent think that Congress is not asking enough questions about Iraq policy, while one in five said it is asking too many. Last month, 44 percent said Congress was not asking enough questions.
The poll of 668 adults was taken Thursday through Saturday and has an error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Among the poll's other findings:
_Despite concerns about the possible war, seven in 10 would prefer to hear political candidates talk about the economy over war with Iraq.
_More than one-third think the economy will get worse if the United States attacks Iraq, and half think military action against Iraq would increase the risk of terrorist attacks.
_Six in 10 said a war with Iraq is likely to lead to a wider war involving other countries in the Middle East.
_More than half, 57 percent, said they would base their vote for a candidate on economic policy before foreign policy.
_Four in 10, 41 percent, said they approve of President Bush's handling of the economy, while 46 percent disapproved. His overall job approval was at 63 percent.
_More than half said they consider the economy fairly bad, 42 percent, or very bad, 14 percent. Almost two-thirds said Bush should be spending more time on the economy, while a third said he's spending as much time as he can.
The CBS-New York Times poll out Sunday also found a large and growing number of people want Bush to get congressional approval before going to war, with many saying Congress has not asked enough questions about Bush's policy toward Iraq.
The poll comes as Bush prepares to address questions about potential war in a prime time speech Monday evening. Congress is preparing to vote on authorizing force in Iraq later this week, and Bush hopes to persuade Americans — as well as skeptical world leaders — that now is the time to confront Saddam Husse
The poll suggests Americans want him to move slowly.
By a 2-to-1 margin, they said they would prefer to see U.N. weapons inspectors have more time to do their work before military action is taken.
A majority, 56 percent, said that one country should not be able to attack another country unless it is attacked first. When people were asked the same question specifically about the United States, they were evenly split.
Two-thirds said they approve of military action to remove Saddam Hussein as leader of Iraq, but a large majority — 70 percent — want the Bush administration to get approval from Congress. Sixty-five percent think it would be better to wait for allies before acting against Iraq.
And 51 percent think that Congress is not asking enough questions about Iraq policy, while one in five said it is asking too many. Last month, 44 percent said Congress was not asking enough questions.
The poll of 668 adults was taken Thursday through Saturday and has an error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Among the poll's other findings:
_Despite concerns about the possible war, seven in 10 would prefer to hear political candidates talk about the economy over war with Iraq.
_More than one-third think the economy will get worse if the United States attacks Iraq, and half think military action against Iraq would increase the risk of terrorist attacks.
_Six in 10 said a war with Iraq is likely to lead to a wider war involving other countries in the Middle East.
_More than half, 57 percent, said they would base their vote for a candidate on economic policy before foreign policy.
_Four in 10, 41 percent, said they approve of President Bush's handling of the economy, while 46 percent disapproved. His overall job approval was at 63 percent.
_More than half said they consider the economy fairly bad, 42 percent, or very bad, 14 percent. Almost two-thirds said Bush should be spending more time on the economy, while a third said he's spending as much time as he can.
