Reply #60: The key issue is Iraq!

[ProSense]

Iraq still issue number one for US voters

by Stephanie Griffith 1 hour, 17 minutes ago

Snip....

The poll found found that 58 percent of the US public believes the US military effort in Iraq is not going well, 47 percent say the war is hurting, not helping, the fight against terrorism.

The survey also found Americans remarkably unaffected by the scandal over the handling of lurid sexual messages sent by former Republican lawmaker Mark Foley to teenage pages in Congress -- at least with respect to next month's legislative and gubernatorial balloting.

The Pew Center found that Democrats had a 51 percent to 38 percent advantage over Republicans before last week's scandal broke, and 50 percent to 37 percent edge after.

Among voters who said national issues were of paramount importance for them, about half -- 51 percent -- cited the deteriorating situation in Iraq as the most important concern. Terrorism came in second place at 37 percent while 35 of respondents cited the economy.

Another important recent development -- the drop in the price of gasoline -- also appeared not to have impacted voter feelings greatly. The survey showed that while most respondents were aware of the recent fall in gas prices, they were also likely to complain about a faltering US economy.

The poll put US President George W. Bush's job approval rating at 37 percent, with 63 percent of respondents saying they are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country.

As with earlier Pew surveys, an unusually high percentage of voters -- 39 percent -- envision their ballot as a vote "against" Bush rather than for him.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061005/pl_afp/usvotepolliraq_061005224143

Even with Foley, it's the cover-up and the Iraq:

Thursday, Oct. 05, 2006

TIME Poll: The Foley Sex Scandal Has Hurt G.O.P. Election Prospects

Two-thirds of those aware of the scandal believe Republican leaders attempted a cover-up, according to a new survey

By TONY KARON

Two thirds of Americans aware of the congressional-page sex scandal believe Republican leaders tried to cover it up — and one quarter of them say the affair makes them less likely to vote for GOP candidates in their districts come November. Those are among the findings of a new TIME poll conducted this week among 1002 randomly-selected voting-age Americans.

The poll suggests the Foley affair may have dented Republican hopes of retaining control of Congress in November. Among the registered voters who were polled, 54% said they would be more likely to vote for the Democratic candidate for Congress, compared with 39% who favored the Republican — a margin that has jumped by 11 points from a similar poll conducted in June. That increase may be fueled by the rolling scandal over sexually explicit e-mails sent to teenage pages by Republican Representative Mark Foley. Almost 80% of respondents were aware of the scandal, and only 16% approve of the Republicans' handling of it. Those polled were divided, however, on whether House Speaker Dennis Hastert should resign over his handling of the Foley affair, with 39% saying he should resign and 38% saying he should not.

Iraq, meanwhile, is continuing to be a problem for the Republicans. Only 38% of respondents in the TIME poll now support President Bush's decision to invade Iraq, down from 42% three months ago. A similar number believe that the new Iraqi government will succeed in forming a stable democracy, while 59% believe this is unlikely. Almost two-thirds (65%) of respondents disapprove of President Bush's handling of the war, while 54% believe he "deliberately misled" Americans in making his case for war — a figure that has increased by 6 points over the past year. President Bush's overall approval rating, according to TIME's poll, now stands at just 36%, down from 38% in August.