�Poll Shows Increased Doubts About Iraq War, Bush
��Reuters
��Friday 03 October 2003
��WASHINGTON - Most Americans now believe the Iraq war was not worth it, said a CBS News/New York Times poll released on Thursday that showed President Bush's approval ratings near a record low for his presidency.
��The poll found new lows for Bush's foreign policy performance, which garnered just a 44 percent approval rating. Among respondents, 50 percent lacked confidence in his ability to handle an international crisis and 53 percent said they now believed the Iraq war was not worth it.
��Bush's overall job approval rating was just above 50 percent, almost back to the level before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and down sharply from his 89 percent approval rating after the attacks, the poll said.
��``Landing on the carrier, declaring the conflict over, this Romanesque sort of victory parade, certainly did raise the stakes,'' historian James T. Smith told CBS News. ``And now those expectations are falling because people are seeing that the Iraq situation is not going according to plan.''
��The size and timing of the poll and the margin of error were not immediately available. More details were expected later on Thursday.
��The poll also found that 56 percent of Americans lacked confidence in the president's economic decision-making, compared with four months ago when 54 percent voiced confidence. Fifty-six percent of respondents said the country was on the wrong track.
��Thirteen months before the next presidential election, voters were split 44 percent to 44 percent between Bush and an unnamed Democratic opponent. But respondents by a 50 percent to 35 percent margin believed Bush would be re-elected.
��Almost two-thirds of Americans viewed Bush as a strong leader, but the majority felt his leadership was not focused on priorities that mattered to them.
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