Australians tell Bush: stay out of it

[CShine]

A majority of Australians say President George Bush was wrong to criticise Labor's pledge to withdraw troops from Iraq by Christmas and the nation is evenly split on whether the relationship with the US is too close, a Herald Poll has found.

In the poll taken last weekend, after Mr Bush and other senior figures in his Administration publicly savaged the stance by the Opposition Leader, Mark Latham, on Iraq as "disastrous", 56 per cent of those surveyed, and more than one-third of Coalition voters, said the President was wrong to comment on Australia's domestic politics.

The Herald-ACNielsen poll found that only 29 per cent agreed that, as leader of the coalition in Iraq, Mr Bush had the right to comment on policies affecting the coalition. But 41 per cent of voters said the Australian-American alliance would be weakened if Labor won the election, and only one-third believed that it would be unaffected.

This suggests that the public disagreement between the White House and Mr Latham created disquiet in the electorate about the implications for the relationship of a Labor victory.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/06/21/1087669919410.html

[liberalhistorian]

1. Sounds like Australia is just as politically

divided as we are!

[Cha]

2. Go Aussies!

I hope they vote that bush sycophant outta there!

[pompano]

3. Well! Hell yea...

...he is gonna be in Australias domestic business.

They are not all Southern Baptists yet. Get it done!

[steely]

4. I love it when the dork shoots his mouth off.

Especially when the world press captures the fallout.

I wonder if he even knows where Australia is?

[struggle4progress]

5. Is Boy George spending US taxpayer money ...

... to diddle with the Aussie elections? :grr:

[struggle4progress]

6. Australians Say U.S. Alliance at Risk in Iraq Debate, Poll Says

Half of Australian voters say bringing troops home from Iraq would damage the nation's relationship with the U.S., a Newspoll said.

Some 50 percent of voters said withdrawing the 850 Australian troops still in Iraq would hurt the U.S. alliance, while 44 percent said it would make no difference, the poll published in the Australian newspaper said.

Mark Latham, the 43-year-old leader of the main opposition Labor party, has promised to withdraw Australia's troops from Iraq by Christmas if he wins government at an election expected this year. Labor opposed Australia sending 2,200 troops to the war in Iraq without a United Nations mandate.

Prime Minister John Howard, 64, has said the troops will stay there until the job is complete. Howard's Liberal-National coalition won government in 1996.
<snip>

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000081&sid=aeb1B5.c1zqg&refer=australia