My home state of Illinois is a bell weather state....so this spells trouble for Bush in the midwest and elsewhere.
Tribune linkEconomy, Iraq hurt Bush in state poll By Rick Pearson
Tribune political reporter
Published October 26, 2003
Illinois voters have soured so dramatically on President Bush, his handling of the economy and his Iraq policy that half say they don't want to see him re-elected next year while fewer than four in 10 say they do, a new Tribune/WGN-TV poll shows. Bush's nose dive in popularity has been so precipitous that, in just four months, his approval rating among Illinois voters has dropped from 57 percent to 46 percent, the poll found. Over the same time, the share of voters who say they disapprove of the job he's doing as president has climbed from 34 percent to 44 percent.
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Big change since 2002
In an April 2002 Tribune/WGN-TV survey, 56 percent of Illinois voters approved of the way Bush handled the economy, compared with 32 percent who disapproved. Now, 54 percent of voters in the state disapprove while 34 percent voice support for Bush's economic stewardship. Among the key voting bloc of independents, 57 percent disapprove of his performance on the economy while only 28 percent back his efforts. In a state that had a total unemployment of nearly 460,000 people last month, voters indicated they had little faith in Bush's ability to solve the nation's economic and job woes. More than half said they had little or no confidence that Bush could turn things around compared with 42 percent who had at least some confidence.
Another negative factor for Bush are poll results showing that, by a 2-1 ratio, more voters believe they are worse off financially now than compared to a year ago. That ratio, underscoring the key personal pocketbook concerns that voters have, has basically remained unchanged for the last two years.
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By 47 percent to 43 percent, voters disapproved of Bush's handling of the situation in Iraq. And voters were split 46 percent to 43 percent in the belief that U.S. military action in Iraq was warranted. While a strong majority of voters--55 percent :shrug:to 32 percent--said they believed Iraq under Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction shortly before the war began, a narrow plurality--47 percent to 43 percent--said they believed the Bush administration overstated the threat of Iraqi weapons.
Despite Bush's call for patience in policing and rebuilding Iraq, 42 percent of the voters said it was time to reduce the U.S. military presence there, compared with 27 percent who said military strength should remain the same and 17 percent who said it should be increased.
Iraq funding unpopular
An overwhelming majority of voters--62 percent--disapproved of the Bush administration's request for $87 billion to pay for military activities in Iraq and Afghanistan, a request that also included nearly $20 billion for reconstruction of Iraq. Only 29 percent said they supported the president's spending request.
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