Old Forecasts Come Back to Haunt Bush

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/20/AR2006032000341.html

By Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 21, 2006; Page A14

Three years of upbeat White House assessments about Iraq that turned out to be premature, incomplete or plain wrong are complicating President Bush's efforts to restore public faith in the military operation and his presidency, according to pollsters and Republican lawmakers and strategists.
. . .
Pollsters and some congressional Republicans said the administration's sunny-side-up appraisals, instead of lifting the public mood, may now complicate the task of sustaining support for a long-term military commitment in Iraq. The loss of trust, they said, is affecting Bush's presidency more broadly, as polls show his public support at a nadir.
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Michael Dimock, associate director of the nonpartisan Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, said a recent survey by his group showed the public skeptical toward Bush, about both his administrative competency and his personal credibility. Only 40 percent of respondents said Bush was trustworthy, a 22-point drop from September of 2003, six months after the invasion of Iraq.

Dimock said the cumulative effect of the past three years has made Bush's public-relations challenge imposing, and perhaps impossible. "When you give a speech and try to persuade people that they are only hearing the bad and things are going better than the media is saying, if a majority of people say they do not find you trustworthy, it is hard to be persuasive," he said.

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