Image Credit: Mohammed Omer, Rafah Today.
Amid new Mid-East fighting, Bush job approval stabilizes at 36%
Zogby via BBSNews 2006-07-27 -- A majority of Americans believe the battles now being fought across the Israel—Lebanon border are the beginnings of a wider conflict — one that could result in a war that spans the globe, a new Zogby International telephone poll shows.
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Destruction left in Beit Hanoun before the EU envoy came to Gaza during the July 2006 Israeli incursion.
Image Credit: Mohammed Omer, Rafah Today. |
The survey included 1,034 likely voters nationwide, and was conducted July 21–25, 2006. It carries a margin of error of +/– 3.1 percentage points.
Asked about their view of the conflict, 29% said they think the conflict between Israeli and Hezbollah forces will lead to a full—blown regional war enveloping several nations, while 19% said they think a world war will result. Another 17% said they think the war will widen to include Lebanese national forces, but will go no further.
Just 24% said they think the current fighting is a typical short—lived skirmish between aggrieved parties.
A bare majority of Americans — 51% — said they sympathize with Israel rather than Lebanon in the current fighting, while 13% said they sympathize with Lebanon. Asked who is more to blame for the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, 61% put the blame on Hezbollah, while 12% blame Israel, and 20% said they were not sure.
Asked about the conflict between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza, 50% said they sympathize with Israel, compared to 15% who take the side of the Palestinians. The balance of respondents said they were either unsure o[r] sympathized with neither party.
With new armed conflict breaking out in the Middle East, Americans have mostly taken a passive view of their leaders here at home, the poll shows. President Bush's job approval rating has stabilized at 36%, while 64% give him negative job marks. The poll shows no building wave to sweep current members of the U.S. Congress from office. Democrats still hold a 37% to 32% advantage over Republicans in a "generic" congressional election match—up, but that edge has shrunk from polls earlier this year.
Congress received a typically poor ranking by likely voters for the job they are doing in Washington — just 22% gave them a positive job approval rating, while 75% give them negative job marks. One in three said the U.S. is headed in the right direction, while 60% said the U.S. is off on the wrong track.
The Zogby survey shows likely voters are split on the U.S. response so far to the fighting between Israel and Lebanon. While 46% give the U.S. response an overall positive rating, 47% give it negative marks.
Pollster John Zogby: "The combination of what we have seen in our recent interactive polls and this latest telephone poll suggests that Democrats across the country have a ways to go in making the case for change in the U.S. Congress this fall. At this point there is no evidence of a building wave to sweep Republicans from power. That's not to say it cannot happen – it just isn't happening now. On the question of the U.S. response to the conflict in the Middle East, likely voters across America are split right down the middle, as they are on most issues these days. One thing that is clear is that the Lebanese and the Palestinians still have some work to be done to make their cases with the American people. What is really significant is the high percentage of Americans who believe this is the beginning of a full–blown war between Israel and Lebanon, others in the region, or a worldwide war."
Asked what the U.S. should be doing, 35% said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should be sent to assess the situation and formulate a plan for peace, something she is conferring with world leaders about today in Rome. Another 19% said a former U.S. president should be sent to negotiate a cease fire, while 16% said the U.S. should call for an immediate cease fire. Another 23% said the U.S. should not become involved in the conflict, while 7% were not sure what should be done.
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