Poll Data Show Continued Support for War

The latest Gallup Poll, released this morning, shows undiminished support for the Iraq war, still running at around 70%. The only finding that represents a significant change, compared to one week ago, is that the percentage who think the war is going “very well” has declined from 53% to 33%, while those thinking the war is going “moderately well” have increased from 37% to 52%–hardly a surprising finding, given the non-stop media questioning of the war effort in recent days. The noteworthy fact, however, is that the percentage who think the war is going “moderately badly” or “very badly” has changed hardly at all, remaining at a very low 14% (11% moderately badly, 3% very badly).
The American people seem to have a realistic view of the war’s likely consequences. 86% are either “very confident” or “somewhat confident” that we can remove Saddam Hussein from power; 84% that we will find weapons of mass destruction; 70% that we will capture or kill Saddam; and 65% that we will establish a stable democracy in Iraq.
Meanwhile, President Bush’s job approval remains steady at 71%.