So Far, Americans Resist Hysteria

The latest Gallup Poll results, released today, are encouraging. President Bush’s approval rating is holding steady at 59%, and by a 63%-35% margin, respondents say Iraq was “worth going to war over.” Significantly, that margin hasn’t budged through a summer of bad headlines.
The only apparent impact of a summer of media hysteria is that currently, 50% say things are going very well (6%) or moderately well (44%) in Iraq, while 49% say things are going moderately badly (30%) or very badly (19%). A month ago, 56% thought things were going well. So there has understandably been some slippage, but so far the American people generally, unlike the press, aren’t panicking.