Washington – Hurricane Katrina and the bungled government response have weakened President Bush, raising questions among Americans about his Iraq and Gulf Coast spending plans and spreading fears among Republicans that his troubles could be contagious.
An AP-Ipsos poll shows a sharp increase in the percentage of people concerned about the economy since the storm. Less than half approve of Bush’s handling of Katrina. Less than a third give him good marks on gas prices.
As many Republicans fear, the survey shows signs of conflict between Bush’s top two priorities: the Iraq war and Katrina recovery.
Given a choice in the survey, 42 percent favored cutting spending on Iraq to pay for relief efforts on the Gulf Coast, and 29 percent wanted to delay or cancel Republican tax cuts. That’s a whopping 71 percent backing options that Bush doesn’t even have on the table.
Two-thirds said the president was spending too much in Iraq. Just as many were concerned the money was not being spent wisely.
The AP-Ipsos poll of 1,000 adults, conducted for three days after Bush’s address to the nation last week, had a margin of potential sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
A variety of polls suggest voters expected the president to act more quickly in the aftermath of Katrina. He’s no longer considered a strong, decisive leader by many voters, a reversal from the 2004 presidential campaign when the wartime incumbent successfully cast himself in those terms.
“This is the most important intersection of his presidency,” said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican.
For the first time, senior Republican consultants and lawmakers are warning the White House that Bush’s base is perilously close to deserting him. Nearly six in 10 people disapprove of Bush’s overall performance, unchanged from the record-low rating he had before last week’s televised speech from the heart of New Orleans.
Several senior Republicans, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss strategy publicly, said Tuesday they’re starting to fear Bush’s troubles could threaten the GOP’s standing among voters in next year’s elections.
