WASHINGTON — For years, President Bush and his advisers expressed frustration that the White House received little credit for the nation’s strong economic performance because of public discontent over the Iraq war. Today, the president is getting little credit for improved security in Iraq, as the public increasingly focuses on a struggling U.S. economy.
That is the dilemma Bush faces as he prepares to deliver his seventh State of the Union address tonight.
The economy has supplanted Iraq as the top public concern, and with voters shifting their focus toward the presidential primaries, Bush faces a steep challenge in persuading Americans to heed his words on the war, economic policy or any other issue, according to administration officials, lawmakers and outside observers.
“Very large segments of the American people have written him off already and have moved on to the next chapter,” said Jeremy Rosner, a one-time Clinton White House aide and Democratic pollster.
The scope of Bush’s challenge was underscored by a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, conducted Jan. 9-12, which showed that the economy has overtaken the war as the key worry for voters and that Bush is getting no credit for improving conditions in Iraq.
According to the poll, 29 percent of voters now see the economy as the top issue in the 2008 elections, compared with 20 percent who cite Iraq.
Bush’s overall approval rating was 32 percent, his lowest ever, with only 30 percent of the public approving of his handling of Iraq.His handling of the economy rated even worse, with 28 percent approval, compared with 41 percent a year ago.
Tonight’s State of the Union will look ahead to “unfinished business” that White House aides say can be completed with some goodwill from the Democratic-controlled Congress.
Some of that business seems likely to remain unfinished. Bush has long wanted to make permanent the tax cuts approved early in his presidency, but Democrats appear to have little interest. It is also unclear how much leverage Bush will have to secure free-trade deals with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.
The president may be better positioned to win reauthorization of existing initiatives, such as his program to permit wireless surveillance of suspected terrorists and his ambitious accountability system for the nation’s public schools.
Aides also promise modest changes in areas such as housing and health care, but they concede that reforms Bush once sought for immigration and Social Security are out of reach.
