Support Grows for Military Actions
WASHINGTON — Buoyed by success on the battlefield, most Americans now express support for an expansive U.S. role in the Middle East, with a clear majority backing the war in Iraq and half endorsing military action against Iran if it continues to develop nuclear weapons, according to a new Los Angeles Times poll.
The survey found Americans experiencing the traditional rally-around-the-flag effect common when troops are first sent into battle: optimism about the country's direction and support for President Bush both soared.
More than three-fourths of Americans -- including two-thirds of liberals and 70% of Democrats -- now say they support the decision to go to war. And more than four-fifths of these war supporters say they still will back the military action even if allied forces don't find evidence of weapons of mass destruction.
Bush's overall job approval rating jumped to 68%, the highest level since last summer, and three-fourths of those polled said they trust him to make the right decisions on Iraq.
"I had my own reservations about [the war]
The Times poll, supervised by polling director Susan Pinkus, surveyed 745 adults Wednesday and Thursday; it has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Despite such strong endorsements, the poll did contain warning signs for Bush.
His approval rating didn't approach the 85% peak reached by his father, President George H.W. Bush, in Times polls during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
At the same time, most Americans said they wanted the United Nations to play a central role in reconstructing postwar Iraq, while the administration appears to be focused on maximizing U.S. control of the process.
Tax Cut Loses Favor
On the domestic front, a 2-to-1 majority said that, because of the war, the country cannot afford even the stripped-down, $350-billion version of Bush's proposed tax cut that the Senate recently approved.
And though the surge of wartime optimism boosted immediate assessments of the economy, interviews with respondents showed substantial concern about the nation's economic health -- and whether Bush has the right cure.
"I wish he would pay attention to the economy," said David Loveland, a stockbroker in Charleston, S.C. "It appears his focus is on a lot of different things besides the economy."
