Bush policy support plummets

2005-10-27 12:02

Washington - Along with ebbing public support for the occupation of Iraq, US President George Bush also faces diminishing backing for his domestic agenda, from tax cuts to homeland security, according to a poll published on Thursday.

Forty-three percent of those asked by a Harris Interactive survey for The Wall Street Journal supported Bush's proposal to make tax cuts passed during his first mandate permanent, down from 52 percent in August.

Fifty percent disapproved of Bush's position on homeland security, against 43 percent who approved, the poll showed.

Additionally, 53 percent disagreed with his environmental policies with 34 percent backing them, while 53 percent also disapproved of his efforts to provide hurricane relief against 43 percent in favour.

On Bush's appointments to the US Supreme Court, 49 percent disapproved compared to 41 percent who approved.

Separate findings from the same survey of 1 833 people from October 11-17, published by the newspaper on Tuesday, found that, for the first time, a majority of respondents thought the Iraq war was the "wrong thing to do".

- AFP