Birnbaum asserted that Americans have higher opinion of Bush's Iraq and terrorism policies than a year ago; polling shows otherwise

On Special Report, Jeffrey Birnbaum baselessly asserted that “if you compare Americans' view of the war in Iraq and the war against terrorism this Fourth of July compared to last Fourth of July, the president and his policies are in a much better position.” However, polling shows otherwise.


During the “All-Star Panel” segment on the July 4 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume, Washington Post staff writer Jeffrey Birnbaum baselessly asserted: “I don't think there's any question ... but if you compare Americans' view of the war in Iraq and the war against terrorism this Fourth of July compared to last Fourth of July, the president and his policies are in a much better position.” However, polling does not support Birnbaum's assertion. Compared with a year ago, polls show that President Bush's approval ratings regarding the Iraq war have declined, while the percentage of Americans who believe progress has been made in Iraq have gone up minimally. Moreover, while slightly more Americans think the United States and its allies (as opposed to “neither side” or “terrorists”) are “winning the war against terrorism,” Bush's approval ratings on that issue have remained stagnant over the same one-year period.

President Bush's approval ratings on Iraq

ABC / Washington Post

(margin of error: +/- 4.5)

6/25/2006

6/26/2005

Approve

37

43

Disapprove

62

56

Pew (+/- 3)

6/19/2006

7/17/2005

Approve

35

35

Disapprove

57

57

Gallup (+/- 3)

6/11/06

6/26/2005

Approve

36

40

Disapprove

60

58

NBC / Wall Street Journal (+/- 3.1)

6/12/2006

7/11/2005

Approve

35

39

Disapprove

61

55

President Bush's approval ratings on terrorism

ABC / Washington Post (+/- 4.5)

6/25/2006

6/05/2005

Approve

51

50

Disapprove

47

49

Pew (+/- 4)

6/19/2006

July 2005

Approve

47

49

Disapprove

41

40

Gallup (+/- 3)

6/11/2006

6/26/2005

Approve

51

55

Disapprove

44

41

CBS
News / New York Times
(+/- 4)

6/11/2006

8/02/2005

Approve

47

55

Disapprove

46

39

Americans' view of the war in Iraq

ABC/Washington Post (+/- 4.5): “Do you think the United States is or is not making significant progress toward restoring civil order in Iraq?”

6/25/2006

6/26/2005

Yes

48

48

No

49

51

ABC/Washington Post (+/- 4.5): “How confident are you that Iraq will have a stable, democratic government a year from now -- very confident, somewhat confident, not too confident or not confident at all?”

6/25/2006

6/26/2005

Very confident

3

6

Somewhat confident

36

34

Not too confident

30

33

Not confident at all

29

27

Pew Research Center for People and the Press (+/- 3): “How well is the U.S. military effort in Iraq going ... ?”

6/19/2006

July, 2005

Very well

16

14

Fairly well

37

38

Not too well

25

27

Not at all well

18

17

Gallup (+/- 3): “In general, how would you say things are going for the U.S. in Iraq?”

6/11/2006

8/7/2005

Very well

8

5

Moderately well

39

38

Moderately badly

30

28

Very badly

23

28

NBC News/Wall Street Journal (+/- 4.4): “And do you feel more confident or less confident that the war in Iraq will come to a successful conclusion?”

6/12/2006

7/11/2005

More confident

38

36

Less confident

53

55

Americans' view of the war on terrorism

Gallup (+/- 3): “Who do you think is winning the war against terrorism: the U.S. and its allies, neither side, or the terrorists?”

6/11/2006

7/11/2005

U.S. and its allies

38

34

Neither side

41

44

The terrorists

16

21

CBS News/New York Times (+/- 4): “Who do you think is currently winning the war against terrorism: the United States and its allies, neither side, or the terrorists?”

6/11/2006

8/2/2005

U.S. and its allies

43

40

Neither side

42

38

The terrorists

11

17

From the July 4 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume:

BIRNBAUM: I don't think there's any question, that -- but if you compare Americans' view of the war in Iraq and the war against terrorism this Fourth of July compared to last Fourth of July, the president and his policies are in a much better position, and that, I think, is worth talking an extra 15 minutes on the Fourth of July.

SAMMON: He even talked about it. A year ago today, the Iraqis didn't have a government -- you know, a permanent government -- they didn't have a prime minister; they didn't have a lot of things. And if you look at the progress that's been made in 12 months, it's quite dramatic.

BRIAN WILSON (guest host): All right, that's it for the panel.