Last November the people of New Hampshire threw out both of their Republican congresspeople. It’s the only thing they could do to voice their displeasure with the President and his war. In return, the President decided to escalate the war. Let’s take a look at how that is playing in the Granite State.
Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president?
Approve/Disapprove/Undecided
Total sample 17% 62% 21%
Voters 17% 66% 17%
Republicans 42% 38% 20%
Democrats 1% 85% 14%
Undeclared 11% 74% 15%
By way of comparison, his numbers in December were 36% approve, 59% disapprove, 5% undecided. That’s a pretty steep decline. And, as Kos points out, this is bad news for Senator John Sununu, who is now polling well behind former Governor Jeanne Shaheen. I don’t that Shaheen is running, but still…
With only 11% of independents supporting the President in New Hampshire, I wondered what the numbers are in other, supposedly red, parts of the country. Well…the American Survey Group kind of answered my question.
In the latest survey, 22% of independents approve of the way Bush is handling his job and 71% disapprove. In February, 32% of independents approved of the way Bush was handling his job and 63% disapproved. In January, 33% of independents approved and 62% disapproved.”
That shows a national collapse almost as steep as what we see in New Hampshire. It’s no wonder the Republicans didn’t filibuster the supplemental bill. It’s bad enough they just voted against both funding the troops and ending the war. It sucks to be a Republican. It sucks even more to be an Iraqi.
