December 21, 2004

Abstract: (Angus Reid Consultants - CPOD Global Scan) - George W. Bush maintains a steady level of public backing in the United States, according to a poll by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. 47 per cent of respondents approve of the president's performance.

(Angus Reid Consultants - CPOD Global Scan) - George W. Bush maintains a steady level of public backing in the United States, according to a poll by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. 47 per cent of respondents approve of the president's performance.

In American elections, candidates require 270 votes in the Electoral College to win the White House. On Nov. 2, Republican incumbent Bush earned a second term after securing 286 electoral votes from 31 states.

Yesterday in a year-end press conference, Bush defended the rationale for military action in Iraq, saying, "Life is better now than it was under Saddam Hussein." The president acknowledged that a recent surge in terrorist attacks in Iraq is "having an effect" and added that terrorists "are trying to shake the will of the Iraqi people and, frankly, trying to shake the will of the American people."

Bush also defended defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who was recently criticized by Republican senator Chuck Hagel for failing to personally sign the letters informing families of soldiers killed in Iraq of their deaths. The president said Rumsfeld sometimes appears "rough and gruff" but is "a good, decent man. He's a caring fellow."

Bush will be sworn in for his second four-year term on Jan. 20, 2005.

Polling Data

Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president?

	Dec. 2004	Jul. 2004
Approve	47%	46%
Disapprove	48%	46%

Source: Quinnipiac University Polling Institute
Methodology: Telephone interviews to 1,529 registered American voters, conducted from Dec. 7 to Dec. 12, 2004. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.