AP/AOL News Poll: Majority of Americans Say the Country is on the Wrong Track

67 Percent of Respondents Oppose Sending Troops to Iraq; 63 Percent Say Additional Troops Will Not Stabilize the Situation

Most Doubt President Bush and Democrats Can Work Together to Solve Pressing Problems; 42 Percent Think Country Is Better Off with Democratic Control of Congress

DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On the eve of President Bush’s 2007 State of the Union address, a newly released Associated Press/AOL News poll (http://news.aol.com) cites that the majority of Americans (66 percent) think the United States is on the wrong track, though a shift of power in Congress is inspiring some hope for change.

As survey takers rated the issues that they most care about, the situation in Iraq, health care and the economy topped the list, with Iraq proving to be the most important, earning 24 percent of the vote. Sixty-seven percent of Americans oppose President Bush’s recent move to increase American troops in Iraq, and 63 percent do not believe the troop increase will help stabilize the situation.

In fact, Americans say they are not satisfied with either political party’s approach to the situation in Iraq. Although half of survey participants think the Democrats would do a better job of handling the situation in Iraq than would Republicans, only 34 percent think the Democrats have a plan on how to do so. On the other hand, more than half (52 percent) believe the Bush administration does have a plan, but 65 percent disapprove of Bush’s handling of the situation.

When asked whether President Bush and Democrats in Congress can work together to solve the country’s problems, 60 percent are now doubtful, compared to the 47 percent who, in a poll conducted right after the mid-term elections, originally expressed confidence in their ability to work collaboratively. However, 42 percent of most recent survey participants think the country will be better off now that the Democrats have assumed control of Congress.

Comparative data from previous polls indicates that congressional job approval is slowly trending upwards, with Congress approval ratings increasing from 25 percent prior to November 2006 elections to a current 34 percent. More notably, surveyed Americans give first madam House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a 51 percent job approval rating.

President Bush earns a low 36 percent job approval rating, up slightly from 32 percent last week but down from his 40 percent rating this time last year. Despite his low approval rating, 53 percent of Americans say Bush is likeable, 58 percent say he is decisive and 59 percent say he is strong. However, less than half (44 percent) think Bush is honest and only 49 percent think he is ethical.

Methodology

The AP-AOL poll of 1,005 adults was conducted by telephone January 16-18, 2007 by Ipsos, an international public opinion research company. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points for all adults.

About The Associated Press

The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, AP today is the largest and most trusted source of independent news and information. On any given day, more than half the world’s population sees news from AP.

About AOL

AOL is a global Web services company that operates some of the most popular Web destinations, offers a comprehensive suite of free software and services, runs the country’s largest Internet access business, and provides a full set of advertising solutions. A majority-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., AOL LLC is based in Dulles, Virginia. AOL and its subsidiaries also have operations in Europe, Canada and Asia. Learn more at AOL.com.