deserved another term while 46% answered in the
negative. These ratings are in spite of 68% of respondents saying that they
liked Bush personally. According to the poll, Bush's ratings were being
pulled down by 50% of respondents stating that the country was on the wrong
track; 48% disliking his policies; 51% disapproving of his handling of
Iraq; and 50% believing that his management of the economy was poor
(Brownstein, Nov. 20, 2003). The ratings emerging from the polls indicate,
and rightly so, that voters are very much concerned over Bush's handling of
Iraq and its consequences for American values and the domestic economy.
Indeed, these findings are hardly surprising given the extremely shaky
basis on which Iraq was invaded and the costs involved.
Immediately in the aftermath of September 11th, the American public
and the international community was firmly in support of Bush and the U.S.
invasion of Afghanistan to ferret out Osama Bin Laden and his Al-Queda
troops. However, the support waned when Bush announced his policy of pre-
emptive attacks against groups or nations suspected of possessing or
developing weapons of mass destruction. And the reason for the decline in
support was that such a policy was seen to be against democratic
principles, unilateral, and in violation of the United Nations charter.
Moreover, the general view was that Bush had taken a decision to
invade Iraq shortly after September 11th, and to that extent, it was felt
that the possession of weapons of mass destruction was only a ploy to
justify America's actions. The policy of pre-emption was also a departure
from the rhetoric of American commitment to the right of nations to self-
determination. Ironically, one of Bush's slogans on foreign policy in the
2000 elections was "strength and humility." While September 11th may have
...