There’s a new Times/CBS poll out today on the Iraq war, and it’s bad news for Mr. Bush. “Americans now view the war in Iraq more negatively than at any time since the war began,” as the Times bluntly put it. Six in ten say the country should have stayed out of Iraq in the first place, the paper reported. Three of four say things are going badly there. And a whopping 63 percent disapprove of Bush’s overall performance as president, with only 30 percent approving. The one bit of good news is that a majority support continuing to finance the war, assuming the Iraqi government meets benchmarks. But it’s a poll of all Americans. What do New Yorkers think? We asked the first twenty people we found on Madison Avenue in front of the office. Oddly, only 45 percent said the country should have stayed out of Iraq (we think maybe we phrased that one wrong). Otherwise, the locals are even more pessimistic than the rest of the country. By a lot. The questions and tallies are after the jump.
Question 1: Should the United States have stayed out of Iraq?
Yes: 9; no: 11
Question 2: Are things going well or badly there?
Well: 2; badly: 18
Question 3: Should Congress continue to approve funding for the war?
Yes: 10; no: 10
Question 4: Do you approve of the overall job Bush is doing as president?
Yes: 3; no: 17
