Bush approval surges to one-year high on terror theme: poll

Sep 19, 2006, 15:19 GMT

Washington - US President George W Bush's approval rating has rebounded to its highest in about a year as voters warm to his election-year strategy centred on the fight against terrorism, a poll showed Tuesday.

The Gallup poll suggests that Bush's campaign focus on security issues is helping his Republican Party, which is battling to keep its majority in both houses of Congress in November 7 mid-term elections.

In a critical shift, the poll found that US voters increasingly accept Bush's argument that the war in Iraq is part of his war on terror, sparked by the September 11, 2001 al-Qaeda attacks on the US.

And more Americans believe the fight against terrorism is going well than a year ago, the survey said.

'Americans are more positive about the war on terror and voters are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports Bush on terrorism rather then one who opposes him,' Gallup pollsters said.

At 44 per cent, Bush's approval rating was well above the low 30- per-cent range of a few months ago - a sign that his series of high- profile speeches in the run-up to last week's emotional September 11 anniversary has helped sway voters.

The fight against terrorism is the centrepiece of Bush's campaign, which seeks to suggest that the US would be less safe if the opposition Democrats got control of Congress.

By a 31-21 per cent margin, voters believe the nation is safer with a Republican majority, while 44 per cent said it made no difference which party has legislative control, the poll said.

Voters are roughly split on whether Iraq is a battlefield in the fight against terrorism or not. In March, 53 per cent still viewed Iraq as a separate military action and only 44 per cent thought it was part of the anti-terror battle.

In more good news for Bush, 57 per cent said the war on terrorism is going well, up from 51 per cent in August 2005. Among voters who say they view terrorism as the top issue, 69 per cent favoured the Republicans.

The telephone poll of 1,003 adults aged 18 and older was conducted September 15-17. The margin of error was plus or minus three percentage points.