Most Americans Believe Bush Deceived Public on Iraq

A CNN poll released Tuesday puts tangible proof to something that most of us already knew: That the majority of the American people are clued-in enough to understand that George W. Bush has deliberately misled the nation about how things are going in Iraq.

A Sept. 29-Oct. 2 poll, commissioned by CNN, showed that 58 percent of Americans said the administration has misled the public about progress in the Iraq war.

The poll also showed that, despite ongoing chest-thumping by Team Bush and their ridiculous assertions that they have made America safer, most Americans -- 57 percent -- also believe the war has made the U.S. less safe from terrorism.

The poll comes on the heels of the release of Bob Woodward's new book 'State of Denial,' in which Woodward gives evidence that Bush ignored warnings from military officials about the strength of the Iraqi insurgency -- and the danger posed to U.S. troops -- and continues to lie about how well things are going there, despite contrary news and opinion from within his own administration.

Other poll findings include the following:

• Opposition to the Iraq war remains high, with 61 percent saying they oppose the war. (Another recent poll done by CNN shows that 65 per cent of respondents think Iraq is currently engaged in a civil war.)

• Sixty-six percent said they disapprove of the way Bush is handling the situation in Iraq.

• Of likely voters polled, 53 percent say they will vote for a Democratic Congressional candidate next month, while only 42 percent will support a Republican.

To me, the most amazing results are those showing Bush's job approval rating as high as 39 percent. I'm still investigating reports that the same genius-level, 39 percent believe that Jessica Simpson should replace Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense.

All of this, coupled with recent polling showing that the vast majority of Iraqis want America to leave their country and astounding results showing that 6 in 10 Iraqis favor killing American troops, and the best we can get out of the White House and the Republicans in Congress is "stay the course."

If that's not a mandate for change on November 7, I don't know what is.