[Media-watch] {VIRUS?} Mudoch Backs Bush/ Iraq Support for Bush erodes - 7/6 April 2004

[Julie-ann Davies]

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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world_business/view/79063/1/.html
Media mogul Murdoch backs Bush in US election 
7 April 2004

SYDNEY: Media baron Rupert Murdoch backed George W. Bush to win a second term in this year's US presidential elections, saying US voters backed Bush's efforts in Iraq.

Murdoch, the Australian-born head of News Corp., said Bush's handling of Iraq and the resurgent US economy would ensure the electorate kept him in the White House.
"They're with him on that, completely. He's going to walk it in," Murdoch told Australian commercial radio. "The economy's doing extremely well and there is an international crisis.

"You've got to understand, America was attacked. 9-11 changed America -- it was a big moment in history." 

Murdoch said the Bush administration had responded correctly to the threat of terrorism.

"Oh yeah. I mean, they deployed all their resources, everything," he said.

Murdoch's News Corp., the world's fifth largest media group, has been credited with the power to make or break governments. His backing of Tony Blair was believed to a major factor in Britain's Labour Party winning power in 1997.

Murdoch, who took US citizenship in 1985, is pushing to move News Corp's official home base to the United States from Australia to make it easier to chase Wall Street investment dollars.

- AFP
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http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/04/06/1081017133841.html
Iraq support erodes for Bush: poll
April 6, 2004 - 8:05AM
Public approval of US President George W Bush's handling of Iraq has slipped to a new low - alongside his overall job rating - after last week's grisly deaths of four contractors in Fallujah, a US poll says.

Still, a majority supports his decision to use military force in Iraq, says the poll released.

Four in 10, or 40 per cent, approve of the way Bush is handling Iraq, while 53 per cent disapprove.

That's down from six in 10 who approved in mid-January, according to the poll by the Pew Research Centre for the People and the Press.

Bush's overall job approval is at 43 per cent, a low point for his presidency, down from 56 per cent in mid-January.

In the new poll, 47 per cent disapproved of Bush's job performance. Bush's job approval soared to 90 per cent after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and remained in the 70s for almost a year after that.

Public support for the decision to use military force in Iraq has not changed. The poll found 57 per cent think the United States made the right decision to use military force - about the same as in early February. 

"People are sticking to their guns on whether this was the right decision, but they're beginning to feel a little more wary about how long our troops are exposed to these dangers," said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Centre. "While they think this was the right thing to do, they don't think Bush is handling it very well."

Kohut suggested the drop in Bush's overall approval rating may be caused by a combination of domestic and overseas concerns. Public interest in high gas prices rose to 58 per cent who said they were following the story very closely, compared with 47 per cent who felt that way in mid- March.

"He's got bad news out of Iraq, interest in gasoline (petrol) prices is soaring," Kohut said. He added that the effect of last Friday's report of more than 300,000 new jobs may not be evident in polls yet.

The poll of 790 adults was taken Thursday through Sunday and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Half of those polled said the United States should keep troops in Iraq until a stable government is formed there, while 44 per cent said the US should bring troops home as soon as possible. In January, 63 per cent said the United States should keep troops in Iraq until there is a stable government.

©2003 AAP

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