Forty percent (40%) of U.S. voters say that Congress should support the policy outlined in President Bush’s address to the nation last Thursday night. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 42% disagree while 18% are not sure.

The survey also found that 47% believe Congress should “act to force the President to withdraw all troops from Iraq in the near future.” On that point, 43% disagree.

In both cases, there is a very sharp partisan divide. Seventy-two percent (72%) of Republicans believe that Congress should support the President’s plan and 76% oppose Congressional action to force a troop withdrawal. Among Democrats, only 18% believe Congress should support the President’s approach while 69% want Congress to force a troop withdrawal. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 34% favor supporting the President’s plan and 46% do not. Fifty percent (50%) of unaffiliated want Congress to force a troop withdrawal while 39% disagree.

By a 50% to 38% margin, women want Congress to force a troop withdrawal. By a 49% to 43% margin, men disagree. Younger voters are more supportive of Congress acting in this way while older voters are more supportive of the President’s plan.

Among those who saw the speech, 53% said that Congress should support the President’s approach while 36% disagree. By a 49% to 43% margin, those who saw the speech opposed Congressional action to withdraw troops. The difference between these views and those of all voters are partly due to the mix of those who chose to watch the speech and partly the impact of the speech itself. Republicans were somewhat more likely to watch the speech than Democrats or unaffiliated voters.

A Rasmussen Reports telephone survey conducted before the President’s speech found a generally similar divide-- 43% favored the recommendations of General David Petraeus and 38% opposed them. The President endorsed those recommendations in his Thursday night speech. A commentary by Douglas Schoen suggests the Petraeus Report will have little lasting political impact.

The country is also evenly divided on the question of whether the situation in Iraq is like Vietnam. Confidence that the U.S. and its allies are winning the War on Terror remains lower this year than before.

Among those who watched the President’s speech, 47% said it was good or excellent. Twenty-one percent (21%) said fair and 32% said poor. Seventy-six percent (76%) of Republicans who watched said that the speech was good or excellent. Among Democrats in the audience, only 24% gave such a positive review. Most Democrats (55%) rated the speech as poor.

A separate survey conducted before the speech found that just 27% of voters give the President good or excellent marks for handling the situation in Iraq.

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