Another poll shows no Bush bounce from terror threats

Is the magic gone for George W. Bush as Big Safe Daddy?

Another poll indicates that it is:

The strong focus on news from abroad is having little impact on the public's political opinions. President Bush's job approval rating stands at 37%, virtually unchanged from July. His personal image continues to be far less positive than it was about a year ago ­ about half the public says he is not a strong leader, not trustworthy, and unable to get things done. Moreover, the renewed emphasis on terrorism has done little to boost the president's standing on that issue. The survey, which was largely conducted after the Aug. 10 revelations of the terror plot against airliners, shows that 50% approve of the president's handling of terrorist threats, little changed from June (47%).

The severity of the president's image problem is reflected in the fact that while many Americans (49%) feel the level of U.S. involvement in resolving the Lebanon crisis has been appropriate, far fewer (36%) say they approve of Bush's handling of the issue.

[snip]

The news that British officials had stopped a terrorist plot to blow up planes flying to the U.S. drew higher public attention than have most other terror-related news stories since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Fully 54% say they followed this news story very closely, compared with 48% who tracked last summer's London bombings very closely, and 34% who paid close attention to the Madrid rail bombings in 2004.

The extensive public attention did not result in a spike in concern about terrorism, however. In interviews conducted after the story broke (Aug. 10-13), a quarter of respondents said that they were "very worried" that there will soon be another terrorist attack on the United States. By comparison, 17% of respondents interviewed on Aug. 9 ­ before the announcement ­ reported that level of concern. This small rise in public concern is similar to those measured in previous terrorist events. In the wake of last summer's London bombings 26% of Americans expressed high concern about terrorism hitting the U.S., up from 17% in late 2004. And the 2004 Madrid bombings caused a similar seven-point jump in terrorism concern, from 13% before the bombings to 20% after.

And there's the problem with the Administration's "cry wolf" tactic of announcing dire and imminent threats only when the president is in political trouble or when an election is near. I don't think anyone believes that the terrorist threat is gone, but it's clear that there is now a very healthy skepticism about the Administration's motives when such threats are announced. The problem is that because of the Administration's cynical use of alleged terror threats for its own political ends is that no one will believe them when a real threat arises.