MOST AMERICANS oppose US president Barack Obama’s decision to close the Guantánamo Bay detention centre and doubts about his economic policies are growing, according to two new polls.
The president remains popular, with a 63 per cent approval rating, according to a New York Times/CBS poll, but his support among Republicans has fallen to 23 per cent, compared to 44 per cent in February.
Some 59 per cent of those polled said they approved of Mr Obama’s conduct on foreign policy but a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that 52 per cent oppose closing Guantánamo, while 39 per cent support the move.
Mr Obama has promised to close Guantánamo by January but the administration has struggled to persuade third countries to accept detainees no longer viewed as enemy combatants.
The White House has faced criticism from human rights groups for its decision to put some detainees on trial before military tribunals and to consider holding others indefinitely without trial.
Both polls highlight growing concern over the ballooning federal budget deficit, expected to reach $1.8 trillion (€1.29 trillion) this year, with six in 10 saying the administration has not developed a clear plan to reduce it, according to the New York Times poll.
Almost seven in 10 Americans are concerned about the expansion of the government’s role in the economy, including the bailout of General Motors, according to the Wall Street Journal survey.
Mr Obama’s predecessor, George W Bush, has criticised the administration’s economic policies, warning against a significant government role in healthcare.
“It’s going to be the private sector that leads this country out of the current economic times we’re in. You can spend your money better than the government can spend your money,” Mr Bush told a business group in Pennsylvania. “Government does not create wealth. The major role for the government is to create an environment where people take risks to expand the job rate.”
Mr Obama has said he inherited the economic crisis from the previous administration but Mr Bush defended his actions in the final weeks of his presidency. “I am told, ‘If you do not move strongly, Mr President, you will be a president overseeing a depression that will ultimately be greater than the Great Depression’,” he said.
“I firmly believe it was necessary to put money in our banks to make sure our financial system did not collapse.”
Mr Bush said he did not wish to criticise his successor but defended his own anti-terrorism policies, including the detention of suspected terrorists at Guantánamo.
“The way I decided to address the problem was twofold: one, use every technique and tool within the law to bring terrorists to justice before they strike again,” he said.
“There are people at Gitmo that will kill American people at a drop of a hat . . . Persuasion isn’t going to work. Therapy isn’t going to cause terrorists to change their mind.”