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Bush Inauguration Comes With Nation Still Deeply Divided, Dubious On Iraq, Social Security

George W. Bush will be sworn in this week to lead a nation giving him a lukewarm approval rating, unenthusiastic about his ideas on Social Security, impatient to get out of Iraq and showing no signs of post-election reconciliation, the University of Pennsylvania’s National Annenberg Election Survey shows.

In a survey of 1,202 adults conducted from Tuesday through Sunday, 53 percent said they approved of his handling of the presidency, and 65 percent said his victory in November did not mean public support for his ideas about Social Security. Asked their own opinion, 32 percent said they supported his ideas and 50 percent said they did not.