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BEIJING,
Oct. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- More than half Americans, or 52 percent, believe that
House Speaker Dennis Hastert was aware of former Congressman Mark Foley's
inappropriate messages to teenagers and tried to cover the matter up, according
to a recent Newsweek poll.
The magazine's poll, taken Oct. 5-6, found 53 percent
of respondents said they would like Democrats to win control of Congress in the
Nov. 7 election, while 35 percent favor Republicans. Republican President George
W. Bush's approval rating fell to a record low of 33 percent in the Newsweek
poll, a three-point drop from its Aug. 24-25 poll.
The poll also marks the first time that a majority of
Americans, 53 percent, believe that the Bush administration purposely
misled the public about evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction to build
support for the U.S.- led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein.
Hastert has come under intense criticism for his
handling of the scandal involving Foley, a Florida Republican. Foley
resigned Sept. 29 following the publication of lewd Internet communications with
male teenage congressional assistants.
Democrats said Friday that warnings
about Foley's inappropriate contact with young congressional aides were
"swept under the rug" by Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives
intent on protecting their power.
"We need to stop the sexual exploitation of children
across the country, and in Washington we must hold accountable all those
complicit in allowing this victimization to happen," Democratic congressional
candidate Patty Wetterling said.
Aided by public revulsion over the sex scandal,
Democrats enter the final month of the campaign well-positioned to challenge for
control of Congress, while Republicans increasingly express concern about
holding onto power.
"We're going to need everything we have to make sure
we're victorious," said Republican Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, who had long
experience as a party strategist before his election to Congress.
On Saturday, Rep. Tom Reynolds, the head of the
Republican House campaign committee, apologized in a TV commercial over the
Foley scandal, saying he was disappointed "I didn't catch his lies."
The U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee
started an investigation on Thursday into a sex scandal, which has been a
dominant question among voters in many congressional districts across U.S.
Enditem
(Agencies)
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