We Still Have the War damn it !

The public and the war — polls offer mixed signals
Posted March 13th, 2008 at 11:11 am
The lead headline on the Politico right now reads, “Support for war effort highest since 2006.” This is based on late-February polling from the Pew Research Center, which found that 53% of Americans now believe “the U.S. will ultimately succeed in achieving its goals” in Iraq, which is up 11 points from September 2007. (The percentage of those who believe the war in Iraq is going “very well” or “fairly well” is also up, from 30% a year ago to 48% now.)
The public’s optimism about Iraq is unusual given the trends of the last several years, but it also seems to be more complicated than the Pew poll suggests.
As the fifth anniversary of the invasion approaches next week, their conversation mirrors a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll that finds attitudes toward the nation’s deadliest conflict since Vietnam threaded with crosscurrents — particularly among those who want to set a firm timetable to pull out U.S. troops.
The survey finds the 40% of Americans who want to stay the course in Iraq are relatively united — confident the invasion was justified and the consequences of withdrawing too soon disastrous.
However, the 60% who call the invasion a mistake and want to set a timetable to get out are fractured into four distinct groups, a USA TODAY analysis of public opinion toward the war concludes.
Oh my. A majority want to withdraw, but about 20% want an immediate departure, while another 20% want to wait until Iraq is more stable. About 10% see the war as a disaster, but think we’ll be stuck there anyway for at least five more years, while another 10% are opposed to the war but have given up thinking about it. Great.
Divisions aside, six in 10 Americans said the United States should set a timetable for withdrawal and stick to it no matter what. While the Pew report hinted at optimism, the USAT poll found that just 35% said U.S. troops should remain until the situation in Iraq gets better, “a number as low as it’s ever been.”
One factor that may be influencing the numbers is the media’s coverage of the war, which seems to have largely disappeared.
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Thursday’s campaign round-up
Posted March 13th, 2008 at 12:00 pm

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:
* A new WSJ/NBC poll found that registered voters, by a 13-point margin (50% to 37%) say they would prefer a Democrat to be elected president in November. That’s the good news. The less good news is that when actual names are added to the mix, Obama leads McCain by three (47% to 44%), while Clinton leads McCain by two (47% to 45%).
* Presumably in response to Clinton challenging him on his credentials to be commander in chief, Obama hosted an event in Chicago yesterday at which he was flanked by 10 former generals and admirals who are supporting his campaign. Asked about Clinton’s questions about his readiness, Obama said, “Here’s the one good thing about it: This issue would have come up in the general election anyway. So, we might as well surface it now. I didn’t expect Democrats to be making these arguments against fellow Democrats. They typically come from Republicans against Democrats.”
* The AFL-CIO will apparently make every effort to dog John McCain for the next several months: “The AFL-CIO said Wednesday it will have union protesters follow GOP presidential nominee-in-waiting John McCain around the country to demand explanations on his positions on economic and labor issues…. In addition to the protests, the nation’s largest labor federation also plans to devote part of its record-setting $53.4 million grass-roots mobilization campaign funds to criticizing McCain through workplace leafletting, volunteer door-knocking, telephone calls, e-mail, direct mailings and an anti-McCain Web site.”
* The latest from Florida: “Florida’s Democratic Party has proposed a combination mail-in vote and in-person election on June 3. ‘The plan would be inclusive of all Democratic voters,’ according to a memo of the draft plan obtained by CNN that was sent to party leaders…. The estimated cost of the proposal would be between $10 million and $12 million, according to the memo which was sent to party leaders Wednesday night.”
* Obama talked to Al Gore last week. This seems to have excited campaign reporters, but we probably shouldn’t read too much into it.
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Nancy Pelosi: No Dream Ticket -- "Take It From Me"
March 13, 2008 01:49 PM

The Democratic presidential ticket will be a "Dream Team," Nancy Pelosi said Thursday, it just won't have both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama's name on it.
Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, the House Speaker reiterated comments she made earlier in the week that the two presidential candidates will not end up sharing a ticket.
"I do think we will have a dream team, it just won't be those two names," She said. "Whoever our nominee is and whoever he or she is and whoever he or she chooses, will be a dream team as the Democrats go forward."
When pressed further about the possibility of a joint ticket, Pelosi stated flatly, "Take it from me, that won't be the ticket."