Decision ‘08

Is The War Lost? Yes, If You’re A Democrat…

Oh, there I go again. Only it’s not me, it’s the Democrats themselves, according to the latest Zogby Poll:

A majority of Americans - 54% - believe the United States has not lost the war in Iraq, but there is dramatic disagreement on the question between Democrats and Republicans, a new UPI/Zogby Interactive poll shows. While two in three Democrats (66%) said the war effort has already failed, just 9% of Republicans say the same.

The poll comes ahead of a September report to Congress by David Petraeus, commander of the multi-national force in Iraq, on the progress of the so-called surge in quelling attacks by insurgents and creating an atmosphere where the new Iraqi government can develop.

This strong skepticism of success in Iraq among Democrats echoes the position of some party leaders, most strongly worded by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who said in April that he believed that “this war is lost and that the surge is not accomplishing anything.” This latest UPI/Zogby poll shows Americans are divided on the success of the U.S. troop surge in Iraq - while 49% believe it is not working, nearly as many (45%) said the surge has been effective. The vast majority of Democrats (86%) don’t believe the surge is working, compared to just 11% of Republicans.

Actually, I am being more than a little facetious; if you can make the case that the Democrats suffer from undue defeatism, you can equally make the case that Republicans are sipping from the kool-aid of myopic optimism…but the results are quite interesting, if accurate.

For one thing, I find it fascinating that 1 in 3 Democrats in the country-at-large don’t think the war is lost…among the Democratic leadership and chattering classes, the ratio is probably closer to 1 in 10. Also, the fact that only 9%(!) of Republicans think the war is lost sure puts the lie to the meme that “even the Republicans have deserted the war”. Certainly some Republican politicians are getting wobbly, but it sure doesn’t seem to have infected the rank-and-file.

The poll results seem to confirm the impression that the Bush Administration is making some headway in selling the war again, after playing defense for a terribly long time.

Food for thought…