USA Today Iraq War Poll: 60% Say Stay in Iraq Until It's Done

Immediately after I found the Pew Center poll results that showed 53% of Americans think that we will succeed in Iraq, I got today's copy of USA Today's Daily Briefing in my e-mail. Not good news for Democrats: its lead story, Opposition to Iraq war is divided after 5 years. I've learned over the past few years that when there's bad news on Iraq, or the public's perception of Iraq, it's contained in the headline of the article (i.e. "60% of Americans Want U.S. Out Now"). When the news is better for those of us who actually want to prevail in Iraq, the headline is much more vague (like today's), and you won't see the positive news until way past the lede, usually near the end of the story. This article is no exception.

That curmudgeonly critique aside, it's still a well done and informative read. The full results, which are not revealed until the very bottom of the piece in a graphic, is that 40% of respondents think that we will win, 20% think invading was a mistake but we have an obligation to stay until Iraq is stabilized, 10% think that what we do doesn't matter, 17% think that we should leave immediately, and 12% think that we'll be there for years and it will be the death of all of us, Iraqis and Americans. God only know what the other 1% thinks.

Those results are quite interesting. Basically, 60% of Americans believe that we must stay to win by some definition, while only 17% want us out right now, consequences be damned. You wouldn't know that from either the Democrats' or the media's current meme on the Iraq War. One thing that I found quite interesting was the disconnect that the poll/study shows between Barack Obama supporters and the position that their candidate takes publicly. That's the 20% who want security established first, before troops leave:

War opponents who want security established first, before withdrawing, make up another one in five Americans.

This is the group that most strongly supports Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama over Hillary Rodham Clinton — no surprise since it is dominated by the younger voters who have streamed to his campaign.

"The soldiers need to be home," says Tally, calling herself "torn" on the question of how quickly to pull out. "There's a lot of destruction, a lot of death, and it needs to stop. At the same time, I'm concerned about the people there, the families there. … Those people are just going to be left vulnerable."

I disagree strongly because that's the exact opposite than what it should be - it's Hillary who has said that Iraq should be stabilized before leaving, while Obama says, at least publicly, that we should get out now. A very, very strange disconnect of the views of supporters from their candidate's message.

One thing that the USA Today article does do that's helpful is point out that it seems that many people's opinions are formed solely by the reports that they get from the traditional news media, rather that an objective look at all of the facts surrounding the war, and the consequences if we fail.

I'd be interested to see the results of a similar study after six months of the media reporting on everything that's going on in Iraq - good and bad - something they've never done before. Alas, that's not going to happen - the media showed its colors years ago. When there is bad news they will promote it at every opportunity. When there is good news, they won't report on it at all.