The Elephant(s) in the Room (moral, America, abortion, marriage)

[GeneCosta]

In addition, the poll finds Americans are more pessimistic than ever about the overall direction in which the United States is headed. Seventy-two percent, the highest number since the CBS/NYT poll started asking the question in 1983, say the country is on the wrong track, while 24 percent say it's headed in the right direction.

President Bush's job approval rating in the poll is now at 30 percent, two points above its January low. Sixty-three percent of Americans disapprove of the president's job performance.

Although Congress has backed down from attaching a timetable for a U.S. troop withdrawal to the war funding bill, six in 10 Americans would like one. The public also favors setting benchmarks the Iraqi government must meet as a condition for future funding of the war – something that Congress will include in the pending legislation.

The poll also finds a record number of Americans say getting involved in Iraq in the first place was a mistake. Only 35 percent say the U.S. did the right thing by invading Iraq, while 61 percent say the U.S. should have stayed out.

As President Bush and Congress hammer out an Iraq war funding bill, a CBS News/New York Times poll shows the number of Americans who say the war is going badly has reached a new high, rising 10 percent this month to 76 percent.

I just don't see how any pro-war candidates can win when the public is focused on ending our occupation and heading in a direction separate from the Bush Administration.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/...n2846638.shtml

[standing_alone]

Originally Posted by GeneCosta

I just don't see how any pro-war candidates can win when the public is focused on ending our occupation and heading in a direction separate from the Bush Administration.

Me neither, but for many people, wedge issues dressed up as "moral values" or "gun rights" will motivate them to vote for pro-war candidates. The Republicans most often have bad policy ideas (in my opinion), but by claiming to be moral they often can motivate people to vote for them. I've found that the Republican voter most common in my area is not a libertarian-esque Republican wanting little government interference in the economy, but a Republican voter based solely on gun rights, abortion, or same-sex marriage. I can't tell you the number of people I've met that vote Republican only because "The Democrats will take our guns away."

But maybe with the public becoming so opposed to the Iraq War (it's about time), the Republicans tactic of trying to appeal to gun owners or people with Victorian era conceptions of morality won't work.