Survey: Dem Voters Ahead of Leaders on Iraq Pullout

Two-thirds of Democratic voters favor setting a timeline for withdrawing troops from Iraq, says a new Wash Post poll, while most of the Democratic presidential hopefuls for 2008 remain noncommittal.  The poll also shows that Democrats are quickly losing ground to Republicans on key 2006 election issues.

Washington Post:

With military commanders weighing possible troop reductions in Iraq, Americans are sharply divided along partisan lines over whether to set a deadline for withdrawing all U.S. forces there, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

About half, 51 percent, oppose a deadline for getting out of Iraq, but the margin has dwindled as insurgents have continued to kill U.S. troops. The poll found that 47 percent now favor some kind of deadline, up eight percentage points since December. Two thirds of Democrats support setting a deadline, more than double the proportion of Republicans who want a timetable for withdrawal. Among independents, 44 percent support a deadline.

President Bush’s approval rating rebounded from its lowest point a month ago and now stands at 38 percent. That is five points higher than it was in May, though still weak enough to cause Republicans to worry about their electoral chances in November.

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