WaPo Poll: Democrats NOW Trusted-46% to 38%-To do Better Job On Terrorism

[kpete]

Poll: Democrats Now Preferred On Terrorism
By Greg Sargent

Deep in the guts of that big Washington Post poll http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/polls/postpoll_080606.htm today is a startling number that didn't make it into the Post's accompanying article. It reads:

Which political party, the (Democrats) or the (Republicans), do you trust to do a better job handling the U.S. campaign against terrorism?

The answer: Democrats 46%, Republicans 38% That's right: this poll's respondents preferred Dems not just on Iraq, but on the broader war on terror. If this number accurately reflects the electorate's mood, this may represent a watershed moment at which Americans have stopped reflexively believing the GOP is better on terrorism in general. Two questions: Will future polls show the same? And how much longer will media commentators keep saying that the GOP automatically has the advangage on national security issues?

http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2006/aug/08/poll_dems_now_preferred_on_terrorism

[jsamuel]

1. the sooner we get RW foreign policy out of Dems the sooner that number

will go up.

Bye Joe!

[leesa]

5. Exactly. The DINOs are doing everything they can to muddy the waters

and make Dem policies murky. It should be child's play to show that GOP tactics have led to huge increases in terrorism.

[Chiyo-chichi]

2. Surely we can count on Chris Matthews, Tim Russert,

and all other corporate media monkeys to give this extensive coverage. :sarcasm:

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

3. Unfortunately, this poll item is a big problem:

8. Do you approve or disapprove of the way your own representative to the U.S. House of Representatives in Congress is handling his or her job?

Approve: 55%
Disapprove: 37%
No Opinion: 7%


What this means is that even though people hate Congress and Republicans in general, more than half of the people don't think THEIR Congressman or Republican is the problem. That number might be dropping, but if that still holds true, we're not going to have the tidal wave we hope for.

[TahitiNut]

4. That's a 15-point shift (flip-flop) since late June.

"Which political party -- the Democrats or the Republicans -- do you trust to do a better job handling the U.S. campaign against terrorism?"

Date Democrats Republicans Both (vol.) Neither (vol.) Unsure
% % % % %
8/3-6/06 46 38 1 11 4
6/22-25/06 39 46 2 10 3
5/11-15/06 46 41 2 8 3
4/6-9/06 46 45 1 6 1
3/2-5/06 39 46 3 10 2
1/23-26/06 41 46 2 6 4
10/30 - 11/2/05 42 42 4 10 3
12/02 25 61 5 6 2

http://www.pollingreport.com/terror.htm


It's a volatile opinion ... not very firmly held in the (non-partisan) 'center'.

[marmar]

6. So if these numbers...and the polling from individual races is true...

The only option is to emulate our contemporaries in Mexico and shut down this country should Repugs manage to steal another election this fall.

[BuyingThyme]

7. This country is being taken over by extreme leftist elements.

Obviously.