The latest national poll produced lopsided results. If only policy makers were with the majority.
Americans now view the war in Iraq more negatively than at any time since the war began, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.
Six in 10 Americans surveyed say the United States should have stayed out of Iraq, and more than three in four say that things are going badly there — including nearly half who say things are going very badly, the poll found. […]
President Bush’s approval ratings remain near the lowest point of his more than six years in office. Thirty percent of poll respondents approve of the job he’s doing overall, while 63 percent disapprove. Majorities of those polled disapprove of Mr. Bush’s handling of the situation in Iraq, of foreign policy, of immigration, of the economy and of the campaign against terrorism.
Asked their opinion about current conditions in Iraq, more than three out of four Americans believe the war is going badly. The same number, 76%, believe the president’s so-called surge is either failing or making circumstances worse. Dems are in great shape — asked who they trust to make decisions about the war, Bush or Dems, we win 51% to 33%. The Democratic policy — funding with a timetable for withdrawal — enjoys 63% support.
Given this, Dems should be feeling pretty good about their position in the debate over funding. Oh wait, I forgot, they just gave in to the guy whose policy enjoys no public support at all.
The point of this isn’t to do yet another post complaining about Dems’ inexplicable retreat yesterday afternoon, but I have to admit, their reasoning for backing down from this fight just doesn’t make any sense.
[S]enior Democrats and other officials said that by early this week they had concluded there was no alternative but to give ground to President Bush despite their view that he had mishandled the war and needed to be put under tighter Congressional rein.
Democrats said they did not relish the prospect of leaving Washington for a Memorial Day break — the second recess since the financing fight began — and leaving themselves vulnerable to White House attacks that they were again on vacation while the troops were wanting. That criticism seemed more politically threatening to them than the anger Democrats knew they would draw from the left by bowing to Mr. Bush.
I’ll just quote Greg Sargent here, who wrote what I was thinking.
Oooooooooooooo, scary! If we didn’t give Bush his way, the White House would have criticized us!
Seriously, the Times account dovetails with what we’ve heard from multiple Dem staffers. And it has to be said that this is, like, soooooooooo June 2006. Recall that last spring many Dems were terrified of taking on the GOP and the White House over Iraq because they worried that the Republicans would tell the electorate an irresistible story: Dems are weak, and Republicans are strong. When Dems finally realized that Republicans would tell this story no matter what they did, they started telling the story their way: The war in Iraq is a disaster; it has made us weaker; Dems want to end it, and Republicans don’t. The rest is history. Dems won the argument.
Now Dems appear to have let their own worries about the potential story that Republicans will tell — Dems are on vacation while the troops are wanting! — largely shape their course of action here. Sure, you want to game out what the opposition will do. But Dems, Republicans are going to keep telling the story this way no matter what you do. Indeed, the President just reminded everyone at today’s presser that some Dems didn’t want to support the troops — even though the Dem leadership has already agreed to give him his no-timelines funding. Why not start by deciding what the right policy is, and then tell your story as forcefully as you can? Dems can win arguments, as 2006 showed.
I’ll just add this: it’s time for Dems to start thinking like the majority party. Twelve years is a long time to be out of power, it probably starts to do damage to the psyche. Dems need to get over it and start realizing the position they’re in. Just read the darn poll.