Dems. Misreading the American People?

Best of the Web Today - November 28, 2005
By JAMES TARANTO


Glug, Glug, Glug . . .
In recent weeks most Democrats seem to have have concluded that the war effort is a sinking ship, the American people have already jumped overboard, and if Democratic politicians follow them off the side, the people will reward them by putting them in charge of the life rafts. The Washington Post notes some poll results that suggest the Dems are all wet:

Seventy percent of people surveyed said that criticism of the war by Democratic senators hurts troop morale--with 44 percent saying morale is hurt "a lot," according to a poll taken by RT Strategies. Even self-identified Democrats agree: 55 percent believe criticism hurts morale, while 21 percent say it helps morale. . . .

Their poll also indicates many Americans are skeptical of Democratic complaints about the war. Just three of 10 adults accept that Democrats are leveling criticism because they believe this will help U.S. efforts in Iraq. A majority believes the motive is really to "gain a partisan political advantage."

The Washington Times' Jennifer Harper and the Los Angeles Times' Max Boot both note the result of another poll, this one by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, which shows that the general public is considerably more optimistic about Iraq than just about any group of "opinion leaders." Respondents were asked if they thought efforts to establish a successful democracy there will succeed or fail:

Succeed Fail
News media 33% 63%
Foreign affairs 28% 71%
Security 28% 70%
State/local government 51% 45%
Academic/think tank 27% 71%
Religious leaders 41% 56%
Scientists/engineers 13% 84%
Military 64% 32%
General public 56% 37%

Watching "Meet the Press" on Sunday, we were especially struck by the dour drumbeat from the journalists' panel, which consisted of David Broder, David Gregory, Eugene Robinson and Judy Woodruff. All agreed that democracy in Iraq is simply hopeless. But their pessimism was totally divorced from the facts: Not one even mentioned the elections scheduled for two weeks from Thursday. Maybe it will turn out that we can do without experts after all.