The latest Zogby/UPI poll shows that Americans have little confidence in any of the Presidential candidates’ ability to handle the war in Iraq.
When asked: “Which of the 2008 presidential candidates would best handle the war in Iraq?”, No candidate receives more than 14%.
| Rudy Giuliani |
14%
|
| Fred Thompson |
11%
|
| Hillary Rodham Clinton |
10%
|
| Barack Obama |
9%
|
| John McCain |
7%
|
| Joe Biden |
7%
|
| John Edwards |
5%
|
| Ron Paul |
4%
|
| Mitt Romney |
4%
|
| Bill Richardson |
4%
|
| Dennis Kucinich |
4%
|
| Unsure |
15%
|
Contra the article, this poll doesn’t necessarily show low confidence. It asks which candidate would handle the war best. In other words, a respondent might believe that candidates X, Y, and Z would all handle the war well — whatever that means to the respondent — but, of course, only one can handle it “best.”
It is disheartening to see ultra-warbots in the top 3 spots, however, with the 3 sane candidates listed (Paul, Richardson, and Kucinich) tied at 4%.
Here we go again; the “nuke ’em ’til they glow and shoot ’em at night ” crowd is the most popular..Whoever said that we’re a peace-loving people should re-think that one…War is an entertaining mini-series to most of these people and doesn’t affect them adversely at all…Presumably the pro-Guiliani crowd thinks that if only we bomb and occupy more countries then we’ll be secure…I’d like to parachute some of these armchair warriors into Falujah ( sic?) with a combat knife, a pack of matches and a dead chicken…That’s what they deserve…I know McCain is a vet., all the more reason he should know better..What does it matter? Phase III will begin soon or next year…..Bill vet/USMC
The headline is misleading. The question does not ask the respondents to rate the candidates individually, but allows only one choice for “best.” There’s no way of knowing from this poll whether the respondents feel others would be competent in handling Iraq. It could very well be that respondents feel any one of them would do a good job, hence the lack of a clear “best.”
If the question is which candidate do you agree with on the war the results are dramatically different. One indication: the “Pick your Candidate” survey has been taken so far by about 148,000 people online. 9 of the 25 questions have to do with the war with Iraq, war with Iran and the war on terror. Respondents state their views on the issues and then are matched to the candidates on a scale of +100 (fully aligned) to -100 (fully anti-aligned). Looking at best alignments, , the candidates with the most support, in order, are Kucinich, Gravel and Ron Paul! Clinton is in 5th place and Giuliani comes in ahead of Obama in 7th.
When candidates are given 3 points for best match, 2 for second best and 1 for 3rd, the order comes in Kucinich, Gravel, Obama, Clinton, Ron Paul.
While this poll is not scientific, it highlights the fact that people are not voting their political views, or their interests, but rather for the candidates’ images, and if they voted their views the outcome of elections would be dramatically different. To change this, we have to get people to where they see their vote as representing not their bet or their feeling, but representing “them”: “this is my vote for what I need and believe. My vote represents me.”
Involving people in movements to stop this war and stop the next one will help move them toward ownership of their vote.
Chris Horton
Indeed, we all need to better support the movements to stop the war. I was privileged to hear my representative, Honorable Julia Carson, publicly announce at the Labor Day parade event in Indianapolis, that indeed no more tax money should be sent on the war in Iraq, and that furthermore, in so many words, all of “them”, referring to the president on down who got us into this war, should be thrown into jail.
That poorly-constructed poll-question should instead ask,”Which of the 2008 Presidential candidates protects our sacred Constitution full-time already”, or perhaps “Who has had a clear policy about all such war-mongering, for decades…” Of course, the only answer to the question is Dr. Ron Paul! ronpaul2008.com The Texan Republican Party Straw-Poll that just occurred was a sham; i.e., some fully-credentialed Ron Paul delegates and supporters were even denied entry! We have it on tape!