Margin Opposing Withdrawal of Troops is Dwindling

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 the bloody insurgency has continued to claim U.S. casualties. The poll found that 47 percent now favor some kind of deadline, up eight percentage points since December. Two thirds of Democrats favor setting a deadline, more than double the proportion of Republicans who embrace a timetable for withdrawal. Among independents, 44 percent support a deadline.

President Bush's approval rating rebounded from its low point a month ago and now stands at 38 percent. That is still weak enough to cause Republicans to worry about their electoral fortunes in November, but five percentage points higher than it was in May. (Can you say BOUNCE? I'd bet my next paycheck they were hoping for a bigger bounce than that after killing Zarqawi and the president going to Iraq. NOW they gotta be really worried. Which means WE should be worried. )

Democrats continue to hold an advantage on the November ballot, with a majority (52 percent) of registered voters saying that, if the election were held today, they would vote for the Democratic candidate for the House to 39 percent who said they would favor the Republican candidate. Democrats have maintained a double-digit throughout the year on this indicator of electoral intentions.

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