WASHINGTON -- Most Americans don't believe the United States will succeed in winning the war in Iraq or establishing a stable democracy there, according to a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll. But an ambivalent public also says sending troops to Iraq wasn't a mistake, a sign that most people aren't yet ready to give up on the war.
"There's a lot of conflicting impulses here," says Andrew Kohut, director of the non-partisan Pew Research Center. A Pew poll last week also showed crosscurrents in attitudes toward the Iraq war. "People are giving bleak assessments on the one hand, and on the other hand (they're) saying maybe it was still the right thing to do."
By 58%-37%, a majority say the United States won't be able to establish a stable democratic government in Iraq, similar to the results when the question was asked in April 2004.
Still, on the question designed to test fundamental attitudes toward the war -- was it a mistake to send U.S. troops? -- the public's view has rebounded. By 53%-46%, those surveyed say it wasn't a mistake, the strongest support for the war since just after the Iraqi elections in January.
http://tinylink.com/?tN5SkeJgIZ
----------------------------------------------
So most Americans believe we aren't winning and can't win, yet most American believe the war was the right thing to do. Uh, ok. These numbers seems to have a bit in it for both sides in that Americas believe we are losing and can't win and at the same time mostly agree with the war.
That tells me the public still wants more then anything to see some kind of progress from Iraq. Which means manufactured media events like Saddam's trial/execution, the Referendum on the Constitution, and the final election in December still will still help Bush. However, in the long run if the suicide bombers don't stop, his poll numbers won't stay up.