This is National Celebrate Iraqi Liberation Week. And this
poll tells you what you need to know about how PA is
Pittburgh and Philadelphia separated by Alabama.
HARRISBURG | Pennsylvanians are deeply divided over whether the war in Iraq has been worth the cost and aren't sure, a year after the invasion, whether it has made the nation safer from terrorist attacks, a new Morning Call/Muhlenberg College poll has found.
Like the rest of the nation, the state also is divided on whether President Bush misled Americans over the need to topple Saddam Hussein's regime, and it splits over the administration's handling of the conflict.
"You look at Pennsylvanians and they just generally don't agree on almost every aspect of this war," said Christopher Borick of Muhlenberg's Institute of Public Opinion, which conducted the poll. "This is a consummate polarizing event for the public."
So, as you read about Kerry and Bush running neck and neck for now in PA, ask yourselves where we'll be in Iraq in eight months. That'll tell you more than the polls who will win PA and the nation.
Forty-five percent of those who responded to the canvass approve of the administration's handling of the Iraqi conflict, compared to 42 percent who disapprove and 10 percent who know too little to decide.
That's a marked difference from just a year ago.
A Morning Call/Muhlenberg College poll from February 2003, conducted during the run-up to the conflict, found that 56 percent of Pennsylvanians favored using force to remove Saddam from power. One in three supported the U.S. decision to act without sanction from the United Nations.
But after a year of reports about American casualties and filmed footage of the aftermath of insurgent attacks, that mood has changed. The war has claimed the lives of 564 American servicemen and women -- 28 from Pennsylvania. ''A year makes quite a big difference,'' Borick said.
Just ask respondent Jaclyn Bennett, 25, of Montrose, Susquehanna County.
''I think it's a personal vendetta,'' she said when asked whether she thinks going to war was a good idea. ''There was no hard evidence .
''I can't understand how other nations can look at us and see a strong country,'' said Bennett, who briefly served in the Navy and lost a classmate in the World Trade Center attack three years ago. ''I'm very displeased.''
The sentiment here is similar to an ABC News/Washington Post poll conducted last week, which found that 46 percent of Americans approve of the war, compared to 53 percent who said they did not.
Muhlenberg pollsters sampled the opinions of 402 Pennsylvanians between March 6 and Wednesday. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.
The findings come amid growing national and international unease over the Bush administration's conduct in the year since an American-led force entered Iraq.
It's too early for the Borg to accept defeat regarding Iraq and it's success/failure. Reality needs to sink in. But look at the trends, Kossacks, look at the trends.
George W Bush is in big trouble.