PUBLIC: IRAQ WAR SEEMS SOMEWHAT LESS AWFUL THAN IT DID

Various wingnuts are dancing a victory jig because of this:

US public opinion on military progress in Iraq has improved sharply since the troops “surge” started in February but a majority of Americans still want soldiers brought home, according to a new poll.

Some 48 per cent of Americans now believe that the US military effort in Iraq is going well, compared with 30 per cent in February, according to the latest poll by the Pew Research Center.

Yeah, 48% of respondents in the Pew poll think the military effort is going "very well" or "fairly well." Know how many think it's going "not too well" or "not at all well"?

48%.

A resounding vote of confidence, that.

The wingnuts are tut-tutting about this:

However, a rosier view of the military situation in Iraq has not translated into increased support for maintaining U.S. forces in Iraq, greater optimism that the United States will achieve its goals there, or an improvement in President Bush's approval ratings.

By 54%-41%, more Americans favor bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq as soon as possible rather than keeping troops in Iraq until the situation has stabilized. The balance of opinion on this measure has not changed significantly all year.

The wingnut take on this subject was summed up beautifully last week in this Tom Toles cartoon:



Oh, and the public doesn't think any political progress is being made in Iraq. And Bush is even more unpopular than he was when the surge began (33% approval in February, 30% now).

Now, you may hear this from the wingnuts:

The belief that the situation in Iraq is getting better also is reflected in the single words that people use to describe the war. The word "improving" is most frequently used to characterize people's impression of the war; 29 [of the 675] respondents mentioned this word.

That is a significant sign, I guess -- when people are asked to sum up Iraq in a word, "improving" is now #1.

So, what were #2 through #19?



Oops.