AOL poll--some interesting results so far--"Kerry more right on Iraq"

[Ms. Clio]

Do you have a clear sense of the candidates' positions on Iraq?
Yes 40%
No, Kerry is unclear 25%
Both are unclear 20%
No, Bush is unclear 15%


Which candidate is more right on Iraq?
Kerry 47%
Bush 40%
Neither 8%
Too hard to tell 5%
Total Votes: 55,505
Note on Poll Results

Has the war been worth the human cost?
No 60%
Yes 32%
Too early to tell 8%

Did you expect U.S. casualties to hit 1,000?
Yes, it's a difficult mission 57%
No, I thought we'd have stabilized Iraq by now 34%
Maybe, but not so soon 8%
Total Votes: 163,419

I think the way they frame this question is so disingenuous, however--a difficult "mission," indeed. Yeah, who would have guessed that invading someone else's country would be "difficult?" And considering that the polls are part of an article about "pain and patriotism across the U.S., it's clear that the only "human cost" they are counting is American casualties. Not a word about the thousands of dead Iraqi men, women and children.

For example:

How this war is different

The death toll is a window into the war itself, revealing how Iraq differs from prior conflicts, the ways Americans die there and the crushing grief that spreads across the nation from one town to the next.

Derby is the kind of town where men hold caps over their hearts when the National Anthem is sung. The big news this year was the opening of a water splash park on Rock Road. Like scores of towns across America that have lost one, maybe two, sons or daughters to the war, Derby finds itself sadly connected to an alien land in turmoil half-a-world away.

"Most of us would probably be a little hard-pressed to pick (Iraq) out on the map," says Shirley Wells, 48, a high school teacher here.

[Ms. Clio]

1. Update--Kerry now 48%

Which candidate is more right on Iraq?
Kerry 48%
Bush 40%
Neither 8%
Too hard to tell 5%
Total Votes: 58,013

[Ms. Clio]

2. kicking this, because AOLers are usually pretty freepy

so this seems fairly significant.

And the percentage of those who say the war was not worth it has edged up to 61%, now.

[jab105]

3. And makes it even more of a shame that Kerry wont CLEARLY distinguish

his position from Bush on this issue...

He would be running away with the election if he could finally get a reality check and clearly come out against Bush on this!!

[Ms. Clio]

5. I think so, too

There are several good reasons to be firmly against this war--the human cost, the financial cost, security, international relations--I wish he would take more of a stand.

[rumguy]

4. I think it is notable that Kerry is winning on the Iraq question

AOL is the WalMart of the internet...

I think it is a guage of what a lot of people who are not political junkies like us are thinking...

[Ms. Clio]

6. They would not have voted this way even just a few months ago

The accompanying article makes it clear that the war is really starting to hit home for a lot of people.