The new CBS/New York Times poll, the same one widely reported saying 81% of Americans think the country is on the wrong track, has another amazing statistic buried in the numbers (pdf):
The war in Iraq ranks second behind the economy as the country’s most
pressing problem and most Americans think the cost of the war has
contributed to the country’s economic woes, including two-thirds who
think it has contributed a lot.
HOW MUCH HAS THE IRAQ WAR CONTRIBUTED TO U.S. ECONOMIC PROBLEMS?
A lot 67%
Some 22
Not much/not at all 10
A full 89% of American feel Iraq has negatively impacted our economy. 89% of Americans can hardly agree on anything, but amazingly, they agree on this.
It's impossible not to see the Iraq war - which has cost us $695 billion already and may cost as much as" trillion by the time we're done - as the millstone that is dragging America down into the economic depths of recession. It's impossible to discuss economic recovery or domestic growth while we're sending $195 million per day to our money pit in the Middle East for a war that never should have been waged in the first place.
Americans clearly realize this fundamental problem, and come November, it's going to be a real issue for Republicans.
With 89% of America recognizing the link between Iraq and our current recession, do you think they're going to pick the candidate who will keep us in Iraq for "100 years?" (Remember folks, permanent military bases are expensive, even if somehow we could stop our soldiers from dying in Iraq.) The candidate who warns of "more wars" and a conflict that will last "till the end of this century?" The candidate who admits he "doesn't understand economics?"
I don't think so.
(originally posted at The Seminal)