When Jack Murtha started talking about "immediate redeployment" and had it taken up by a chorus of Democratic Party leaders such as Nancy Pelosi and John Kerry, one had to wonder whether they had discovered some undercurrent of American defeatism in secret polling. After all, they had long searched for a resonant message on Iraq; their lack of coherence on the issue likely cost them the 2004 presidential election. Even up to the eve of the historic elections last week, the Democrats still insisted that we couldn't hope to beat the insurgency and the only realistic tactic left was retreat.

If the Democrats hope to find resonance with the American public on that message, they will find themselves very much disappointed in 2006. In a poll taken before the Iraqi election and the strong speeches of George Bush shortly afterwards, Ipsos-AP discovered that the percentage of Americans believing in defeatism has remained steady at 36%. That number has remained solid since last June, meaning that the addition of Murtha as a supposedly credible voice on the war has had no impact with the public, which supports remaining in Iraq until victory at 57%. For the first time in over a year, less than half said that going to war in Iraq was a mistake, although that position polled seven points higher than those who thought it was the right thing to do.

The poll asked 1006 adults, 813 of which were registered voters (Democrat/Republican ratio 46%-40%), about their position on Iraq. Of those who answered that the US should keep troops in Iraq, the reasons were as follows:

To stabilize the country................................................. 32
To finish the job that was started ................................ 26
To fight terrorism........................................................... 10
To make/ keep peace ..................................................... 9
To create a democracy .................................................. 5
To ensure the sacrifices were not in vain ..................... 5
People need freedom ..................................................... 3
To ensure the U.S. does not appear weak .................... 3
To protect our country/ national security ....................... 3
To help them.................................................................... 2
To win the war ............................................................... 1
Other.............................................................................. 17
No reason ....................................................................... 1
(DK/NS) ........................................................................... 3

The Democrats have made a bad decision in taking up the white flag as a political banner, not just due to being on the wrong side of history, but also on the wrong side of the electorate. And that was before the Iraqi election.

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