Democrats Want Candidate Who Supported Force, but Not Bush's Approach

[StlMo]

Democratic Voters Want Candidate Who Supported Force, but not Bush's Failed Approach


Majorities of likely Democratic voters in three states with early primaries or caucuses say they prefer a presidential nominee who supported military action against Iraq but criticized President Bush for failing to assemble international support over a candidate who opposed military action from the beginning, according to new polls conducted by the liberal Democracy Corps.

...

Democratic voters in the three states are divided over their choices for the nomination. In Iowa, Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (Mo.) and former Vermont governor Howard Dean were running roughly even with each other (27 percent to 26 percent). Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) was the only other Democrat to hit double digits in that state (16 percent).

In New Hampshire, Dean held a solid lead over Kerry (38 percent to 21 percent), with retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark the only other Democrat in double digits (11 percent). In South Carolina, Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) registered 14 percent, but with five other Democrats between 10 percent and 13 percent, the race there appears mostly unformed.

...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38335-2003Oct16.html

[AndyTiedye]

1. They Say We Want A Warmonger, but Dean is Ahead Anyway

odd that...

[RuB]

2. The info I have gathered is we want a President who will backhand

Bushie, I mean hand the Iraq fiasco over to the UN, internationalize the Iraqi mess so our Soldiers can come home and stop being the worlds policeman. When will the Democratic leadership stop letting the corrupt Republican party define what the Democratic party stands for?

[StlMo]

3. Supporting multilateral action when a country actually poses a threat

is not warmongering.

Dean is not ahead (and Dean also said he would support a UN backed war against Saddam).

[Resistance Is Futile]

4. What threat?

Do you mean Iraq? There was certainly no threat there.

[StlMo]

5. I agree that Iraq was no threat.

I referred to the hypothetical discovery of weapons of mass destruction, (which were falsely alleged to still be in Iraq's possession).

[unfrigginreal]

6. Of course they're going to say that to the pollster...

when you've got the majority of the Dems and all of the Repubs still calling this a just war, what would you expect. The Democrats are really missing an opportunity to turn public opinion dramatically into their favor. But that would mean that many of these political wind checkers in Washington would have to admit to a mistake. Not in my lifetime, I'm afraid.

[eileen_d]

7. Interesting

Democrats surveyed in the three states also listed foreign policy and national security experience as the most important attribute they are looking for in selecting a nominee. They rated that characteristic over such other choices as experience in Congress, being a decorated combat veteran, being a Washington outsider or having a blue-collar background.

Seriously, this is why I have a problem supporting Dean. He may be correct in his current and past criticism about the Iraq war, but how credible is he as far as providing a solution to getting us out of there?