Entries for September 29, 2006

Is the Iraq war as disastrously unpopular as mainstream media assume? Not necessarily. Consider these results from the University of Cincinnati's most recent poll in Ohio. Ohio is a pretty good bellwether: It voted 51 to 49 percent Bush in 2004, while the country as a whole voted 51 to 48 percent. And if there is any Bush '04 state in which the Republicans are in trouble this year, it's Ohio. Republicans have controlled state government for 16 years–a long time in a state where since the 1840s control has switched between the parties at intervals of eight years or less. They've raised taxes and had corruption scandals. Gov. Bob Taft's job approval rating is under 20 percent (that's not a misprint). Democratic Rep. Ted Strickland has wide leads in the polls over Republican Secretary of State Ken Blackwell in the race for governor, and Republican Sen. Mike DeWine trails Democratic Rep. Sherrod Brown in the race for senator. The University of Cincinnati poll shows Strickland leading Blackwell 50 to 38 percent and Brown leading DeWine 51 to 47 percent. Here are the Iraq questions, with my comments: