Letters to the Editor
Foodle
Published Letters: 45
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No, Glenn
[Read the article: Beltway myth: "The left-wing base" vs. "the American people" on Iraq]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You did not summarize what Mara said exactly accurately. You changed her meaning.
Liasson did not say that the American people don't want to withdraw troops from Iraq within 16 months. What she said is that the American people don't want the commander in chief to just stick to a campaign promise, but rather to look at the facts on the ground.
None of the polling asks exactly the right questions to determine whether Liasson's assessment is correct. It is my best guess that were a poll to ask whether the respondent believes that the facts on the ground in Iraq do (or will in January) allow for the withdrawal of U.S. troops within 16 months, the answer would be yes. In other words, the American people currently believe that Obama's 16 month campaign promise is (or will be) supported by the facts on the ground in Iraq. There is no conflict between the campaign promise and the facts on the ground. None of the polls ask what the respondent believes the next commander in chief should do if a careful assessment of the facts indicates that troops cannot be responsibly withdrawn in 16 months, whether in that case the President should stick to the campaign promise or change policy to reflect the new assessment. Liasson thinks that the American people would want the commander in chief to go with the new assessment, not just stick to the campaign promise.
There is no unequivocal polling evidence that she is wrong. Even polls that seem to indicate support for withdrawal regardless of what is going on in Iraq (at least when presented with a false binary choice) also indicate strong support for achieve certain preconditions to withdrawal: "Does the United States have an obligation to establish a reasonable level of stability and security in Iraq before withdrawing all of its troops? -Yes: 65%"
In short, as long as people believe that the facts on the ground are consistent with withdrawal in 16 months, they believe that Obama should stick with his campaign promise and withdraw troops within 16 months. Under what changed assessment of the facts the American people would prefer that Obama abandon the campaign promise is uncertain, but Liasson asserted that the American people would prefer that future Iraq policy be based upon an assessment of the facts on the ground over sticking to a campaign promise. That assertion is not supported by the polling data, but neither is it flatly contradicted by them. Regardless, Liasson certainly did not say that the American people don't want to withdraw troops from Iraq within 16 months.