Poll Shows Shift in Opinion on War

A New York Times/CBS News Poll finds that “Americans increasingly see the war in Iraq as distinct from the fight against terrorism, and nearly half believe President Bush has focused too much on Iraq to the exclusion of other threats.”

Conservatives will be reluctant to separate Iraq from the fight against terrorism, especially coming from a combination of The New York Times and CBS News. For everyone else, it’s great to see them coming around to reality. It is also a sign that Democrats are doing a better job of getting their message out:

Democrats in recent weeks have tried to portray the war in Iraq as a distraction from essential antiterror initiatives, and the poll indicates that the message may be working. Democrats say the war has sapped resources from tracking terrorists and bolstering domestic security.

“We took our eye off the real war, the war on terror,” Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, said in a conference call with reporters on Tuesday.

Democrats have said the Bush administration should have kept its focus on Al Qaeda instead of moving against Mr. Hussein and suspected weapons of mass destruction.

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