they realize that the notion of exporting democracy to the Middle East is a Bush Doctrine that fails to recognize the realities in the region.

I’m afraid that oversteps what the poll says by quite a bit.

One can safely conclude that most of those who have a very negative opinion of Bush (e.g., Democrats) are the same ones who believe that democracy may not work there, i.e., you’re just seeing another measure of partisanship.

Iraq still has a democracy, and even if there are stability problems, these are no worse than the problems shared (in the past) by young democracies like Columbia, Argentina and other South American countries. There is really no reason why it can’t succeed in Iraq just as it has anywhere else where it has been tried. Nor, when Columbia has had problems running itself, I didn’t see everybody panicking and saying “democracy won’t work there”.

So, “the realities of the region”? That’s more a “realities of American politics”.

That, my friends, is one spot on analysis and suggests that voters have discerned fact from fiction with an impressive demonstration of acuity. Perhaps both parties will someday learn that the truth is, in the final analysis, the most powerful campaign strategy available. Don’t hold your breath.

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