Making a buzz about the South and Iraq

Last week, the Institute released the findings of a major project we've been working on for over six months -- a national public opinion poll, one of the first surveys to take an in-depth look at Southern attitudes towards the Iraq war.

The findings of the survey, which we did in collaboration with expert foreign policy pollsters at N.C. State University, were definitely surprising, especially since Southern states are were the Bush administration has found most of their support for the Iraq war since 2002. Here were some of the most eye-opening findings:

*** 57% of those polled in 13 Southern states believe the U.S. "should have stayed out of Iraq."

*** 30%the U.S. is in Iraq "to ensure access to oil" -- the most popular answer given when asked about the goals of the Iraq mission.

*** When asked if they felt "proud" or "sad" about Iraq, 62% of Southerners -- the most of any region in the country -- said they were "very sad" about the war, and under 10% said they were "somewhat or very proud" -- lower than the national average.

*** 30% of those polled in Southern states believe the U.S. should "withdraw completely from Iraq, the highest rate in the country.

The poll has stirred up quite a buzz on the blogs, including Washington Monthly, The Hotline, David Sirota, Daily Kos and TPM Cafe. It's also getting attention in the major media.

Today, Jay Bookman of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that the Institute's findings reveal a "harsh reality" about Iraq:

The U.S. Army may be planning ways to keep 140,000 troops in Iraq until at least 2010, but it's over. It's just over.

What we're doing in Iraq cannot be sustained, not militarily and not politically, and after the election a lot of people are going to start saying so. They'll say so if the Democrats take control of one or both chambers of Congress, and they'll say so if Republicans remain in control. [...]

The most telling numbers ... come from a poll by the Institute for Southern Studies, based in Durham, N.C. Its survey of 13 Southern states found that 56 percent of Southerners believe that U.S. troops should be partially or completely withdrawn from Iraq, which is about the sentiment of the nation as a whole. Eighty-nine percent of Southerners say they are a little to very saddened about the war; only 12 percent say they are proud of the war.

When you've lost even the South, it's over. Pretending that we can sustain our effort in Iraq for several more years with such meager support here at home is sheer fantasy.