Lincoln Was Right

You can't fool all of the people all of the time.

A New York Times/CBS poll shows that more than half of Americans distinguish the Iraq escapade from the War on Terror. Even better news is that more people think that too much emphasis has been placed on Iraq (46 percent) than on fighting terrorism (42 percent). Not too long ago, a pollster might have risked a lynching if he/she suggested that there was a distinction.

The poll backs up those of us who say that Democrats should make national security the focus of the fall campaign. Forty-six percent of responders list terrorism or the Iraq war as the most important issue--while the economy garners only 20 percent. Democrats have to show that they can deal with the issues that are most on people's minds, and that is especially true where they have been faulted for years.