Whoa.

Could this really be the long-awaited year of the democrat?

Greg Sargent:

Deep in the guts of that big Washington Post poll today is a startling number that didn't make it into the Post's accompanying article. It reads: Which political party, the (Democrats) or the (Republicans), do you trust to do a better job handling the U.S. campaign against terrorism?

The answer: Democrats 46%, Republicans 38% That's right: this poll's respondents preferred Dems not just on Iraq, but on the broader war on terror. If this number accurately reflects the electorate's mood, this may represent a watershed moment at which Americans have stopped reflexively believing the GOP is better on terrorism in general. Two questions: Will future polls show the same? And how much longer will media commentators keep saying that the GOP automatically has the advangage on national security issues?

6. Which political party, the (Democrats) or the (Republicans), do you trust to do a better job handling (ITEM)?

8/6/06 - Summary Table

                                                    Both    Neither   No
                           Democrats  Republicans  (vol.)   (vol.)    op.
a. The situation in Iraq         43          40         *       11       5
b. The U.S. campaign 
   against terrorism             46          38         1       11       4