 |
June 29, 2008 The Iraq War, AWOL from Priority Lists Iraq was absent from either side’s list of top 10 first term priorities lists. In fact, Iraq did not even make the top 25. Surprisingly absent from the list of top priorities in the OPTIMIZE*08 study was the Iraq War. Though there were seven priority statements specifically addressing the issue, none made the top 25 priorities for either candidate. The top ranked Obama Iraq priority statement, which addressed withdrawal plans, leadership, and diplomacy, came in 44th. The top ranked McCain Iraq priority statement, which assured support for the counterinsurgency strategy, came in 29th. Though you can hardly conclude that Americans don’t care about Iraq, you can conclude that when forced to choose specific first-term actions, voters prioritize other initiatives above the candidates’ plans for Iraq. Is this war fatigue?; Lack of media coverage?; Lack of clarity on what the right next move should be?; or just that there are even more pressing issues impacting Americans not directly affected by the war? It is certainly an issue worth understanding better. Beyond Iraq, there were other high visibility issues that were notably absent from the top ten lists. Among lower ranking Republican issues were, border security (#12), a gas tax holiday (#19), reducing greenhouse gas emissions (#24), and overturning Roe v. Wade (#42). Absent from the Democratic top ten were the national health care plan (#12), protecting women’s reproductive rights (#16), engaging foreign diplomacy before force (#22), and addressing the mortgage crisis (#52). Click on the thumbnails below to see the full ranking for both candidates. Methodology:
| |
| Exhibits: | ||
| ||
|
||
