The Afghanistan Escalation is Popular

Quinnipiac is the latest pollster to find a huge uptick in support for an Afghanistan escalation, making last week’s speech by President Obama — somewhat surprisingly, given the reviews — one of the most politically successful. The percentage of people who say the U.S. is “doing the right” thing in Afghanistan jumped from 48 percent to 57 percent, with doubters falling from 41 percent to 35 percent.

Buried in the numbers is an interesting finding, one that gives the White House some breathing room. A majority of Republicans and a plurality of independents disapprove of Obama’s Afghanistan performance, even though the 36 percent support number from Republicans is Obama’s highest on any issue. But Democrats approve by a two-to-one majority.