As the House of Representatives narrowly passed legislation requiring most U.S. troops to leave Iraq by September 2008, 50% of Americans say they trust Democrats more than Republicans to handle the situation in Iraq. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 38% trust Republicans more on this topic. Those figures have been relatively constant for several months. On the eve of Election 2006, 49% trusted Democrats more on Iraq while 42% placed their trust in the GOP (see history).

A separate survey found that just 30% of Americans give the President good or excellent marks for his handling of the situation in Iraq.

Men prefer Democrats on Iraq by a narrow 48% to 43% margin. Women, however, have a very strong preference for Nancy Pelosi’s party. Fifty-two percent (52%) of women trust Democrats while just 35% have more confidence in Republicans.

On the broader question of National Security, the GOP fares better but not nearly as well as in years gone by. Forty-six percent (46%) of voters trust the Democrats more on National Security while 44% prefer Republicans. Men, on balance, prefer Republicans by three percentage points while women prefer Democrats by eight points. Still, a toss-up with voters on National Security is quite an improvement for Democrats. Ever since the Vietnam War era, National Security has been one of the Republican’s most potent issues.

Among all American voters, Democrats have a seven-point edge on immigration, a nine-point edge on economic issues, and a fifteen point edge on issues of government ethics and corruption. On all five issues tested in this survey, the Democrats have even larger edge among those under 30.

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