...The survey also suggests, however, that a centrist, internationalist Republican could fare well in 2008 (if he or she made it past the GOP primaries). While the number of Americans identifying with the Republican party has fallen in recent years, the number of Americans identifying with the Democratic party has remained flat over the last three years, when you exclude the leaners. That's shocking. Just think about the dramatic downward spiral in Iraq within that time period—the public;s declining faith in GOP competence parallels its steady disillusionment with the war, yet the Democratic party hasn't translated wayward independents into registered Democrats. What's more, traditional Republican positions such as a belief in small government still hold great appeal. Nearly six in 10 Americans (including 50 percent of independents) believe government regulation does more harm than good, up four points since 2003. But talk within the party of the need for another "Reagan Republican" on foreign policy appears ill-founded. In 2002, 62 percent of Americans agreed with a strategy of peace through military strength. Today just 49 percent agree with that approach. Fifty-seven percent of Americans, on the other hand, have a favorable opinion of the United Nations—underscoring Martin Wolf's argument that the U.N. was a major beneficiary of the Iraq war...
(Foreign Policy blog)
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