Tennesseans split on whether war was worth fighting

The poll of 600 registered Tennessee voters commissioned by the Chattanooga Times Free Press and other news organizations found that 48 percent of voters believe the war was worth fighting, 46 percent said they do not and 6 percent are undecided. The telephone poll, conducted May 23-24 by Research 2000, has an error margin of plus or minus 4 percent.

“When you’ve got really patriotic voters in Tennessee mixed on whether the war was worth it or not, you have a tough sell on how important the war really is,” said Del Ali, president of Rockville, Md.-based Research 2000.

Among party affiliation, 67 percent of Democrats polled believe the war was not worth fighting while 68 percent of Republicans agree with the effort.

Hamilton County Republican Chairman Bobby Wood said he’s concerned about the public’s confidence.

“The poll concerns me because it shows the public is fickle,” he said. “We want actions taken, but when we have to pay the price for the actions, we look for an easier course of action.”

But Hamilton County Democratic Chairman Stuart James said he’s not surprised.

“I think people have felt this way for a long time,” he said.

Respondents also were split on when the United States should leave Iraq, with most favoring a gradual withdrawal from the area — 47 percent.

Thirty-seven percent said the troops should remain indefinitely, 7 percent said the removal should happen immediately and 9 percent were undecided.

Nick Bradshaw, a student at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, said the fact that the state is so evenly split on the issues surprised him.

“Since the war was such a big issue during the election a few months ago, and Tennesseans overwhelmingly supported President Bush, you would think Tennesseans would be overwhelmingly in favor of the war,” he said.