40% say get out of Iraq now

Quinnipiac news release:

AMERICANS SAY FIGHT TERROR, BUT NOT IN IRAQ,
QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY NATIONAL POLL FINDS;
MANY SAY GET OUT OF IRAQ NOW

American voters say 77-17 percent that the U.S. should continue a global war on terrorism, but almost 60 percent of voters say the U.S. should withdraw its troops from Iraq, with 40 percent who say get out immediately, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll.

Another 4 percent say get out in six months; 10 percent say get out in one year and 5 percent say get out in two to three years. Only 34 percent of voters oppose setting a deadline or immediate withdrawal.

Going to war in Iraq was the wrong thing to do, American voters say 54 – 41 percent, the lowest support in any poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. And voters say 49 – 46 percent that the Bush Administration deliberately misled the American people in making its case for the war.

“Americans want to fight terror, but they don't think Iraq is the place to do it. Forty percent say ‘get out now,’ and another 19 percent favor a phased withdrawal,” said Maurice Carroll, Director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “Not only is the President pushing an unpopular war, Americans think he lied to get us into it."

The poll also showed Sens. John McCain and Hillary Clinton in a tight race for president -- although those numbers reflect mainly name recognition. Both support the Iraq war, which could be problematic in the long run.