I think this even sounds a little light in it's attempt to estimate mccain's support among vets and active
duty servicemen and servicewomen. but it definitely explodes
at least the implications of that silly
damn study from last week of military donations to the candidates.
Veterans Solidly Back McCain
Prefer McCain to Obama by 56% to 34%
PRINCETON, NJ -- With both presidential candidates addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention this week (John McCain on Monday and Barack Obama on Tuesday), Gallup finds that registered voters who have served in the U.S. military solidly back McCain over Obama, 56% to 34%.
This is based on aggregated data from Aug. 5-17 Gallup Poll Daily tracking, involving interviews with more than 11,000 registered voters, including 2,238 military veterans. Veterans are defined as those who are or have been members of the U.S. military. Obama leads McCain 46% to 43% among all registered voters during this time.
The veteran vote is of some interest this year given McCain's notable service in the U.S. Navy, including several years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. Obama did not serve in the U.S. military.
But even without the distinction provided this year by McCain's well-known military service, veterans tend to be Republican in their political orientation, and Republican candidates generally fare better than Democratic candidates among this voting group. For example, in Gallup's final pre-election poll in 2004, 55% of registered voters who had served in the military backed George W. Bush, compared with 39% who supported John Kerry.
It is notable, then, that McCain is doing only about as well among military veterans as Bush did in 2004, despite the two Republican candidates' varying military backgrounds. (Bush was in the Texas Air National Guard, but did not serve overseas.)
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