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Our friend, co-worker and occasional nemesis Chuck Johnson has been making the case lately that we should stay in Iraq -- in part -- because a Pew Research Center poll shows that a majority of Americans still believe we can win. One is tempted to echo Vice President Dick Cheney's sentiments about polling and the war: "So?" But we need not be so glib, because an overview of all the polling shows that American sentiments are a bit more complex.

Ruy Teixeira has done the overview, and he comes to this conclusion:

It therefore appears that reports of a tsunami of optimism on Iraq washing over the United States public are considerably exaggerated. In fact, the public remains generally pessimistic and, most importantly, believes the Iraq war has been a tragic mistake and that we should move expeditiously to remove U.S. troops from Iraq and end the conflict.

How does he come to that conclusion? We'll cherry-pick some of the stats he has uncovered:

* The late February Gallup poll asked respondents how “in the long run…history will judge the U.S. invasion and subsequent involvement in Iraq.” Fifty-four percent thought history would judge our involvement as mostly a failure (36 percent) or a total failure (18 percent), compared to 42 percent who thought it would be seen as mostly successful (38 percent) or a total success (4 percent).

* A March CBS News poll asked whether the United States is safer from terrorism as a result of U.S. military action against Iraq. A little over a third (36 percent) said the United States is more safe compared to 62 percent who said we were less safe (24 percent) or it has made no difference (38 percent).

* In an L.A. Times poll, in January 2007, 65 percent wanted either to withdraw troops right away (19 percent) or begin withdrawing within a year (46 percent), compared with 30 percent who wanted troops to stay as long as it takes to win the war. One year later, in January 2008, 63 percent wanted our troops withdrawn either right away (20 percent) or within a year (43 percent), and 31 percent wanted troops to stay as long as it takes. These figures are, for all practical purposes, identical.

* A late February Gallup poll asked respondents: “If you had to choose, which do you think is better for the United States: to keep a significant number of troops in Iraq until the situation there gets better, even if that takes many years, or to set a timetable for removing troops from Iraq and to stick to that timetable regardless of what is going on in Iraq at the time?” The verdict, by 60-to-35, was that the United States should set a timetable for withdrawal and stick to it.

You get the idea. Lots of Americans may think we can win -- but, it appears, many of them aren't sure it's worth it. We should be debating both questions.