For all the partisan spin placed on the poll numbers, that is what these polling numbers really come down to.

And when asked what they think is the most acceptable outcome to the war in Iraq, 24 percent say that American troops should remain in Iraq until it becomes a stable democracy. Twenty-six percent want them to begin the process of leaving now, and 37 percent want them to leave within the next year — but still keep some of them in the region.

In other words, only a small minority insist upon the "get out now" strategy advocated by the militant cut-and-run crowd. However, the media is loathe to present those numbers that way, for fear that its template might have to be changed.