Rosa Brooks complains that a majority of Americans seem to trust John McCain on handling the Iraq War, even though he's been consistently wrong on that topic and is pledging to prolong a war that most people want ended. Could this possibly have to do with the fact that (a) he's a charming guy in front of an audience, (b) he's a war hero and (c) so far, he's been running more or less unopposed, at least by Democrats?
Obviously, (c) is going to change and that may do a lot to change (a). McCain does not do well when there are contrary opinions in the room. And I also think that a certain section of the population will never get past the notion that if you want a safe America, you vote for the guy who talks toughest, has the military record and is probably Republican. That number will get whittled away as we get closer to the day of voting. Right now, those folks have the luxury of continuing to like McCain. At some point though, they're going to have to ask themselves if they really want to renew the Iraq War for another four years.