[Interestingly, it seems this was also true during Vietnam. That seems a little brain bending.]
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/world/middleeast/19iran.html
The New York Times
April 17, 2007
On Polling
Young People and the War in Iraq
By JANET ELDER
The younger generation is opposed to the war in Iraq, right? Wrong.
Actually, they're divided on the war, far more so than their
grandparents, according to a New York Times/CBS News Poll in March.
Seems younger people are more supportive of the war and the president
than any other age group.
Forty-eight percent of Americans 18 to 29 years old said the United
States did the right thing in taking military action against Iraq,
while 45 percent said the United States should have stayed out. That is
in sharp contrast to the opinions of those 65 and older, who have lived
through many other wars. Twenty eight percent of that age group said
the United States did the right thing, while 67 percent said the United
States should have stayed out.
This is nothing new, said John Mueller, author of "War, Presidents and
Public Opinion," and a professor of political science at Ohio State
University. "This is a pattern that is identical to what we saw in
Korea and Vietnam, younger people are more likely to support what the
president is doing," he said.
A review of the March poll suggests Mr. Mueller has a point. Overall,
34 percent of Americans said they approved of the way the president was
handling his job, and 58 percent disapproved. But younger Americans
were more approving than older Americans. Forty percent of 18-29 year
olds said Mr. Bush was doing a good job, while 56 percent said he was
not. While 29 percent of people 65 and older said they approved of the
way Mr. Bush was handling his job as president, 62 percent said they
did not.
The nationwide telephone poll was conducted March 7-11 with 1,362
adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three
percentage points.
A look back at the Vietnam years showed a similar divide between young
and old. Older Americans were defined as 50 and older, but the
comparison is still apt. In October 1968, when Hubert Humphrey, Richard
Nixon and George Wallace were running for president, a Gallup poll
found that about half, 52 percent, of people under the age of 30
supported the war in Vietnam. But among those 50 and older, 26 percent
supported the war.
Rest at: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/world/middleeast/19iran.html
<end excerpt>
Michael