Afghanistan: Who can you trust to handle the conflict?

A recent SoonerPoll asked respondents which political party they trust most to handle the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, results show Republican Party is more trusted than the Democrats. 38.8 percent of respondents said they trusted the Republican Party, while only 26.3 percent of respondents said they trust the Democratic Party the most.

Although more respondents trust the Republican Party than the Democratic Party there is no clear majority as 34.9 percent of respondents either trust both parties the same or trust neither.

"The fact is, Oklahoma voters have had the experience of seeing Democrats and Republicans handle Afghanistan, and they've seen that they handle it about the same way," Keith Gaddie, Vice President of SoonerPoll, said. "The core partisans are falling back on their partisanship to say who to trust. But for a critical core of Oklahomans, they don't see anyone to trust."

SoonerPoll.com, Oklahoma's public opinion pollster, conducted the scientific study using live interviewers by telephone of 1000 likely voters from Feb. 25 - March 8. The study has a margin of error of ±3.1 percent.

17.7 percent of Democrats polled said they trust the Republican Party to handle the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, where as only 4.1 percent of Republicans polled said they trust the Democratic Party more.

Although the percentage of Democrats who said they trust Republicans was more than four times the percentage of Republicans who trust Democrats, the numbers appear more even when they are compared by political label.

The study found that 7.8 percent of those who self identify as liberal said they trust the Republican Party in the conflicts more than the Democratic Party, while 8.7 percent of self identified conservatives said they trust the Democratic Party more than the Republican Party.

A similar scenario presents itself with regard to the Independent respondents in the poll. While 30 percent of Independents said they trust the Republican Party more than the Democratic Party when it comes to Iraq and Afghanistan, 38 percent of self identified moderates said they trusted the Democratic Party more.