Tales from the Trail

A new national poll by Quinnipiac University shows that the Obama administration’s new strategy in Afghanistan is gaining some favor among voters.

Conducted April 14-19, the poll of American voters found that 49 percent of the respondents approved of the way President Barack Obama is handling the situation in Afghanistan versus 39 percent who disagreed.

In another bit of good news for the White House, 56 percent of voters polled agreed that the United States was doing the “right thing” fighting in Afghanistan against 36 percent who did not.

Asked whether eliminating the threat of  militants operating from Afghanistan was a worthwhile goal for American troops to fight and possibly die for, 61 percent of voters said it was while 31 percent said it was not.

The latest survey must be welcome since poll after poll last year showed the eight-year war was becoming increasingly unpopular among voters.

DALLAS – Republican presidential contender John McCain still retains strong support from white evangelical Protestants, but the 72-year-old Arizona senator’s appeal fades with younger voters from this flock.

That is the findings of a survey that was just done for Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner.

It found that McCain has the support of 71 percent of white evangelical Christians versus 23 percent for his Democratic rival Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON – With the presidential election four months away, most opinion polls show Barack Obama holding a single-digit lead over John McCain.

But in the kissing contest, the Illinois Democrat is trouncing his rival.

A nonscientific survey by the dating site Match.com found that 77 percent of respondents believe Obama would be a better kisser than the Arizona Republican.

“While the majority of our member base considers themselves ‘middle of the road,’ it appears that America is leaning to the left with their lips,” said Darcy Cameron, the dating service’s director of marketing and advertising.