Veterans Back McCain By Wide Margin

Last week a story that received widespread attention was an item purporting that Barack Obama was receiving more money than John McCain from military stationed overseas.

Well, now comes a poll showing John McCain holding a commanding 22% edge over Obama among military veterans, although I find it somewhat surprising it's not a larger lead.

I wonder whether this will receive the same amount of attention?

With both presidential candidates addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention this week (John McCain on Monday and Barack Obama on Tuesday), Gallup finds that registered voters who have served in the U.S. military solidly back McCain over Obama, 56% to 34%.

This is based on aggregated data from Aug. 5-17 Gallup Poll Daily tracking, involving interviews with more than 11,000 registered voters, including 2,238 military veterans. Veterans are defined as those who are or have been members of the U.S. military. Obama leads McCain 46% to 43% among all registered voters during this time.

The veteran vote is of some interest this year given McCain's notable service in the U.S. Navy, including several years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. Obama did not serve in the U.S. military.

But even without the distinction provided this year by McCain's well-known military service, veterans tend to be Republican in their political orientation, and Republican candidates generally fare better than Democratic candidates among this voting group. For example, in Gallup's final pre-election poll in 2004, 55% of registered voters who had served in the military backed George W. Bush, compared with 39% who supported John Kerry.