Democrats look to independents

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WASHINGTON, April 16 (UPI) -- Political strategists in Washington said Democrats have an edge when it comes to attracting independent voters for the 2008 presidential election.

Recent polling indicates that independents are far closer in their views to Democrats than Republicans, particularly on the dominant issue of the Iraq war, The Washington Post reported Monday.

However, former Clinton administration adviser William A. Galston of the Brookings Institution said to the newspaper that independent voters are worried Democrats will withdraw from Iraq too soon and Republicans will stay too long.

"Independent voters tend to be substantially more nuanced in their attitudes about how we should try to resolve the situation in Iraq," Democratic pollster Geoffrey Garin told the Post.

Garin said anti-Bush sentiment among independents makes it easier for Democratic candidates to maneuver through the nominating process even though there are areas in which they part with the party's liberal members.

GOP pollster David Winston told the Post he thinks Republicans have a chance to win over independents when it comes to domestic issues.