NY Times: Young Americans Are Leaning Left, New Poll Finds

Maybe Melinda Henneberger would have benefited from reading the following story before relying on anecdotal evidence from her "listening to women of all ages, races, tax brackets and points of view" in order to trumpet that "pro-choice is a bad choice for democrats."

Adam Nagourney and Megan Thee report in yesterday's New York Times:

Young Americans are more likely than the general public to favor a government-run universal health care insurance system, an open-door policy on immigration and the legalization of gay marriage, according to a New York Times/CBS News/MTV poll. The poll also found that they are more likely to say the war in Iraq is heading to a successful conclusion....

They have continued a long-term drift away from the Republican Party. And although they are just as worried as the general population about the outlook for the country and think their generation is likely to be worse off than that of their parents, they retain a belief that their votes can make a difference, the poll found.

On the issue of abortion, young Americans' views parallel those of the general public (whose opinion has remained basically stable for years), with roughly equal numbers in each group (37-39%) agreeing that either "abortion should generally be available to those who want it" or "abortion should be legal, but with stricter limits than it is now."  A minority of each group (21-24%) says abortion should not be permitted.  Certainly, nothing in this poll suggests that voters are fleeing the Democratic party over the issue of abortion.