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A key point in the campaign stands that Barack Obama and John McCain have taken on what U.S. strategy should be in dealing with Iraq and Afghanistan is the question of which country should be the U.S. priority in the battles to put down insurgencies and fight terrorism. Part of Obama's argument for a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops in Iraq is that Afghanistan represents the greatest threat. McCain has insisted that withdrawal from Iraq must be determined by events on the ground and that victory there is a necessary first step towards success in Afghanistan.

Now the USA Today/Gallup poll weighs in on the question, and similarly to what Rasmussen Reports found in a national poll in mid-July and in its state-by-state polls, a plurality of Americans believe the war in Afghanistan is more important than the one in Iraq by a 44 percent to 38 percent margin. Ten percent say "both equally" and 8 percent have no opinion.