Yesterday marked the fifth anniversary of the War in Iraq. A Rasmussen Reports video analysis looks at what the candidates had to say and provides context with the latest polling data.

A narrow plurality of American voters now believe that the situation in Iraq will get better over the next six months. These numbers reflect a startling turnaround from the middle of last year. Last July, 49% of voters expected things to get worse in Iraq while just 23% thought they would get better.

Also, confidence in the overall War on Terror has increased dramatically in recent months. By a more than two-to-one margin, American voters now believe the U.S. and its allies are winning. Last summer, opinion was evenly divided on that question.

However, while voters see progress, six-out-of-ten Americans want the troops to come home from Iraq within a year. Most Republicans want the troops to remain until the mission is complete. An overwhelming majority of Democrats want the troops home within the year.

The issue is more complicated politically than it was a year ago. While most Americans want troops to come home within a year, only about one-in-four want to bring the troops home right away.

Not surprisingly, all three major Presidential candidates had something to say yesterday about Iraq. There were also dozens of anti-War protestors who had their say in Washington, D.C. Joe Conason also offered a commentary on the topic—The Folks Who Brought You Iraq.

Politically, by a wide margin, John McCain is trusted more than either Democrat on National Security. On the narrower topic of Iraq, McCain is also trusted more than either Democrat. However, his advantage is much smaller on that issue.

McCain currently leads both Obama and Clinton nationally in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

Despite his recent Pastor Problem, Obama still holds a modest lead over Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic Presidential Nomination. In state after state, voters who view the War in Iraq as the most important issue, tend to favor Obama over Clinton.