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Now that he is back from Asia, President Obama is nearing a decision on how many more troops he will send to Afghanistan. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on hand there for President Hamid Karzai's inauguration last week, highlighted the difficulties ahead, noting that the "road ahead is fraught with challenges and imperfect choices."

Polls shouldn't guide war-making decisions--most voters aren't international relations or military experts--but presidents and Congress still need to be aware of public opinion. Recent surveys show that majorities trust Obama to do the right thing about troop levels, yet he needs to address their concerns about how things are going there and how he will turn them around, as evidenced by several new polls this week.

Americans...