WaPo
Fewer than half of all Americans think the country is safer now than it was on Sept. 11, 2001, and more than three-quarters expect the United States to be the target of a major terrorist attack at home or abroad in the next few months, according to a new poll.
The survey, released yesterday by the nonpartisan Council for Excellence in Government, found that about half of respondents were concerned that terrorists would strike near their home or work. Seventy-three percent identified themselves as anxious or concerned about terrorism, and 26 percent said they were calm.
The survey findings come at a time when national security is a central issue in the presidential campaign, and after the Bush administration waged wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in the name of fighting terrorism and making the United States safer from foreign threats. The findings follow by one year the creation of the Department of Homeland Security to better focus government resources on the task of keeping Americans safe at home. And they exist in an environment in which numerous buildings and airports have been fortified with security checkpoints to ward off potential attacks.
"These numbers present a big challenge," said Patricia McGinnis, president of the council, "because less than 50 percent feel more safe today than they did after September 11, after all that's happened."
A spokesman for the Bush administration's National Security Council declined to comment on the record on the survey results.
The survey of 1,633 adults from Feb. 5 to Feb. 8 also found that although Americans are concerned about terrorism, they rank it behind the economy and health care as the nation's top priorities. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
But that doesn't mean it's not important. Add the LA Times poll about Clarke's charges sticking:
Clarke's Charges Gain Acceptance
Most Americans accept Richard Clarke's key criticisms of President Bush's anti-terrorism record, but a majority also thinks that politics influenced the timing of the charges by the former White House aide, a Los Angeles Times poll has found.
Nearly three-fifths of those surveyed echoed the contention by Clarke that Bush placed a higher priority on invading Iraq than combating terrorism. And a smaller majority agreed with the charge by the onetime White House counterterrorism chief that Bush did not focus enough on the terrorist threat before the Sept. 11 attacks.
Yet nearly three-fifths agreed that Clarke's new book on the subject was "politically motivated" and intended to influence the presidential election. And despite the attention Clarke's charges have received, almost three-fifths of Americans said Bush's anti-terrorism and defense policies had made the nation more secure.
(...) A solid majority of independents said Bush had made the country more secure.
"Basically I just liked his attitude ... that we were going to go [into Afghanistan and Iraq] no matter what," said Rodney J. Scheel, an independent and small-business owner in New Prague, Minn.
Backing for Bush's policies toward Iraq was more equivocal than for the broader war against terrorism. Just 49% said they approved of Bush's handling of the situation in Iraq, while 46% -- including a slight majority of independents -- disapproved.
Americans also divided almost in half on whether the threat from Iraq justified war, with 48% saying yes, 45% no. Independents split almost exactly in half on the question.
Bush benefits from positive assessments of personal qualities associated with leadership in wartime. Asked whether Bush or Kerry was more likely to be a strong leader for the country, 46% picked the president, 38% chose Kerry. Asked which candidate "has good judgment in a crisis," those polled tabbed the president by about two to one.
The share of poll respondents who cited economic issues as their top concern equaled the number who picked security matters. And on the economic front, attitudes toward Bush are less positive.
Just 43% said they approved of his handling of the economy, while 53% disapproved, a slight deterioration since November.
More strikingly, just one-fourth of those polled said Bush's policies had made the country more prosperous.
(...) With the country so precariously divided over the president's performance and priorities, the advantage in the campaign may ebb and flow many times before November, as some voters assess and reassess their choices.
"From the things I've heard about Kerry, I would have to say I would go more for Bush right now," said Star, the Gainesville nurse. "But that doesn't mean I wouldn't vote for Kerry if I find out different things later on."
We are in flux and events on the ground in iraq (and Clarke's charges) are affecting peoples's attitudes. This won't happen overnight, but it's still true that jobs and the situation in iraq will decide the election, not the negative ads and not Kerry's poll numbers or agressiveness this week.
Congratulations. You are living in interesting times. But note that the Administration's attempt to define Clarke and Iraq oon their terms is failing.