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You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Military / Now In the Role of Bluto Blutarsky, the American Public

Now In the Role of Bluto Blutarsky, the American Public

by John Cole|  March 13, 200812:54 pm| 16 Comments

This post is in: Military, Politics, War, General Stupidity

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The Politico:

According to late February polling conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 53 percent of Americans — a slim majority — now believe “the U.S. will ultimately succeed in achieving its goals” in Iraq. That figure is up from 42 percent in September 2007.

The percentage of those who believe the war in Iraq is going “very well” or “fairly well” is also up, from 30 percent in February 2007 to 48 percent today.

The situation in Iraq remains fluid, of course. A surge in violence or in troop deaths could lead to rapid fluctuations in public opinion. But as the war nears its fifth year, the steady upturn in the public mood stands to alter the dynamics of races up and down the ballot.

The Washington Post:

Twenty-eight percent of the public is aware that nearly 4,000 U.S. personnel have died in Iraq over the past five years, while nearly half thinks the death tally is 3,000 or fewer and 23 percent think it is higher, according to an opinion survey released yesterday.

The survey, by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, found that public awareness of developments in the Iraq war has dropped precipitously since last summer, as the news media have paid less attention to the conflict. In earlier surveys, about half of those asked about the death tally responded correctly.

Discuss.

*** Update ***

Glenzilla.

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Previous Post: « Why Does Anyone Care?
Next Post: Compare and Contrast »

Reader Interactions

16Comments

  1. 1.

    Tom in Texas

    March 13, 2008 at 1:03 pm

    Greenwald ain’t eatin’ what they’re servin’.

    Pretty effective evisceration, if you ask me.

  2. 2.

    4tehlulz

    March 13, 2008 at 1:04 pm

    I see what you did there.

  3. 3.

    Jake

    March 13, 2008 at 1:06 pm

    Gorsh, it sure would have been nice if the Pepe Le Pew Center also checked the number and prominence of stories about the war…

    Nah, that wouldn’t have anything to do with it!

  4. 4.

    tBone

    March 13, 2008 at 1:10 pm

    Why wouldn’t people think Iraq is going well? It’s not like US officials are receiving severed fingers in the mail, or something.

    Oh, wait, they are. But hey, maybe the fingers were holding candy and flowers.

    I don’t think the public perception of Iraq is surprising. The surge did help tamp down violence, and the war has been overshadowed in the media by the presidential race. And we have other, more important things to worry about, like Britney’s rehabilitation and eventual duet with Ashley Alexandra Dupre.

    If the recent upswing in violence in Iraq continues, we’ll see public opinion shifting back to pessimism.

  5. 5.

    Tony J

    March 13, 2008 at 1:11 pm

    Gorsh, it sure would have been nice if the Pepe Le Pew Center also checked the number and prominence of stories about the war claiming, in direct opposition to the facts, that ‘The Surge’ has been a sucess.

    Nah, that wouldn’t have anything to do with it!

    Fixed.

  6. 6.

    fester bestertester

    March 13, 2008 at 1:33 pm

    how about the economy? what did their poling indicate on that? what’s a bigger concern for you now – iraq, or paying your bills?

  7. 7.

    The Other Steve

    March 13, 2008 at 2:01 pm

    This is obviously bad for Democrats.

  8. 8.

    D. Pantload

    March 13, 2008 at 2:09 pm

    What the Washington Post neglected to print was that the severed fingers had a purple tint to them at the time they were obtained. This reference to the purple dye used in Iraqi parliamentary elections is a poignant reminder that Iraq is now a free society, and of the price that was paid to make it so, and we owe it to the soldiers who have paid that price to make sure that those fingers were not severed in vain.

    Some might point out that the purple hue of the fingers was because of their state of decomposition and not because their previous owners had recently cast ballots, and I do not attempt to deny it. Indeed, it is central to my point. Even in a state of necrosis, these men are showing that they support the spread of Middle Eastern democracy. Can we do any less?

  9. 9.

    D-Chance.

    March 13, 2008 at 2:25 pm

    If the public is thinking Obama or Hillary will pull the troops anytime soon, it’s sadly mistaken. Susan Power has already told the BBC that Obama’s 16-month withdrawl plan is just campaign fodder and not to be taken seriously. And Hillary is just pathetic in trying to one-up Obama by now making the claim that she’ll do it within 60 days.

    Face it. We’re there. And we ain’t going anywhere anytime soon, be it under a Republican or Democrat president. The best we can hope for is a leader who won’t open up a third (Iran) or fourth (Venezuela) or however many more fronts on this freaking war. Maybe a Dem will keep it regional. I’m not sure that McCain wouldn’t follow through on eventually making this a world confrontation.

  10. 10.

    Zifnab

    March 13, 2008 at 2:25 pm

    And so the game goes on. I eagerly look forward to McCain’s 11th hour conversion to “responsible redeployment” a la Lieberman during the Senator’s Independent bid to retain his seat. Should McCain somehow win, we can expect to see his position retain the Joe Lieberman consistency we’ve all grown to know and love.

    Once the primaries are settled, the two contenders are going to settle in for a fight, and the Democrats would be damn fools not to bring up Iraq at every opportunity. People are going to have to start giving it more coverage again. Nothing has gone so well in Iraq in the last 50 years that media coverage would ever look “good”. And if the MSM drops the ball, the intertubes will pick up the slack.

    All the spinning in the world won’t get McCain out of his Iraq quagmire. He’s just going to have to out-and-out lie, and hope his bald-faced distortions of the truth stick.

  11. 11.

    Hart Williams

    March 13, 2008 at 2:46 pm

    Susan Power has already told the BBC that Obama’s 16-month withdrawl plan is just campaign fodder and not to be taken seriously.

    Gee. Did you miss the part where she left the campaign for making crazy comments? Or, when the campaign explained that Power was NOT an Iraq advisor or specialist within the campaign? But you take her word as authoritative?

    That’s authoritative.

  12. 12.

    RSA

    March 13, 2008 at 3:28 pm

    Twenty-eight percent of the public is aware that nearly 4,000 U.S. personnel have died in Iraq over the past five years, while nearly half thinks the death tally is 3,000 or fewer and 23 percent think it is higher, according to an opinion survey released yesterday.

    With no evidence at all, I suspect anchoring bias. About 3,000 Americans died at the WTC on 9/11; therefore it is inconceivable that more Americans have died in what our leaders have called a response to that attack.

  13. 13.

    Zifnab

    March 13, 2008 at 3:50 pm

    About 3,000 Americans died at the WTC on 9/11; therefore it is inconceivable that more Americans have died in what our leaders have called a response to that attack.

    I seriously doubt that if you took a poll, nearly half the poll-takers would know how many people died within the world trade center. But I’m confident that all of them would know Rudy was standing at Ground Zero when the attack happened. 9/11, 9/11, 9/11.

  14. 14.

    maxbaer (not the original)

    March 13, 2008 at 6:32 pm

    If Johnny Mac wants to run on the Iraq War because the Politico says it’s all the rage again, then rock on McQueeg. Maybe he’ll give us a few more verses of Bomb, bomb Iran, too.

  15. 15.

    mclaren

    March 13, 2008 at 9:40 pm

    Of course things are going better in Iraq, and of course America will achieve it sobjectives there. It stands to reason. After all, we did track down and destroy all of Saddam’s WMDs. Not before he used them on our troops, of course, but at least we did find and hang that bastard for organizing the 9/11 attack.

    Think of it: Saddam piloted the first 757 into the Twin Towers and he parachuted out just before it hit. But by din of courage and hard work, Americans tracked him down in his spider hole and hanged him.

    Makes you proud to be an American.

    Not since the Gulf of Tonkin incident, when treacherous rebels fired on Fort Sumter in 1965, have Americans stood so tall and proud.

  16. 16.

    TenguPhule

    March 14, 2008 at 12:47 am

    In earlier surveys, about half of those asked about the death tally responded correctly.

    I would weep for this country, but I can no longer cry.

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