http://www.msnbc.com/news/886732.asp?0dm=C17QN THE 65 PERCENT supporting action against Iraq compares with a previous high of 60 percent last month and in October 2002. Thirty percent were opposed to action in the latest survey, conducted Monday after President Bush gave Iraqi President Saddam Hussein 48 hours to leave Iraq. That’s about average for the series of polls taken since April 2002, but the percentage of those “not sure” hit a low of 5 percent. Tim Russert, NBC’s Washington bureau chief and host of “Meet the Press,” said the Bush administration believes support could reach 70 percent after the president addresses the nation in the event of war. Among Republicans polled, 88 percent back war, Russert noted, but more surprisingly a majority of Democrats — 49 percent to 43 percent — also support the president’s strategy. By gender, 70 percent of men and 60 percent of women back the president — a narrower gap than in previous polls as more women show support for Bush. Asked if the United States should take more time to try to resolve the conflict diplomatically, 61 percent favored military action now. Thirty-three percent favored more diplomacy. Russert said the strong support for a strike now reflects the Bush administration’s success in portraying France as being “obstructionist” at the United Nations, where the United States failed to win backing for military action from key members of the Security Council. Despite the strong public backing, Americans are fearful of a terrorist backlash, according to the poll. Fifty-two percent believe the threat of terrorism would increase, compared with 55 percent in the two previous surveys. The telephone survey of 506 American adults was conducted by Hart/Teeter and has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.
This is what makes America so great. We can all have a completely different opinion, express that opinon, but then once a decision is made we all stick together. We become the United States of America. It's a real strength of our people. And I'm proud.
