The Right State

There are some things that defy all explanation, other than a misleading survey. Take the new survey CNN just released which states that only 43% of the American people believe the US is safer now than before 9/11. This is just idiotic. Of course we are safer, the military forces of the United States has taken out two countries that sponsored terrorism: Afghanistan and Iraq. Since 9/11, there has not been one terrorist attack which has been carried out against this country.

There is a troubling aspect to this poll and that is CNN is providing the data in a very misleading way. While it is true that 43% think the US is safer than before 9/11, it far outpaces the other responses. 32% say we are as safe while 25% say the US is less safe. Taken together this poll would show that 75% of the American people believe we are at least as safe. The CNN headline could have just as easily said, “Only 25% of Americans believe they are less safe now than before 9/11.” But then that would not have been newsworthy, at least to them.

Compare the answer of 43% with the question which asks respondents if they are worried about the US being attacked in the next few weeks. 54% said yes. Although a whopping 65% do not believe they or someone in their family would be a victim of terrorism. Its like asking some of these people if going to New York’s Central Park was safe and lets for the sake of argument lets believe most say no. When asked if they or their family felt safe in Central Park, they would answer, yes. Just bringing up the idea of a terrorist attack scares people, but not to the point where they worry about their own safety.

Why the dichotomy? In reality most people do not think the US is in danger. In fact they rarely think about terrorism until a pollster calls.

Additionally 55% said the war in Iraq has made them less safe. What this poll shows is that the American people are being misled by the Mainstream Media. The constant carping on how the US is in danger because of the war in Iraq has tilted the numbers. Otherwise the numbers do not match up with the people who say they or their families are not in danger.

Consider another poll by CNN. This one asks if they think Osama bin Laden is planning another attack against the US? M at Unhack the Brain calls polls like those by CNN, stupid.

Poll: Most think bin Laden planning another U.S. attack

… why stupid? It is a self-fulfilling prophecy in disguise. It is more a measure of how well the media is spreading the scare of an attack than anything which predicts an attack. It is manipulative because most people are not thinking of an attack by bin Laden until the poll shows up. It is stupid because what the public thinks in terms of whether bin Laden is planning one has nothing to do with whether he is planning one. Indeed, it can be presumed that he always is planning another attack! BTW, the following (IMHO) is inaccurate as most in the headline:

source: … Seventy-four percent of the 1,033 adult Americans polled said they believe an attack is being planned, according to the poll conducted by Opinion Research Corporation on behalf of CNN.

… 74% is a large percentage, but is not most. 95% could be called most!

CNN is a joke. For years I have called them the Clinton News Network. (I don’t know where I heard this first, so I can’t give credit) Obviously CNN has an agenda, destroy this President. When the President’s poll numbers start dropping, they produce one poll after another which have the effect of driving down his numbers. When they poll people about the war or their safety, excessive polling drives down numbers.

I don’t believe most fear for their safety until a pollster starts asking questions designed to produce a desired response. A doctor once told me, “Whatever you do, do not scratch your nose.” My nose had not itched in years until he said don’t scratch it. Then it itched like crazy. Many of these polls have the same response, forcing people to think about something they would not normally have thought about. And most do not think they are in danger from terrorism, that is until they are asked.

Either way, CNN owes the American people an apology for pretending to be a real news network. Their biased news coverage is one reason their viewership has fallen so drastically in the last few years. This poll says one thing about CNN, expect more of the same.

Tags: Terrorism, Bias //