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| 11/26 |
| 2004/10/26-27 [Politics/Domestic/President/Bush, Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:34371 Activity:moderate |
10/26 Majority of Bush supporters believe things that simply
are not true:
http://www.pipa.org
\_ http://Pipa.org?
\_ Being a Bush supported would have to mean you at least partially
believe that "Bush is a good President", so you're already in a
world of make-believe! |
| 11/26 |
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| www.pipa.org Home The Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) carries out research on public opinion on foreign policy and international issues by conduct ing nationwide polls, focus groups and comprehensive reviews of polling conducted by other organizations. Bush Supporters Still Believe Iraq Had WMD or Major Program, Supported al Qaeda Agree with Kerry Supporters Bush Administration Still Saying This is the Case Agree US Should Not Have Gone to War if No WMD or Support for al Qaeda Bush Supporters Misperceive World Public as Not Opposed to Iraq War, Favo ring Bush Reelection Even after the final report of Charles Duelfer to Congress saying that Ir aq did not have a significant WMD program, 72% of Bush supporters contin ue to believe that Iraq had actual WMD (47%) or a major program for deve loping them (25%). Fifty-six percent assume that most experts believe Ir aq had actual WMD and 57% also assume, incorrectly, that Duelfer conclud ed Iraq had at least a major WMD program. Kerry supporters hold opposite beliefs on all these points. Similarly, 75% of Bush supporters continue to believe that Iraq was provi ding substantial support to al Qaeda, and 63% believe that clear evidenc e of this support has been found. Sixty percent of Bush supporters assum e that this is also the conclusion of most experts, and 55% assume, inco rrectly, that this was the conclusion of the 9/11 Commission. Here again , large majorities of Kerry supporters have exactly opposite perceptions . These are some of the findings of a new study of the differing perception s of Bush and Kerry supporters, conducted by the Program on Internationa l Policy Attitudes and Knowledge Networks, based on polls conducted in S eptember and October. Steven Kull, director of PIPA, comments, "One of the reasons that Bush su pporters have these beliefs is that they perceive the Bush administratio n confirming them. Interestingly, this is one point on which Bush and Ke rry supporters agree." Eighty-two percent of Bush supporters perceive th e Bush administration as saying that Iraq had WMD (63%) or that Iraq had a major WMD program (19%). Likewise, 75% say that the Bush administrati on is saying Iraq was providing substantial support to al Qaeda. Equally large majorities of Kerry supporters hear the Bush administration expre ssing these views--73% say the Bush administration is saying Iraq had WM D (11% a major program) and 74% that Iraq was substantially supporting a l Qaeda. Steven Kull adds, "Another reason that Bush supporters may hold to these beliefs is that they have not accepted the idea that it does not matter whether Iraq had WMD or supported al Qaeda. Asked whether the US should have gone to war with Iraq if US intelligence had concluded that Iraq was not making WMD or providing support to al Qaeda, 58% of Bush supporters said the US sho uld not have, and 61% assume that in this case the President would not h ave. Kull continues, "To support the president and to accept that he too k the US to war based on mistaken assumptions likely creates substantial cognitive dissonance, and leads Bush supporters to suppress awareness o f unsettling information about prewar Iraq." Available from PIPA: Misreading the Public Book explores misconceptions on American public attitudes on foreign poli cy. Do American policymakers really know what the American public wants in US foreign policy? Through extensive interviews with members of the policy community, the authors, Steven Kull and IM Destler, reveal a pervasiv e belief -- especially in Congress -- that, in the wake of the cold war, the public is showing a new isolationism: opposition to foreign aid, ho stility to the United Nations and aversion to contributing US troops to peacekeeping operations. This view of the public has in turn had a signi ficant impact on US foreign policy. But when the authors tested these as sumptions in a national, in-depth poll, they found this to be a misperce ption. |
| Pipa.org Home The Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) carries out research on public opinion on foreign policy and international issues by conduct ing nationwide polls, focus groups and comprehensive reviews of polling conducted by other organizations. Bush Supporters Still Believe Iraq Had WMD or Major Program, Supported al Qaeda Agree with Kerry Supporters Bush Administration Still Saying This is the Case Agree US Should Not Have Gone to War if No WMD or Support for al Qaeda Bush Supporters Misperceive World Public as Not Opposed to Iraq War, Favo ring Bush Reelection Even after the final report of Charles Duelfer to Congress saying that Ir aq did not have a significant WMD program, 72% of Bush supporters contin ue to believe that Iraq had actual WMD (47%) or a major program for deve loping them (25%). Fifty-six percent assume that most experts believe Ir aq had actual WMD and 57% also assume, incorrectly, that Duelfer conclud ed Iraq had at least a major WMD program. Kerry supporters hold opposite beliefs on all these points. Similarly, 75% of Bush supporters continue to believe that Iraq was provi ding substantial support to al Qaeda, and 63% believe that clear evidenc e of this support has been found. Sixty percent of Bush supporters assum e that this is also the conclusion of most experts, and 55% assume, inco rrectly, that this was the conclusion of the 9/11 Commission. Here again , large majorities of Kerry supporters have exactly opposite perceptions . These are some of the findings of a new study of the differing perception s of Bush and Kerry supporters, conducted by the Program on Internationa l Policy Attitudes and Knowledge Networks, based on polls conducted in S eptember and October. Steven Kull, director of PIPA, comments, "One of the reasons that Bush su pporters have these beliefs is that they perceive the Bush administratio n confirming them. Interestingly, this is one point on which Bush and Ke rry supporters agree." Eighty-two percent of Bush supporters perceive th e Bush administration as saying that Iraq had WMD (63%) or that Iraq had a major WMD program (19%). Likewise, 75% say that the Bush administrati on is saying Iraq was providing substantial support to al Qaeda. Equally large majorities of Kerry supporters hear the Bush administration expre ssing these views--73% say the Bush administration is saying Iraq had WM D (11% a major program) and 74% that Iraq was substantially supporting a l Qaeda. Steven Kull adds, "Another reason that Bush supporters may hold to these beliefs is that they have not accepted the idea that it does not matter whether Iraq had WMD or supported al Qaeda. Asked whether the US should have gone to war with Iraq if US intelligence had concluded that Iraq was not making WMD or providing support to al Qaeda, 58% of Bush supporters said the US sho uld not have, and 61% assume that in this case the President would not h ave. Kull continues, "To support the president and to accept that he too k the US to war based on mistaken assumptions likely creates substantial cognitive dissonance, and leads Bush supporters to suppress awareness o f unsettling information about prewar Iraq." Available from PIPA: Misreading the Public Book explores misconceptions on American public attitudes on foreign poli cy. Do American policymakers really know what the American public wants in US foreign policy? Through extensive interviews with members of the policy community, the authors, Steven Kull and IM Destler, reveal a pervasiv e belief -- especially in Congress -- that, in the wake of the cold war, the public is showing a new isolationism: opposition to foreign aid, ho stility to the United Nations and aversion to contributing US troops to peacekeeping operations. This view of the public has in turn had a signi ficant impact on US foreign policy. But when the authors tested these as sumptions in a national, in-depth poll, they found this to be a misperce ption. |