Happy 5th Anniversary!!!
Today is the 5th anniversary of the Iraq war.
Earlier today on Good Morning America, the Vice President Dick Cheney was interviewed regarding economic policies, the upcoming election, and finally the war in Iraq. Throughout the interview Cheney showed once again why only 31% of Americans think George W. Bush is doing a good job. He spewed the same tired lines and showed his total disregard for anyone who disagrees with him. I would like to share just one exchange when he and Martha Raddatz were discussing the Iraq war:
Q Two-thirds of Americans say it was not worth fighting.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: They ought to go spend time, like you and I have, Martha. You know what’s been happening in Iraq. You’ve been there as much as anybody. There has, in fact, been fundamental change and transformation, and improvement for the better. I think even you would admit that.
Q Let me go back to the Americans. Two-thirds of Americans say it’s not worth fighting, and they’re looking at the value gain versus the cost in American lives, certainly, and Iraqi lives.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: So?
Q So — you don’t care what the American people think?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: No, I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls. Think about what would have happened if Abraham Lincoln had paid attention to polls, if they had had polls during the Civil War. He never would have succeeded if he hadn’t had a clear objective, a vision for where he wanted to go, and he was willing to withstand the slings and arrows of the political wars in order to get there. And this President has been very courageous, very consistent, very determined to continue down the course we were on and to achieve our objective. And that’s victory in Iraq, that’s the establishment of a democracy where there’s never been a democracy, it’s the establishment of a regime that respects the rights and liberties of their people, as an ally for the United States in the war against terror, and as a positive force for change in the Middle East. That’s a huge accomplishment.
Martha: So, Dick, two thirds of Americans think we shouldn’t be wasting our soldiers lives.
Cheney: Who cares? They don’t matter…
The vice president said that the majority opinion of Americans does not matter. Nearly two years of majority dissent is a “polling fluctuation”. The Iraq War is comparable to the Civil War. The Bush presidency is comparable to the Lincoln presidency. How much more ludicrous can you get?
Thank god we have only a few months until they are gone…
March 21st, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Well, the question is who was surveyed and what exactly were they asked? It’s to the point that when you see people quoting “surveys” I have to question the source of the data. Does she say anywhere in the interview the source of that survey?
March 21st, 2008 at 7:39 pm
I think that the source for the poll is largely irrelevant. For the last 4 years there has been a growing resentment to the Iraqi war, something that was reflected in the 2006 Congressional elections and the gains democrats made there…
Whats really relevant here is not the poll, but rather Cheney’s response. He seems to show a blatant disregard for the majority opinion of Americans, he writes of 3 years of opposition as “polling fluctuations”.
However, since you ask here are a few polls for you:
In 2005, a majority of Americans say Iraq War not worth it:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/03/iraq.poll/index.html
In 2006, 60% of Americans oppose the war:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/09/iraq.poll/
In 2008, Most americans say war not worth it (64%):
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/18/iraq/main3946663.shtml
March 22nd, 2008 at 7:45 am
I don’t doubt the majority of Americans are against the war itself at this point but if they survey 1000 Democratic voters the poll will likely skew larger than the population as a whole. That’s why I think the source is relevant.
March 22nd, 2008 at 8:37 am
For the 2008 poll from CBS news:
This poll was conducted among a random sample of 844 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone March 15-17, 2008. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher.