A new ABCNEWS/Washington Post poll finds that more than two-thirds endorse President Bush's call for a homeland security department. Nearly as many, 64 percent, support broader FBI authority to monitor public places such as libraries, places of worship and Internet chat rooms — even thought most see this as an intrusion on privacy rights.
The administration also wins support for its claim to have improved intelligence handling since Sept. 11. While seven in 10 say U.S. intelligence agencies mishandled pre-Sept. 11 intelligence, nearly as many, 67 percent, give positive grades to the way such information is being handled today. (Fifty-three percent also doubt the Sept. 11 attacks could have been prevented, given what was known.)
Concern about future threats is the backdrop for public sentiment on these issues. Today 55 percent of Americans, the most since Sept. 11, lack confidence in the government's ability to prevent further attacks — up more than 20 points since the night of Sept. 11, as the nature and extent of the dangers have come more sharply into focus.
Support for Intrusion
At times of national crisis the public's priority is the mitigation of threat. Seventy-nine percent say it's more important right now to investigate terrorism, even if that means intruding on personal privacy. Just 18 percent say it's more important not to intrude on privacy, even if that limits counterterrorism efforts.
More specifically, most Americans support expanded FBI surveillance authority even though the majority, 62 percent, sees it as an encroachment on individual privacy rights. Even among those who see it as an intrusion, 52 percent support it anyway.
Still, as in the past, this poll underscores the public's preference for such intrusions to be as targeted and limited as possible. Among those who think the new FBI authority does not intrude on personal privacy, 86 percent support it. Among those who think it intrudes "somewhat," 61 percent support it. But among those who think it intrudes "a great deal," support plummets to 30 percent.
Sept. 11 Intelligence Handled Poorly
As noted, 71 percent give a negative rating to the way intelligence agencies handled pre-Sept. 11 intelligence, while 67 percent rate the current handling of such intelligence positively. Still, that positive rating is far from a perfect one — 56 percent say the agencies are doing a "good" job analyzing and sharing intelligence, but just 11 percent say their performance is "excellent."
Bush, for his part, continues his extraordinary ride in public support, with an overall job approval rating of 77 percent. That's held steady for about the last two months, after declining from a peak of 92 percent in October, a record in modern polls.
Bush, Security Get Good Ratings
Bush's approval rating ranges from near-unanimity among Republicans, 96 percent, to 63 percent among Democrats. Support for his proposed Department of Homeland Security, similarly, is broad among Democrats (64 percent) and vast among Republicans (88 percent). Even among conservative Republicans, traditionally skeptical of expanding government, 87 percent support the plan.
Conservative Republicans are most apt to support expanding FBI surveillance powers (75 percent do so), and least apt to think this intrudes on privacy rights (49 percent). Among their political opposites, liberal Democrats, far more — 74 percent — see this as intrusive. But a majority, 56 percent, still supports it.
More broadly, 81 percent of conservative Republicans say it's more important right now to investigate terrorism than to steer clear of intrusions on personal privacy. And on this, 80 percent of liberal Democrats agree.
Methodology
This ABCNEWS/Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone June 7-9 among a random national sample of 1,004 adults. The results have a three-point error margin. Field work was done by TNS Intersearch of Horsham, Pa. 
Previous ABCNEWS polls can be found in our PollVault. |
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