Associated Press:
Just over half of Americans say torture is at least sometimes justified to thwart terrorist attacks and the country is evenly divided over whether to close the Guantanamo Bay prison, according to a poll that underscores President Barack Obama's challenges in selling his terror-fighting policies.
Even so, the latest Associated Press-GfK survey also shows that Obama enjoys broad confidence that he can effectively handle terrorism in an era when many people say they still fear becoming a victim and when a swath of the public shares the views of Obama's Republican predecessor, George W. Bush.
I've written off other polls on this subject, because the pollsters haven't actually used the word "torture." This time, it's different. Repondents were asked, "How do you feel about the use of torture against suspected terrorists to obtain information about terrorism activities? Can that often be justified, sometimes be justified, rarely be justified, or never be justified?"
In our defense, while the top answer was "sometimes" (32%), the runner-up was "never" (29%). "Often" got 20% and "rarely" scored just 18%. The media may have to take some of the blame here, since fears about terrorism veer wildly from reality. 35% say they're frequently or occasionally worried about being the victim of terrorism, while 65% worry only rarely or never. There will never, ever be a time in this country when 35% of us are the victims of terrorism.
Still, congratulations to Dick Cheney -- a quarter approve of him in this poll. His big "yay for torture!/be terrified!" media tour is succeeding in turning us into a nation of cowards. He must be so proud.
Complete poll results are available in PDF form here.
