WaPo notes the following:
The new survey found that 63 percent of Americans said they found the NSA program to be an acceptable way to investigate terrorism, including 44 percent who strongly endorsed the effort. Another 35 percent said the program was unacceptable, which included 24 percent who strongly objected to it.A slightly larger majority–66 percent–said they would not be bothered if NSA collected records of personal calls they had made, the poll found.
However, I must confess, my initial reaction to the poll in question was not unlike that expressed by Glenn Greenwald:
I didn’t even read about this story until yesterday morning and it took awhile to process the various issues and implications. I’m still doing that. I have a hard time believing that less than 24 hours after this program was first revealed by USA Today, most Americans had informed themselves about what this program is, why it is a departure from past practices, and what are its potential dangers and excesses — let alone had an opportunity to hear from those who are opposed to the program explain why they are opposed to it.
It does seem a tad premature to be measuring public opinion on this topic–at least in any way that actually tells us anything.
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May 12th, 2024 at 3:22 pm
The WaPo poll surveyed 500 people who were up at 3am. Even they admit the poll is unreliable.
Reason Magazine has more:
http://www.reason.com/hitandrun/2006/05/502_spying_fans.shtml#013847
May 12th, 2024 at 4:13 pm
Good points on the poll being untrustworthy. Give the story a few days and see.
But it is worth remembering that for many decades, it has been almost a truism that the masses are less than supportive of civil liberties. Freedom rests less on popular support than it rests on the institutions of liberal democratic politics–competing political parties, institutional checks and balanes, and the rule of law. Sadly, it is not clear that those remain in good health.