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CNN poll on Iraq has a few interesting results

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A new CNN poll on public attitudes about the war in Iraq has a few details that I found interesting.

Most of the data is pretty straightforward and predictable. When asked how well things are going in Iraq, 56% said things are going well while 42% said poorly. While I’m not sure where those in the majority are getting their information, the results still reflect a dramatic shift from the first week in May, when 86% said things were going well and only 13% said poorly.

Also worth noting is a question asking respondents how confident they are that the U.S. will find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. In March, 52% said they were very confident and only 15% said not confident. Now those numbers are nearly reversed — 22% said they’re very confident we’ll find WMD and 45% said not confident.

But the really fun one was the question about Bush. “Would it matter to you if Bush did mislead the public on Iraqi weapons?” the poll asked. 53% said it would matter a “great deal,” 22% said it would matter a “moderate amount,” 11% said “not much,” and the other 11% said “not at all.”

Now I haven’t seen the hard data on this poll, but I still find these results pretty surprising. Granted the poll used the word “misled,” not “lied.” Nevertheless, Americans were asked if it would matter if Bush “misled the public,” and barely half thinks this would matter a “great deal”? A combined 22% don’t think it’s a big deal?

I can appreciate the fact that Bush has a loyal support base. When the poll asked if people believed Bush did, in fact, mislead the public, a lot of people gave Bush the benefit of the doubt — 37% believe Bush was dishonest about WMD, up from 31% a month ago.

But a question that asks whether it would matter if Bush was dishonest about WMD should generate a stronger response in favor of honesty.

These results suggest that Bush enjoys a significant base of support that simply does not care whether Bush tells the truth or not. I bet Tony Blair would give anything for poll results like this right now.