Bush Lied About Iraq, Has No Right to Attack Iran

A new poll conducted in Pennsylvania by Zogby International and commissioned by OpEdNews.com asked some of the questions the corporate media has failed to ask. The answers are surprising. One revelation is this: the single greatest predictor of an American's political views is whether she or he watches Fox News.

One of the long neglected questions asked was this:

"Some people say that President Bush lied so that we would go to war with Iraq. Others say he was given faulty intelligence and did not intentionally mislead the nation."
51.8% told the pollsters that they agreed with "Those who say Bush lied."
44.8% agreed with "Those who say he did not intentionally mislead the nation."

Among those who said that they or a family member was a member of the military, 44.6% said Bush lied. Catholics, Protestants, and Born Agains leaned significantly toward trusting Bush, whereas Jews and atheists decidedly consider him a liar. Belief that Bush lied was highest among atheists, at 86.2%.

White people also are more likely to trust Bush, whereas all racial minority groups lean toward believing he lied. Hispanics lead the way at 88.2%.

By far the most dramatic determinant of belief that Bush lied was the respondent's most watched television network for news. Viewers of ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and MSNBC, ranged between 89.1% and 63.2% believing Bush lied. Among Fox viewers, a whopping 2.3% believe Bush lied. Those who listen to a lot of talk radio were also less likely to believe Bush lied than those who listen to little or none.

Zogby also asked "Do you agree or disagree that the president has the right to use military force against Iran without the support of Congress?"
62.5% disagreed
32.1% agreed

Among those in the armed forces or with military family members 53.8% disagreed, while 40.8% agreed. The only religious group in which a majority believe the president has the right to attack Iran is Born Agains, and only by a margin of 46.8% to 40.9%. Every racial group disagrees.

Viewers of the non-Fox television networks disagreed in percentages ranging from 96.9% to 68.8%. Among viewers of Fox, only 14.7% disagree that the president has the right to attack Iran without support from Congress.

The same poll asked three questions related to censure or impeachment.

45.9% of those surveyed said they were either "much more likely" or "somewhat more likely" to vote for a candidate who supports starting an investigation of Bush that could lead to impeachment. 45.2% said they were either "somewhat less likely" or "much less likely."

Among non-Fox viewers, support for pro-impeachment candidates ranges from 60.4% to 75.3%. Among Fox viewers, it's at 1.8%.

Asked simply whether they support or oppose starting a Congressional investigation into Vice President Dick Cheney that could lead to impeachment, 48.9% said they supported that, while 45.8% opposed.

Among non-Fox viewers, support for moving toward impeachment of Cheney ranges from 70.5% to 77.5%. Among Fox viewers, support is at 2.0%

Support was considerably lower for censure, with 28.2% supporting censure of Bush for NSA spying, 19.1% supporting censure of Bush for the war, and 45.7% opposing censure on both grounds. On this question, the gap between Fox viewers and others was much smaller.

The Zogby poll was conducted between May 9 and 10, 2006 and has a margin of error of +/- 3.8 percentage points.

http://www.davidswanson.org
DAVID SWANSON is a co-founder of After Downing Street, a writer and activist, and the Washington Director of Democrats.com. He is a board member of Progressive Democrats of America, and serves on the Executive Council of the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild, TNG-CWA. He has worked as a newspaper reporter and as a communications director, with jobs including Press Secretary for Dennis Kucinich's 2004 presidential campaign, Media Coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association, and three years as Communications Coordinator for ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Swanson obtained a Master's degree in philosophy from the University of Virginia in 1997.

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