Americans Are Not So Dumb

Aside from the legal issues with tapping the phone calls of terrorists and their domestic associates, or the utter lack thereof in this case, are the political issues. If Rasmussen has put together an accurate poll, it would explain why the hysteria over the non-scandal seems to be dying off among the un-unhinged.

Sixty-four percent (64%) of Americans believe the National Security Agency (NSA) should be allowed to intercept telephone conversations between terrorism suspects in other countries and people living in the United States. A Rasmussen Reports survey found that just 23% disagree.

Eighty-one percent (81%) of Republicans believe the NSA should be allowed to listen in on conversations between terror suspects and people living in the United States. That view is shared by 51% of Democrats and 57% of those not affiliated with either major political party.

I wonder who those people are that say we should not monitor the activities of terrorists bent on our destruction, be they across the ocean or in Walnut Grove. I can understand that half of Democrats would prefer that we walked blindly to a fiery death, but the independents baffles me a bit.

And, while the poll is certainly encouraging in that Americans can tell the difference bewteen idiotic politics and common sense, it is a little startling that so many people would prefer we existed in total ignorance.

When did self-preservation become a partisan issue?

UPDATE: Apparantly this fascist right-wing nutcase isn't alone in predicting that the furor over this issue is misplaced and is political suicide.

Some centrist Democrats say attacks by their party leaders on the Bush administration's eavesdropping on suspected terrorist conversations will further weaken the party's credibility on national security...

...These Democrats say attacks on anti-terrorist intelligence programs will deepen mistrust of their ability to protect the nation's security, a weakness that led in part to the defeat of Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, last year.

"Centrist Democrats." That cracks me up.