Newsweek Poll: Americans Don’t Like NSA Phone Database Spying Plan
A new Newsweek poll has come out indicating a majority of American’s don’t like the way the Bush administration is expanding federal powers to fight terrorism — a poll that contradicts an earlier Washington Post poll, although the wording of the polls and the times they were taken may not be the same.
First, the news from Newsweek:
Has the Bush administration gone too far in expanding the powers of the President to fight terrorism? Yes, say a majority of Americans, following this week’s revelation that the National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone records of U.S. citizens since the September 11 terrorist attacks. According to the latest NEWSWEEK poll, 53 percent of Americans think the NSA’s surveillance program “goes too far in invading people’s privacy,� while 41 percent see it as a necessary tool to combat terrorism.President Bush tried to reassure the public this week that its privacy is “fiercely protected,� and that “we’re not mining or trolling through the personal lives of innocent Americans.� Nonetheless, Americans think the White House has overstepped its bounds: 57 percent said that in light of the NSA data-mining news and other executive actions, the Bush-Cheney Administration has “gone too far in expanding presidential power.� That compares to 38 percent who think the Administration’s actions are appropriate.
There’s more bad news for the White House in the NEWSWEEK poll: President Bush’s approval rating has dropped to the lowest in his presidency. At 35 percent, his rating is one point below the 36 percent he received in Newsweek’s polls in March and November, 2005.
Iraq continues to be the biggest drain on the president’s popularity: 86 percent of Americans say the Iraq situation, coupled with new information about the decision to go to war, have negatively influenced their view of the president. Asked about Bush’s performance on a variety of issues, from the economy to taxes, respondents gave the president some of the worst marks of his tenure, and in no instance did approval reach more than 50 percent.
As we mentioned in our earlier post chain-linked below, polls are see-saws and you need to look at several before you can determine a trend. The first, snap poll by the Post found support for the NSA phone call surveillance. Now this one finds most Americans are not happy.
This means if the Democrats pursue surveillance issues it does not automatically mean it’s going to backfire on them — or that if the GOP tries to paint the Democrats as being soft on terrorism for not supporting the administration it is not going to backfire on THEM. It suggests that polls coming out soon will be the ones to closely watch — because this poll shows not just disapproval of the NSA activity but continued, solidifying disapproval for Bush which can translate into diminishing clout…especially in an election year.
Once again: it is the TREND you see in the polls that’s important. And each poll is a snap-shot, reflecting a moment in time.
9 Responses to “Newsweek Poll: Americans Don’t Like NSA Phone Database Spying Plan”
Headline typo — “NASA” substituted for “NSA”
Incidentally, you’re a regular read of mine. Would you want to be interviewed for San Diego Blog?
Thanks you must have seen it right when it went up. This blog is done on the run (often from readers in mobs carrying torches) and I just stopped home for 10 minutes , checked my email and got a link on the newsweek poll. So I posted it and am about to head out the door right now. Sure, email me if you want an interview (I will be on the road the next three days but I will post from on the road and do check my emails)
Thanks for posting this Joe. As I said after the WaPo poll, we need a few days for this to sink in. So, in the interest of fairness, I’ll wait a few more days to see if this Newsweek poll is really reflective of American attitudes as well. We have two quick polls now on this: a one-day poll showing huge approval of the program, though with question wording that encourages a positive response. And a two-day poll showing significant disapproval (12 point spread), though with wording that seems a bit more neutral (no mention of “in order to fight terrorism”). So, I wonder if a new poll that includes “in order to fight terrorism”, or “to track potential terrorists” or something like that will swing the approval rate back up again. New issues are very volatile with the American public. My guess, though, is that with high-profile conservative Republicans like Gingrich and Joe Scarborough blasting this program (as an intrusion on our privacy AND as grossly ineffecient), we will see the American public end up disapproving of this.
The Democrats need to have a full scale Congressional investigation, as Wes Clark called for yesterday in Iowa.
As I point out in a comment below, the thing about polls is that sometimes they don’t, or at least shouldn’t matter, especially when basic rights are at stake, like, for example, the 4th amendment’s requirement of probable cause.
I believe Billmon has the right of it:
Or as my mom might put it, just because everyone’s doing it doesn’t make it right.
Great point, Cali. I always think back to that 1970s poll that showed Americans (or maybe it was just people in Florida) would give up 6 of the 10 Amendments in the Bill of Rights if they had the choice.
USA Today/Gallup seems to roughly agree with Newsweek:
Has Bush administration gone too far in restricting civil liberties to fight terror?
Too Far 41% (+3)
About Right 34% (-6)
Nor Far Enough 19% (unc)
Approve/Disapprove of NSA Domestic Program?
Approve 43%
Disapprove 51%
No Opinion 6%
Does program violate law?
Definitely 22%
Probably 32%
Probably Not 25%
Definitely Not 14%
And I think this is most important:
Would you favor or oppose holding hearings?
Favor 62%
Oppose 34%
No Opinion 4%
Jeff beat me to it. Well, it looks like we have some more evidence that the WaPo poll was flawed (or just too early) and that the American people have problems with this program. Not overwhelming problems, mind you, as there is certainly an authoritarian streak running through. Notice how many of the people who support the program also believe it violates their civil liberties – they just don’t think civil liberties are that important. But the big issue is the loss of trust. Americans may think this program, alone, is acceptable, but they fear there are more intrusive policies behind it. That’s where Bush has fallen since January. No longer do people believe him when he says these programs are “limited.”
The USA Today/Gallup poll had its own problem, as Riehl World View pointed out. One of the things that none of these polls seem to spell out is what “phone records” even means. They’re far less sensitive than financial records, or even health records. And we throw them away every day with no thought to their security.