Conflicting polls on NSA spy program

Conflicting polls on NSA spy program

Few topics have inspired as many passionate responses this year as the National Security Agency's electronic surveillance and data mining operations. For all the rhetoric, however, the nation's collective opinion about the program remains anything but clear.
NSA

"A majority of Americans disapprove of a massive Pentagon database containing the records of billions of phone calls made by ordinary citizens," by a margin of 51 percent to 43 percent, according to USA Today survey released today. But just Friday, a Washington Post-ABC News poll showed that "a majority of Americans support the NSA program, with 63 percent saying they found it to be "an acceptable way to investigate terrorism, including 44 percent who strongly endorsed the effort."

So which is it ? Given the inexact science of polling and the complexity of the NSA program, we may never know.

Blog community response:

"The polls are interesting, but I have a hard time believing that people can actually digest what was revealed over the last few days, especially when many legal 'experts' can't even make a clear argument about whether the government access to telecom records is legal or not."
--Danny Weitzner - Open Internet Policy

"The exposure of warrantless invasion of privacy of tens of millions of innocent Americans could well be the tipping point for impeachment of Bush and Cheney...but public reaction is a bit delayed."
--Machine Gun Keyboard

"This NSA program isn't something that should bother anyone except the tinfoil hat crowd and those that are actively working to destroy the United States."
--Iowa Voice

Posted by Mike Yamamoto