Jack & Jill Politics

On Bobby Brown. “Whitney shall be mine!” cried Osama as he pointed out the specially outfitted cave he has prepared for his true love…

Just kidding.

Seriously, 74% of Americans polled in an Opinion Research Poll believe that Bin Laden is planning an attack on the U.S. That seems obvious to me too especially in light of recent attacks, both successful and foiled. The implications of this and the other findings of the poll bear some attention. Are those 74% the same who disapprove of the President’s performance? His approval rating is in the low 30s at this point.

Also, people have become discouraged about our ability to catch Bin Laden — about 58% think it’s possible. And people are unclear how much the war in Iraq has impacted our ability to bring him to justice. So cluelessness still reigns in America — folks are still struggling to sift through all the propaganda and mis-information.

That percentage, however, has dropped from past years; in 2004, 66 percent of poll respondents said it was likely [the U.S. would capture Bin Laden], and in 2001 the figure was 76 percent.

Respondents were nearly evenly split on whether the U.S.-led war in Iraq has hampered the nation’s ability to capture or kill bin Laden.

Forty-seven percent said it was either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” that bin Laden would have been captured or killed had the United States not become involved in the Iraq war. Fifty-one percent said bin Laden would not have been captured by now regardless of the Iraq war.

The Taliban, the allies and protectors of Al-Qaeda, are re-taking Afghanistan. And we’re not doing much about that because most of our troops are in Iraq. Bush just said in his press conference that we will not leave Iraq while he is still president. This in the face of an increasingly aggressive Al-Qaeda threat launching attacks around the world. This president’s priority has never been addressing the real threat presented by those who attacked America. It has been settling old scores. We invaded a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 and Bush has yet to fully admit that. Do you feel safer?