THEY ARE BAFFLED

I want to continue my discussion from yesterday about the media and their unwillingness or inability to grasp the truth about this war. My thanks to Eleanor who pointed me to this poll

Despite the continuing violent attacks against coalition troops, a 65 percent majority supports the U.S. having taken military action in Iraq, up four points in the last month...

Many Americans think the military’s response to the violence against coalition troops has not been aggressive enough (42 percent) and almost as many say it has been “about right” (41 percent). Few — eight percent — think the military has been too aggressive in responding to the attacks by insurgents in Iraq...

Images of kidnapped soldiers are more than twice as likely to make the public feel the U.S. military should “fight harder” (59 percent) than to feel American forces should “pull out” of Iraq (25 percent)....

Americans would rather get the job done than set a time limit on how long U.S. troops should be stationed in Iraq. A 55 percent majority thinks U.S. troops should stay in Iraq as long as it takes to establish a stable government over having troops stay in Iraq only a specified amount of time (39 percent).

Finally, 41 percent of Americans think President Bush has a clear plan for handling Iraq while half say he doesn’t. When asked the same question of Sen. Kerry, 22 percent think he has a clear plan for handling Iraq, 59 percent say he doesn’t and 19 percent are unsure.

The bad news for the media types is that a majority of Americans don't buy their doom and gloom coverage of the war. What is amusing is to note how they just can't believe it. Consider this from the Washington Post.

With skillful use of language and images, President Bush and his aides have kept the American public from turning against the war in Iraq despite the swelling number of U.S. casualties there.

Even with the loss of more than 700 U.S. troops in Iraq, recent uprisings against the U.S.-led occupation there, a dwindling number of allies and the failure to find weapons of mass destruction, a majority of Americans still believe that going to war in Iraq was the right thing to do. By 52 percent to 41 percent, Americans trust Bush more than Democratic challenger Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) to handle the Iraq situation, according to last week's Washington Post-ABC News poll -- a double-digit improvement for Bush from a month before.

Political strategists and public-opinion experts say a good part of this resilience of public support for Bush and the Iraq war stems from the president's oratory.

Excuse me...is this the same President the left has made fun of for nearly four years for his inability to speak with eloquence? What other President in recent memory has had web sites like Bushisms, more Bushisms (1988 to present) and Bushspeak not to mention being lampooned on late night TV weekly on the subject.

And yet now the Washington Post, in its need to find some reason other than the truth to explain why the American people aren't thinking the way the Post thinks they should, suddenly credit Bush with the gift of "oratory"

And did you notice the reference to "more than 700" casualties, as if the post somehow holds that up as a threshold? Can you imagine what would happen in the press these days if something like this ever happened again?

A D-Day invasion rehearsal in which hundreds of US servicemen were killed has been remembered in a series of events commemorating the 60th anniversary of the tragedy.

A total of 749 US military personnel were lost when German E boats launched a surprise attack on an Allied convoy.

The US soldiers were killed in the English Channel on 28 April, 1944.

And the Post seeks explanation from the usual suspects...so they quote the Kerry camp:

Bush's opponents say he is building support for the Iraq war -- and himself -- by deceiving the public. "He has not leveled with the American people about the true cost of the war, how long we'll be there, or the number of troops that will be needed," said Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter. "Americans would rather see sound policy rather than just positive rhetoric."

A staggeringly audacious statement coming from the home of "I voted for it before I voted against it."

Is that what they mean by sound policy? Does Kerry have a bleedin' crystal ball in which he can fortell teh cost of the war?

Kudos to the American people for not buying it. Hang on...they are going to try harder.