Parsing the Polls: Dick Cheney, Joe Biden and America's Safety

Parsing the Polls: Dick Cheney, Joe Biden and America's Safety
Copyright by The Washington Post
April 13, 2009
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/parsing-the-polls/parsing-the-polls-dick-cheney.html?hpid=topnews


Expect new poll numbers out of CNN this afternoon to draw a huge amount of attention.

Why?

Because they provide strong empirical evidence that suggests most Americans do not agree with former vice president Dick Cheney's contention that the policies pursued by the Obama administration in its first 100 days "raise the risk to the American people of another attack."

Asked whether Obama's policies had increased the chances of a terrorist attack or not, 26 percent said they had while 72 percent said they had not. Of that 26 percent who believe that the chances of a terrorist attack had increased under President Obama, 16 percent said it had increased "a lot" while ten percent said the chances had increased "a little."

Democrats are certain to pounce on these numbers as evidence that the Republican party is badly out of touch with average Americans -- particularly on a touchstone issue like domestic terrorism.

Remember though that Cheney -- more so than almost any other modern politician -- seems to care nothing for what people think of him. In a January Washington Post/ABC News survey, just 30 percent approved of the job Cheney had done as vice president while a whopping 60 percent disapproved.

As we have written before, the current leadership vacuum atop the Republican party allows for figures like Cheney and conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh to -- at times -- speak for the GOP, a detrimental development for a party searching for a way forward rather than a look back.