Poll finds Iraq is top concern

[DoubleStar3]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The situation in Iraq was at the top of a list of 18 issues that concern Americans, with 90 percent of respondents to a national poll released Monday describing it as "extremely important" or "very important," up from 81 percent a year ago.

Terrorism was among four other issues that ranked nearly as high, with 87 percent of respondents saying it is "extremely important" or "very important," down only slightly from the highly charged weeks after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, results of the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll suggested.

In a poll taken less than a month after those attacks, 95 percent of Americans ranked terrorism as "extremely important" or "very important."

In the latest poll, 41 percent said they were "very worried" or "somewhat worried" that they or a family member would become a victim of terrorism. The question had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, while the other questions had margins of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

Although the 41 percent figure is down from the 58 percent who responded with a similar answer on the day of the attacks, it is the same percentage who indicated they were worried four and five days afterward.

Asked how likely it is that there will be further acts of terrorism in the United States over the next several weeks, 48 percent of respondents in the new poll said "very likely" or "somewhat likely." That is down from 66 percent of respondents who answered the same way in late September 2001.

In the latest poll, 36 percent said they think there will be a major terrorist attack in the United States in the next 12 months, versus 59 percent who said they did not.

Health care costs (87 percent), the economy (86 percent) and education (86 percent) were also bunched near the top of the poll, which asked respondents to rate the topics as "extremely important," "very important," "moderately important," "not that important" or "no opinion."

Social Security was described as "extremely important" or "very important" by 82 percent of those surveyed.

Unemployment (77 percent), the federal budget deficit (77 percent), foreign affairs (74 percent), energy policy (72 percent), and poverty and homelessness (71 percent) also rated highly.

Respondents also answered "extremely important" or "very important" 66 percent of the time on the issue of taxes, while immigration (65 percent) and the environment (62 percent) were close behind.

Limits on lawsuits, a goal President Bush laid out to reporters Monday in a news conference, were considered by a bare majority (52 percent) to be "extremely" or "very important."

Laws to help racial minorities followed, with 47 percent ranking the issue in either of the top two spots, followed by abortion (41 percent) and same-sex marriage (35 percent).

The telephone poll of 1,002 adults was carried out between Friday and Sunday.

(taken from www.cnn.com (http://www.cnn.com) )

[Darth Cluich]

Gotta wonder about the ww.com-ers who voted for same-sex marriage here as the most important issue... :rolleyes:

[Reformer56]

Yeah it doesn't surprise me about the results of that poll. Social Security issues are being kept pretty wel under wraps though if you look hard enough you can dig up what your looking for. That and socialized medicine are strangely vacant in many discussions as of late.

[Darth Cluich]

That and socialized medicine are strangely vacant in many discussions as of late.


Good. Socialized medicine is a terrible idea and needs to be forgotten.

[Reformer56]

What about Social Secuirty? I mean I would hate having doctors being governmental workers aswell, and this is by no means an attack, but are you all for having some stock broker manage a private acount of your social security? I mean, I know you never said this, but the only reason this purposed new Social Security system is even being thought of seriosuly is for two reasons one being that Social Secuirty is a Communist to Socialistic porgram, but hey so was everything else to come out of the New Deal. And, let's face it we are in a multi Trillion dollar debt, and with this debt we simply can't afford to fund Social Security not to mention Social Security has already been clened out to try and help remedy this. But back to the debt issue, we are in such a debt that the USD is actually losing value, and this isn't news. Banks in Asia are actually replacing the USD with Euro sadly this isn't recent either. One can only hope the national debt can go away. And pardon me but everybody is quick to blame Bush on this debt, it isn't his fault you know, the public wanted tax cuts he gave them, did you really think that we could afford all these programs without taxes I mean let's put some common logic into this. And again Cluich, this is by no means an attack or flame I respect your views and what you have to say entirely and of course your seniority, just random thoughts and rambling no offense intended.

[Ves]

Good. Socialized medicine is a terrible idea and needs to be forgotten.
Umm what the hell is "Socialized Medicine" when it's not in?
Do they take a bottle of Morphine out on the town or something?

I presume it's some kind of state run healthcare where the doctors get involved? If I'm right then it might work better than the pathetic case we have here where the healthcare system is run by unqualified bureaucrats who merely take advice from (and usually ignore) doctors.
But I suppose at least we don't have to pay for it... sort of.

EDIT: added after my computer decided there's another post to display.

Just wanted to pick up on the bit about Asian economies taking an interest in the Euro over USD. This doesn't surprise me to be honest. Like Sterling, USD is one country's currency (granted it's accepted elsewhere). However, Euro is the currency for several powerful countries including Germany, France and Spain and thus allows Asia to do business with them with less fuss, it's also acceptable tender in many more including Britain. It's a far more diverse currency, which was the whole point of the thing in the first place.
And now I'm in danger of not sounding like the Euro-Skeptic I am (I think Britain should cut its losses and get the hell out of Europe at the moment).

[Darth Cluich]

Umm what the hell is "Socialized Medicine" when it's not in?
Do they take a bottle of Morphine out on the town or something?

I presume it's some kind of state run healthcare where the doctors get involved? If I'm right then it might work better than the pathetic case we have here where the healthcare system is run by unqualified bureaucrats who merely take advice from (and usually ignore) doctors.
But I suppose at least we don't have to pay for it... sort of.

That's exactly what's meant by "socialized medicine": state-run healthcare. And your description of the British system is exactly why I don't want it here. It's an awful idea.

I hafta say, though, there are days when I wouldn't mind taking a bottle of morphine out on the town... ;)

[Redwolf_Claw]

I think Social security sucks right now. It wont be here when I am old enough to get it, but I have to pay for it anyway.

As for socialized medicine... i think that is a better idea. Most people on social security spend it on medicine any way.
I would rather see a social medicine tax than a social security tax.

[DoubleStar3]

I think Social security sucks right now. It wont be here when I am old enough to get it, but I have to pay for it anyway.
I'll be lucky if it's there when I'm old enough to retire. (which- btw -seems to ave old people working longer and longer so I'll prolly die before I even get to retire.) I think the government needs to stop using the SS funds to pay for their bills, lower taxes, and take responsibility for their mistakes. (Which why are we sending money over seas if we're so horribly in debt that we need to cash into the SS funds?)

[Reformer56]

As for socialized medicine... i think that is a better idea. Most people on social security spend it on medicine any way.
I would rather see a social medicine tax than a social security tax.

The whole point of the new Social Security system is that you wouldn't be paying a Social Security tax, it would be separatley managed accounts probably managed by stock brokers. If you did have to pay a new Social Security tax it would be very miniscule and you overall income tax would increase more so than enough to compensate for no Social Security. The whole point of this new system is to get rid of Social Security entirely, because the Republican party thinks its a "radically left idea" and it helps take off pressure on the national debt.

[Ves]

That's exactly what's meant by "socialized medicine": state-run healthcare. And your description of the British system is exactly why I don't want it here. It's an awful idea.
It has to be said it's crap in many ways, but that said, I've just had the following:-
A ride in an ambulance
30 days in hospital under constant supervision
2 operations installing metal bits in my arm and leg
2 CT and CAT scans
10 X-Rays
Medication for every day and beyond including drips and gawd knows what else.
More morphine than you can shake a stick at (1mg every 10 minutes - soothes the soul plus countless injections at 10mg)
Physiotherapy
Occupational therapy
Loan of walking sticks
Time from a doctor, registrar and 2 consultants.

Cost to me: Nothing.

Now we do pay something in Britain called National Insurance which in part pays for the National Health Service as well as other things. I suspect I got my money back over the last month however (and I've been on medication for years which is also free).

It's not a perfect system, but if it saves having to pay huge medical bills, it's one I can live with to be honest.
The USA has a chance to do something similar but learn from our mistakes. All that takes is for the bureaucrats to look outside of the country for inspiration as to how to set this up. Which I reckon we'll all agree is highly unlikely.

[FMtRIS]

My primary concern is technology that allows dumbassness to happen at a much more rapid pace than it normally would.

[chriz]

The problem in America isn't so much that health care is too expensive (I mean, it is expensive, but considering it's your health, it's not so bad). It's that it's expensive enough that people below a certain income level simply can't afford it. So we have a bunch of uninsured people.

The reason it's so expensive isn't because medical care really costs that much. It's because we're a sue-happy society and malpractice costs are astronomical. Tax-fed healthcare isn't going to change that.

[Madog]

Iraq is old news. Immigration is a problem where ever you live. In the Uk Enough people turn up each month to fill up a small city. Let alone the problems it causes here but what about the countries where they came from?

Poland are losing trained nurses to help the NHS which can not cope with the influx of people, and Poland will have a major problem in their hospitals. That is just one of the reasons.

[Silver Wolf]

Iraq is old news. Immigration is a problem where ever you live. In the Uk Enough people turn up each month to fill up a small city. Let alone the problems it causes here but what about the countries where they came from?

Poland are losing trained nurses to help the NHS which can not cope with the influx of people, and Poland will have a major problem in their hospitals. That is just one of the reasons.


Agreed .... but what about unemployment?

[Buddha Monkey]

Iraq is old news.
Old news? Then why do I here about it every day?

I have friends and family that may be going over there. My girlfriends brother may be on his way. It's not old news to me.

[Madog]

Sorry to offend anyone but yes people are dying over there. Our boys and girls are being sent there. Both the US and UK military are having a major problem, and they WILL keep on having a major problem until we pull our troops out. But Hussan needed to be got rid of. Bush is in again, and in the spring if Blair gets in again we will go to war again, Iran, North Korea, Jordan. Who Knows. But we will.

[Buddha Monkey]

Sorry to offend anyone but yes people are dying over there. Our boys and girls are being sent there. Both the US and UK military are having a major problem, and they WILL keep on having a major problem until we pull our troops out. But Hussan needed to be got rid of. Bush is in again, and in the spring if Blair gets in again we will go to war again, Iran, North Korea, Jordan. Who Knows. But we will.As long as our fighting men and women are dieing over there, it will be a concern.

Any more wars, and then we will be way to tempting a target for another country. Hell, as it is, we don't have the fighting power in AMERICA to stop Canada from taking us out with Polar Bears.

[Darth Cluich]

As long as our fighting men and women are dieing over there, it will be a concern.

Any more wars, and then we will be way to tempting a target for another country. Hell, as it is, we're don't have the fighting power in AMERICA to stop Canada from taking us out with Polar Bears.


Pfft...Canada's military couldn't even take out a Girl Scout troop.

[Ender]

Zing!

[Reformer56]

Any more wars, and then we will be way to tempting a target for another country. Hell, as it is, we don't have the fighting power in AMERICA to stop Canada from taking us out with Polar Bears.

It's true that our military is stretched to its max without a draft. This is obviosuly a concern with troops already serving over their aforementioned time. As I'm sure all you know there are twin bills going to Congress in early June dealing with a draft. In my opinion theres no way they would pass it, it would be too unpopular, and plus with the way things have gone thus far it could risk erradicating an entire generation.

[DoubleStar3]

Something new in Iraq happens daily... bombings, killings, fighting, voting... it's all news. Doesn't mean that it's old. Just means a lot of us have had our share of it and could care less. (I have 36 friends over there so no 'she doesn't know what it's like to have someone over there' BS) They're fighting and it's something they chose to do (join up under the military) for whatever reason they're over there serving their country. I don't fault them for that, but I still don't think it should be ignored. Nor should it be as publicized as it is.

Budda does have a point where as if we were to make war with another country we ourselves would be made a target. Whose to say we already aren't? I mean we were a target when the towers were hit and fell. I don't think that's changed much. We (as the US) have a tendancy to put our noses where they don't belong then have the audacity to forget the ones who attack us to go on some crusade because of some old guy. Be it that it's done and over with, I would say that Iraq is now a greater concern because Bush keeps saying he's going to pull the troops out. That's something he shouldn't do because it will just be a terrorist island all over again. Just someone else in control. Or if that doesn't happen, then it'll just be another Vietnam.

[Spiritofthewulf]

the enviroment seems the obvious thing to me.

if the enviroment was better then we would all be happier and healthier, plants and animals would be better off, the list goes on...

And i wonder that if the enviroment was better would there be as much terrorisim?
I ask this because terrorists are usually from third world countries (the places with the worst enviroment/living conditions) and if these places were a healthier place to live would they feel the need to lash out at more prosperous countries?

[Ves]

Something new in Iraq happens daily... bombings, killings, fighting, voting....
Nah don't be silly DS, voting isn't going to be happening in Iraq on election day, let alone daily :)

It strikes me that the more that gets done to curb terrorism, the only people that actually suffer are the ordinary people and not the terrorists. Think how many civil liberties have been removed in the name of combatting terrorism next to the amount of terrorists these measures have actually caught. It's really not that many - yet still Cat Stevens isn't allowed into the USA because he's obviously a terrorist. (Shall we just say hi to the NSA agents now reading because we've mentioned the T word).

If someone would kindly explain to me how ID cards will help combat terrorism (the reason why the bloody things are being introduced - allegedly), I'd be much obliged.

[DoubleStar3]

Nah don't be silly DS, voting isn't going to be happening in Iraq on election day, let alone daily :)
I said something new happens daily. And right now they're working towards voting. It's the first for the country, hence the coverage for it. Wether it happens or not :shrug: Point is that they're trying to make it happen. Just have to see which canidates are left standing after those oppsing it are through. And even if it doesn't happen on the day proposed, I still think it'll get there at some point.

[Darth Cluich]

If someone would kindly explain to me how ID cards will help combat terrorism (the reason why the bloody things are being introduced - allegedly), I'd be much obliged.

Two words: They won't.

[Ves]

I said something new happens daily. And right now they're working towards voting. It's the first for the country, hence the coverage for it.
My mistake there, sorry. I was only being a little fasecious anyway (think I spelt that right).

Apparently this isn't the first election in Iraq. Elections were quite regular in Hussein's time, and voting was mandatory. Sadly it was also mandatory who you voted for as well, which somewhat made a mockery of it all.

Two words: They won't.
Too bloody right my friend, too bloody right.

[Blackjaguarkat]

My three major concerns are social security, health care, and the environment. We need social security if not for retierment then for the disabled. There are alot of disabled people in our society that depend on social security my sister and I being two of them. without thoes checks we couldn't live. Health care is also important. I'm for any plan that would make it more afforadable to everyone. I'm on psychcodic drugs which cost out e a$$ every month. I am also diabetic and the cost of my testing supplies is astronomical! I have no INS to speak of and it all comes out of pocket.The Environment also concerns me. We have been screwing up this planet for the last 300 years and we need to take a step back and look at the big picture. We need to find better fuels, stop killing so many trees, ect.. ect...

As far as my thoughts of this war, I belivie it is pointless. We need to pull our troops out and quit trying to police the world. We need to focus on our own country and try and get it under control. I agree that terriosm is bad, but there will always be terriosm. America can't root it all out. If we don't stop now I see us heading for a third world war. :cool: