Oh, general public

From today’s Washington Post:

“Since November 2001, the percentage of those supporting an attack against Iraq has typically hovered between the low 60s and high 70s, dipping below 60 percent -- to 56 percent -- just once in 11 polls.

But the poll taken last month also suggests that support for using force against Iraq is highly conditional. Support dips to 42 percent when respondents were asked whether they would favor an attack that involve ground troops and to 30 percent if the attack would result in significant casualties.”

I was able to get a transcript of one of the interviews for this poll:

POLLSTER: “Do you favor a war on Iraq?”
PERSON: [withdraws six-shooters from holsters, shoots imaginary Iraqi bombers in air] “Yee-haw!”
POLLSTER: “What about a war involving ground troops?”
PERSON: “Fine with me. We’ll shoot them all. Yee-haw!” [shoots holes in parachutes of Iraqi pilots that ejected]
POLLSTER: “No, our ground troops.”
PERSON: “Hold on there, crazy pants. You don’t fight wars with ground troops. You fight them with robots.”
POLLSTER: “And if these ‘robots’ were to die in battle?”
PERSON: [squints, cocks gun at pollster] “Robots don’t die.”