Watch the White House Decide Who to Pay Off

The New York Times and CBS News just collaborated on a new poll (855 adults) assessing what voters really want. Only 6% said moral values was a deal-breaker in their voting. A majority support same-sex marriage or legal recognition of same-sex partnerships. Tax cuts were not a big vote-getter apparently, with two-thirds of those polled saying that cutting the deficit was more important than cutting taxes. Top issues in the minds of those polled were jobs and the economy. And a majority of respondents said the US should never have invaded Iraq in the first place. In a CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll (1,015 adults) released yesterday nearly two-thirds of respondents feel Israel and the Arab nations will never resolve their differences. It’s unclear how many Jewish voters followed ex-NYC Democrat mayor Ed Koch and voted for Bush because they felt he was pro-Israel. However, Bush owes something to the Jewish faction that supported him with big campaign donations. It will be interesting to see whether the White House decides that alienating their Jewish friends is of no great importance. In which case, Ed Koch will get no payback and the White House will maintain its current position on the Israel/Palestine war. That is, they will do nothing. And why should they? They’ve gotten what they needed by making promises. No real reason to make good. Ditto the religious right. Watch whether they get token support (little anti-abortion/anti-gay riders attached to bills with no chance of being enacted) or whether the White House will fight tooth and nail to crush the pro-choice and equal-rights-for-gays factions. The newest tally for US soldiers who have died in Iraq during November is 101. They were mostly Marines. The Pentagon froze their death count at 51 but now have to admit it’s at least 101. According to the CNN poll, 61% of those polled said they feel offensives in Falluja and elsewhere will make Iraq better. The real news is not getting through to John Q. and Mrs. J.Q. Public. It needs to be noted that many Iraqis really liked Saddam because they didn’t know the facts. How is that different from people supporting the White House because they don’t know the facts? And whose fault is that? The press for not telling the truth? The White House for telling lies? The public for being gullible? All of the above. As the old “X-Files” used to say, The Truth is Out There. And it’s up to blogs to keep hammering away with the truth. At least Americans have an alternative to the managed news. All they have to do is read it.