I know you have probably seen this on your friends page already, but it deserves to be linked more.
Bush Supporters Still Believe Iraq Had WMD or Major Program, and Supported al Qaeda
- 72% of Bush supporters continue to believe that Iraq had actual WMD (47%) or a major program for developing them (25%).
- 56% assume that most experts believe Iraq had actual WMD
- 57% also assume, incorrectly, that Duelfer concluded Iraq had at least a major WMD program.
- 75% of Bush supporters continue to believe that Iraq was providing substantial support to al Qaeda
- 63% believe that clear evidence of this support has been found.
- 60% of Bush supporters assume that this is also the conclusion of most experts
- 55% assume, incorrectly, that this was the conclusion of the 9/11 Commission.
Steven Kull, director of PIPA, comments, “One of the reasons that Bush supporters have these beliefs is that they perceive the Bush administration confirming them. Interestingly, this is one point on which Bush and Kerry supporters agree.” Eighty-two percent of Bush supporters perceive the Bush administration as saying that Iraq had WMD (63%) or that Iraq had a major WMD program (19%).
The article goes on to say that Bush supporters “have not accepted the idea that it does not matter whether Iraq had WMD or supported al Qaeda.”
“To support the president and to accept that he took the US to war based on mistaken assumptions likely creates substantial cognitive dissonance, and leads Bush supporters to suppress awareness of unsettling information about prewar Iraq.”
It looks like most of the folks voting for Bush will be voting for the fictional “Made For TV” version.