Cheney Vs. Obama: Americans Overwhelmingly Disagree With Former VP

Dick Cheney finds himself, once more, on the wrong side of polling data. A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll asked respondents whether they agreed with the former vice president's remarks that Barack Obama's policies were making the country more vulnerable to attack. The response: a resounding "no."

Only one-quarter (26 percent) of respondents said that the "actions Barack Obama has taken as president have increased the chances of a terrorist attack against the U.S." Nearly three-quarters of respondents (72 percent) said they had not.

Cheney has made just such an assertion twice since his administration has left office, prompting individuals like Vice President Joseph Biden to ask: what, exactly, Cheney and the prior White House accomplished in the war on terror.

In addition to receiving the public's backing in the spat against Cheney, Obama also has its support for his policies in Afghanistan. More than half (53 percent) of respondents said they favor the war in Afghanistan while 46 percent oppose. Those results are nearly diametrically reversed from February 18-19, when 47 percent supported and 51 percent opposed.

The one area where the president runs into thorny turf is with his commitment to target al Qaeda officials in Pakistan without that country's approval. Only 37 percent said they support the policy, which was a chief tenet of the Obama campaign. Sixty-one percent say U.S. government should not "take action without Pakistan's permission."

Get HuffPost Politics on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Comments

[Flavor]

07:44 AM on 04/18/2009

Mr. Stein, I like your articles, but I thought you liked the bloggers, one question, Why the pain? Why the pain?

[jjgg5]

11:10 AM on 04/17/2009

I think Mr. Cheney will look very nice in vertical stripes. It has a thinning effect.

[outnow]

11:10 AM on 04/14/2009

Cheney is saying that he was "right" about abridging the exercise of constitutional rights or the protection thereof, so don't indict him for war crimes. Bush is keeping quiet but Rove and Cheney need to constantly justify their actions. Attacking Obama's policies is a win-win for them. In fact, Cheney would probably want there to be another terrorist attack on American soil to justify his actions. Cheney has always said that if there is even a 1% chance of such an attack, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution should be suspended permanently.

By predicting another attack, Cheney can use the fear of 9-11 and justify his actions at the same time. If he is right on predicting such an attack, then he can say, "I told you so." If he is wrong, he can still use the fear of such an attack as justification for his unconstitutional actions.

By constantly repeating this mantra, Cheney and Rove can attack Obama and clain relevance to the political scene in Washington. As Cheney knows, the best defense is a good offense.

[hollybork]

11:06 AM on 04/14/2009

It is clear that the only way Cheney will get respect is when he carries a gun. He doesn't care, though, and that is the point. He doesn't care what people think. He has the disposition of a despot and a tyrant. Thank God he is now out of office.

[GranE]

10:40 AM on 04/14/2009

Who was it that said "President Obama will be tested in his first 100 days" and implied that he would fail?

Guess who just took out 4 pirates and freed an American ship and its' capitan?

[solarian]

10:19 AM on 04/14/2009

who are the 20+% that think obama is going to increase the attacks on the usa

[roshni]

11:38 AM on 04/14/2009

Rushbots.

[chaostheory]

10:15 AM on 04/14/2009

Do the orders still stand, Dick?

http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2009/04/11/the-rest-is-silence/

[HLL]

09:43 AM on 04/14/2009

The only reason Cheney was VP is because Bush Sr.'s Supreme Court put him there. He was wrong for 8 years and he's wrong now.

[care4mypeeps]

09:32 AM on 04/14/2009

Mr. Cheyney needs to take a low profile, as he should be indited for "War Crimes".
His arrogance is stunning, he and Carl Rove have inserted themselves into the Media as if they
have no Blood of Our Soldiers on their hands.

They lied us into war and gave "Dictatorship Its Legs." Say what you want about Former President George W. Bush but he has handled his departure from the White House with class and he has chosen to Keep silent and only say only positive things about President Obama.

I applaud former President George W. Bush on his Class and caution Former Vice President Dick Cheyney and Carl Rove to shut up and wait for the other shoe to drop.

See you guys in Court to answer for your War Crimes. It may take years but it is on the Docket.

[bluejean1951]

09:50 AM on 04/14/2009

Here, here! Well said. Can't wait for the War Crimes tribunal to begin!

[Marcus01]

09:29 AM on 04/14/2009

It comes down to consciousness. There is a consciousness among many, where they will accept anything they're told, no matter how outrageous, as long as it comes from someone in "authority". Usually that authority is government, religious, political or academic. Typically the authority caters to the person's fears and prejudices. Unfortunately the person lacks the conscious self-awareness necessary to see that.

These people often have deep-rooted feelings of shame, guilt, or victimization. In terms of consciousness, this has a huge impact on their awareness of what goes on around them, and puts them solidly in the category of sheeple. Sheeple can be led around like animals. They will be functional, but are not even vaguely aware human beings.

[cruisepuppy7452a]

09:07 AM on 04/14/2009

Cheney scares me to death. This guy isn't finished with the US or the American people, he wants ultimate power. Guys like that are truly mentally ill. I put nothing past him, even today. He is up to no good and wont' stop until it happens. Mark my words, we have not seen the end of this guy.

[Rogan]

09:02 AM on 04/14/2009

In other news: a new study finds that 26% of all American insects are excessively creepy and icky.

[Shashi0224]

10:20 AM on 04/14/2009

And they are also the Fox/Limbaugh audience!!

IQ = 3

[roshni]

11:39 AM on 04/14/2009

Basically. They also think Obama is a Muslim.

[sasidechick]

08:48 AM on 04/14/2009

Gee, "26 percent of respondents said that the "actions Barack Obama has taken as president have increased the chances of a terrorist attack against the U.S".

These same 26% are the ones who think that George Bush was a great President. You see these kind of numbers all the time. The only people who support Bush/Cheney are the rabid rethugs who, no matter what, will ALWAYS support them.

The thing that drives me nuts about Cheney is he is always saying how he and W kept America safe. He always makes it sound like 9/11 happened on someone else's watch. They had briefings in August of 2001 which said Al-Qaida is determined to attack. They did nothing until it was too late and then they attacked Iraq. This man has no shame.

[pbziegler]

09:08 AM on 04/14/2009

Could this 25% also be the group that thinks the sun goes around the Earth. And that God put false evidence on Earth to confuse us into thinking the Earth is more than 6 million years old? And don't forget those folks who believe Obama is a Muslim. They say 15% of any population will be anything you tell them. The other 10% don't need to be told, they just believe dumb stuff.

[Shashi0224]

10:21 AM on 04/14/2009

The WORST terror attack on our country happened on their watch. End of story.

[HOPEFOCUSED]

08:46 AM on 04/14/2009

And Cheney's arrogant response to this statement would be . . . "SO".

[deepfreezevideo]

08:22 AM on 04/14/2009

I am sure that Cheney has decided long ago that "poll or no poll, Americans ARE WRONG, and he is RIGHT".