United States of Anxiety?

The Independent in the UK has gone and published just about the worst analysis of a poll that I have ever seen.

Have things changed since 9/11? Sure. But have we been shocked in to be a nation of cowards like this article seems to indicate? Absolutely not.

When I talk with people around me - whether they agree or disagree with Bush, the war, the economy or anything - none of them have been scared into a shell. They are aware of the new circumstances, but they're not scared or anxious.

Why do they hate us? Why do we care? They hate us because we're Americans. They hate us because we fight amongst ourselves, but fight as one against them. They hate us because we are everything they are not - tolerant, generous, and free. Are we naive? Maybe, but it allows us to believe that the impossible is possible, where the "sophisticates" can only see why things aren't possible.

We face problems and challenges, but unlike most of the world, we're not afraid of what lies ahead. Unlike those who are scared of the unknown, we enjoy changing the status quo.

Now, besides the general anti-American tone, what else makes this article such a poor analysis? Well, take these three examples:

Asked if they agree with the statement, "I support President Bush's decision to attack Iraq as an 'axis of evil' nation", almost a quarter disagreed.

Meanwhile, there was a softening of support for the assertion, "I support the decision of President Bush to route out terrorists throughout the 'axis of evil'", compared to immediately after 9/11. And more than one third supported the notion that the US is using the events of 9/11 to do "whatever it wants around the world".

So, assuming a 10% undecided factor (I don't know what it really is, but I'm guessing it is less than 10%) this means that 65%+ support the moves against the "axis of evil." Assuming the same undecided factor, over 50% disagree with the premise that we're abusing the memory of 9/11 for military or geo-political gain.

Of course, I should probably expect spin like this from a paper that is advertising a Robert Fisk column right next to its analysis.