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0 Comments | Insight on the News, Nov 19, 2001 | by John Elvin

* Nearly 90 percent of Americans approve of the job President George W. Bush has done in responding to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll. The survey presents a good snapshot of where citizens stand in regard to the war on terrorism and is worth going into in some detail. It found, for instance, that 63 percent of Americans believe Bush is a better wartime leader than Bill Clinton would have been. Only 19 percent said they thought former president Clinton would be the better leader.

* Overall, the latest poll shows strong and consistent support for the way the war is being waged. Few respondents were willing to put limits on how far the United States should go in eliminating the terrorist threat. There was strong support for going after those who commit acts of terror, regardless of whether they were connected to the Sept. 11 attacks. Even stronger (84 percent) was agreement that the United States should take military action against any country that supports or shelters terrorists.

* Most skepticism showed up in the area of food supplies dropped to refugees -- only 25 percent of the public thinks the food and medicine actually reach those for whom they are intended. Slightly more than one-half thought the current level of patriotism would fade in time. Most people thought the media had overhyped the anthrax scares.

* Secretary of State Colin Powell and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld both got high marks from the public. But standing above them all -- even above President Bush -- in terms of regard for handling of events related to the attacks is New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

* The majority of people (60 percent) said Hollywood should stop making action movies involving terrorists as a sign of respect for victims of the recent attacks.