Condi Bump
More in U.S. Say Bush Did All Possible to Stop Sept. 11 Attacks
April 9 (Bloomberg) -- A growing number of Americans say they believe the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush did everything that could be expected to stop the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to two new polls.
A Time/CNN survey taken yesterday showed that 48 percent of Americans said they believe the Bush administration did all it could to prevent the attacks, up from 42 percent in a poll taken March 26-28. A CBS News poll, also conducted yesterday, showed 32 percent of Americans said the administration did everything possible to stop the attacks, up from 22 percent the previous week.
The two polls follow the testimony of U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and former Bush and Clinton administration counterterrorism adviser Richard Clarke before an independent commission investigating the terrorist attacks.
Clarke said the administration failed to heed warnings about the threat of terrorism, while Rice testified yesterday morning that there was no ``silver bullet'' that would have stopped the Sept. 11 attacks.
The Time/CNN poll found that 43 percent of Americans were more likely to believe Rice's testimony, while 36 percent believe Clarke's and 21 percent weren't sure which person to believe. The Time/CNN poll surveyed 1,005 adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.
The CBS News poll, which showed that 60 percent said they believe the administration didn't do enough to stop the attacks, surveyed 471 adults and has a margin of error of plus of minus 5 percentage points.