42% Of Public Thinks WMDs Were Found In Iraq

These charts were made from information contained in a Fairleigh Dickinson University Survey -- conducted between December 8th and 15th of a random national sample of 964 adults (with a 3 point margin of error).

I personally find the results of this survey rather shocking. It seems that 42% of the American public (more than four out of every ten people) believe that weapons of mass destruction were either definitely or probably found in Iraq (thus justifying Bush's decision to invade that country). How can any rational person believe that today -- more than 11 years after the war was started and over four years after U.S. troops were withdrawn?

Anyone who makes just a cursory examination of the facts should know that no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq. A few decaying remnants of a past program were discovered -- but no proof of an ongoing program or any usable weapons were found. This shows me that some people believe what they want to believe, and the facts be damned (especially if those people don't want to be embarrassed because they believed the Bush/Cheney lies and supported the invasion).

Republicans and the least educated were the most likely to believe those WMDs were found, but sadly, a portion of all groups still believe that (even Democrats and college grads, who should know better).

But just wanting to believe it isn't the whole story. The media have to accept some blame. Some of them did a poor job of reporting the story, and at least one (Fox News) had no compunction about lying to protect the Bush administration. The chart below shows the percentages of those believing WMDs were found, and where they get their news. Note that Fox News was the only news source that has a majority of viewers believing those weapons were found. The sources with the fewest believers were MSNBC and The Daily Show (a comedy show).