More evidence that polls are to be taken with a thousand grains of salt:
A few days ago, former Obama pollster Joel Benenson released the results of a survey showing that 61 percent of those queried support a comprehensive clean energy bill that would charge energy companies for carbon pollution, and 39 percent said they are more likely to support it in the wake of the Gulf oil spill.
Now an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll concludes that 60 percent of Americans support more offshore drilling, despite the gurgling mess in the Gulf of Mexico. And 53 percent think the potential economic benefits of sucking oil from under the sea outweigh the environmental risks.
To throw a few more numbers into the mix, 50 percent of those responding to a recent AP poll said they favor increased offshore drilling, while 38 percent oppose it.
That same poll also suggests that the right-wing mantra that the spill is “Obama’s Katrina” isn’t getting traction with the public. About 42 percent gave Obama a thumbs-up on how he’s handled the crisis, compared to 33 percent who haven’t been impressed.
