Today's New York Times carries the results of a poll on the kerfuffle over surveillance of terrorists. According to the Times, the poll finds that "public opinion about the trade-offs between national security and individual rights is nuanced and remains highly unresolved." Translated into English, this means that the public is on the opposite side of the issue from the Times.

Complete results are here, but the crucial question in No. 60, which appears on page 30:

    In order to reduce the threat of terrorism, would you be willing or not willing to allow government agencies to monitor the telephone calls and e-mails of Americans that the government is suspicious of?


Answer: 68% are willing, just 29% not willing--and by the way, the number who are willing is up, from 63% in 2003 and 56% in 2005.

It's possible that by revealing the surveillance program, the Times succeeded in both damaging national security and diminishing public support for "civil liberties."