Do You Feel Less Safe Now Than Before 9/11?

That's the question posed by a CBS News/New York Times poll, which interprets the results as criticism of the Bush administration's handling of the War on Terror:

Compared with five years ago, 39 percent of Americans say they feel less safe now, compared with only 14 percent who say they feel safer. Forty-six percent say they feel the same.

Count me in the 39% who feel "less safe". How could I not feel that way?

Fanatical Muslims succeeded in pulling off the most devastating terrorist attack in history five years ago; does it seem reasonable to assume that they won't keep trying to repeat that success? This is not a criticism of the Bush administration's response to 9/11. Who would have believed on September 12, 2001 that Bush would succeed in foiling followup attacks for five years? Not me; I expected another attack within the year.

So, why should I not feel more safe now than five years ago unless I believe that the Bushies are bungling the War on Terror? Because the terrorists have gained powerful new American allies since 9/11. Democrats, whose initial, and correct, reaction was characterized by Al Franken's demand that terrorists be interrogated with "...a red hot poker up the ass..." have decided that it's to their political advantage to shift their sights towards Bush and the Republicans.

How can anyone feel more safe when one of our major political parties has decided that the greater danger to America is their own countrymen, who happen not to share all of their political views?

How can anyone feel safer when two Ivy League universities actively collaborate with our enemies, admitting Taliban members and providing a platform and credibility to representatives of tyrannical regimes?

How can anyone feel safer when the New York Times, one of the patrons of this very poll, feels comfortable betraying their own country by publishing classified documents relating to active counter-terrorism programs?