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Daily Snapshot

National Survey of 1,000 Likely Voters

Conducted December 30, 2009

By Rasmussen Reports

1*Some people say that there is a natural tension between protecting individual rights and national security. In the United States today, does our legal system worry too much about protecting individual rights, too much about protecting national security, or is the balance about right?

43% Legal system worries too much about protecting individual rights

17% Legal system worries too much about protecting national security

28% Balance is about right

12% Not sure

2* In light of the recent attempt to blow up an airliner as it was landing in Detroit, should the United States take full control of security measures at foreign airports so that anyone flying to the U.S. would have to go through U.S. security?

54% Yes

29% No

16% Not sure





3* Should the attempt to blow up the airliner be investigated by military authorities as a terrorist act or by civilian authorities as a criminal act?



71% By the military as a terrorist act

22% By civilian authorities as a criminal act

7% Not sure



4* Should waterboarding and other aggressive interrogation techniques be used to gain information from the suspected bomber?

58% Yes

30% No

12% Not sure



5* How do you rate the U.S. government’s response to the attempted airline bombing – excellent, good, fair or poor?

5% Excellent

29% Good

27% Fair

35% Poor

4% Not sure

NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence