In a September 2008 NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, only 10% of Americans said that abortion should be illegal in all circumstances. Another 37% said it should be illegal with some exceptions. On the other side, 49% said it should either be legal, or legal with certain exceptions. The overall breakdown was 49%-47%. That reflects a fairly evenly divided nation, but one in which a very small minority favors a total ban.
A February 2009 Rasmussen Poll found that 40% of the people think marijuana should be legalized while 46% do not. Forty-eight percent of men favor legalization, while only 34% of women agree.
Why do I mention this? Because both the issue of legal abortion and the issue of legal marijuana are deeply contentious issues that nearly equally divide the country. But the opponents of legal abortion have an entire political party in Washington to reflect their views while virtually no one in Washington reflects the views of people that want legal marijuana. It is perfectly serious to say you oppose abortion in all cases even though only one in ten Americans hold that view. But say that marijuana should be legal and the press says you have a Cheech and Chong sense of humor.
Whether you support the legalization of marijuana or not, it’s a bizarre situation where 40% of the people hold that view and yet they can’t find anyone to take their position seriously. Obama’s early drug policies have been pretty good (I’d give him a B-minus, up from a ‘F’ for the last six presidents). But he flatly rejected any economic merit in legalization today during an online town-hall meeting. He’s wrong about that, but I understand that he has enough on his plate right now and doesn’t need to be seen as part of the Jay and Silent Bob Caucus. Nonetheless, his response was a disappointment. It seems like draconian and self-defeating drug laws are surpassed only by unthinking support for Israel in the things that are distorted beyond recognition in Washington DC.
