Apparently you can't fool all of the American people all of the time

I was delighted to read that, despite the media's obsession with Abu Ghraib and Gitmo, Americans know that they are blessed with an unusually brave, honorable and effective military. How else to explain a Gallup poll showing this:

The American public has more confidence in the military than in any other institution, according to a Gallup poll released this week. Seventy-four percent of those surveyed in Gallup’s 2005 confidence poll said they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the military - more than in a full range of other government, religious, economic, medical, business and news organizations. The poll, conducted between May 23 and 26, involved telephone interviews with a randomly selected sample of 1,004 people 18 and older, Gallup officials said. Those surveyed expressed strong confidence in the military, with 42 percent expressing “a great deal” of confidence in the military and 32 percent, “quite a lot” of confidence. Eighteen percent said they have “some” confidence, 7 percent, “very little,” and 1 percent, “none.” Public confidence in the military jumped following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and has remained consistently high, Gallup officials noted. The 2002 survey reflected a 13 percent increase in confidence in the military over the previous year’s poll. The public expressed a 79 percent high-confidence rate in the military in 2002, an 82 percent rate in 2003, and a 75 percent rate in 2004. This year’s 74 percent confidence level exceeded that of all 15 institutions included in the 2005 survey. Police ranked second, with 63 percent of responders expressing “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in them. Organized religion rated third, with 53 percent of responders expressing high confidence, and banks rated a 49 percent high-confidence rate. Health maintenance organizations bottomed out the list, with just 17 percent of responders expressing high confidence in them. Big business and Congress tied for the second- and third-lowest rankings, with 22 percent of responders expressing “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in them. The Gallup organization noted that public trust in television news and newspapers reached an all-time low this year, with 28 percent of responders expressing high confidence in them.

Many thanks to Curt at Flopping Aces for bringing this really uplifting information to my attention. And many thanks, of course, to all of you in the military for helping make me and my family feel safe in our own home, in our own country. UPDATE: Phibian reminds me that the Solomon Amendment, which I mentioned in my previous post is on the Supreme Court's menu for the upcoming term. Am I the only one who finds it ironic that, just as the American people have more faith in the military than in any other American institution, our taxpayer funded educational institutions are refusing to allow military recruiters on campus?