Poll: Californians Split on Protests

A new Field Poll says California residents are split over whether anti-war protesters should be marching while American soldiers are fighting and dying in Iraq.

The San Francisco-based pollsters say today that 48% of those questioned feel protest marches and anti-war rallies are bad, while 43% disagreed. 47% say Americans who participate in the protests are being unpatriotic, while 39%disagreed.

Supporters and opponents of the war see the protests very differently. While 58%of those backing the war in Iraq are convinced the protests are bad for America, 78% percent of the war€™s opponents say rallies and marches are good for the country.

Stands on the war also affect the way people perceive the media€™s role. Overall, 61% of those surveyed believe the media is doing a good or excellent job.

The results are based on a telephone survey of 1,006 California adults conducted April 1st through the 6th. There´s a sampling error of plus or minus 4.5%.