The backlash and public outcry over the Transportation Security Agency’s new procedures has reached a new low, with a recent Rasmussen poll showing that 51 percent of airplane travelers think airport security is “good or excellent,” a significant drop in support from recent polling.
Following the pre-Thanksgiving outcry over the TSA, approval of the agency’s new security procedures dropped 17 points from 81 percent in mid-November to 64 percent just before the country’s busiest travel day.
The Rasmussen poll found that among those who travel at least once a year, however, 75 percent think requiring some passengers to undergo the full-body scans or intrusive pat downs is acceptable. The wording of the Rasmussen questions differs from the poll CBS conducted last week.
The latest Rasmussen poll asked if respondents are comfortable with “some passengers” receiving a pat down. In addition to a general question about pat-downs, the CBS poll offered a detailed description of that pat down, saying an agent would search areas “including sensitive areas such as the groin and breast.”
When put in graphic, personal terms, 50 percent of people said in last week’s CBS poll that the new pat-down procedures go too far.