Associated Press
ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. (AP) - The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks shook Americans in a dramatic way, just as Pearl Harbor and President Kennedy's assassination affected earlier generations, public-opinion researchers say.
The researchers compared notes over the weekend about the many ways the attacks have sharply altered the landscape of public opinion.
The public's sense of personal security hasn't returned, said Michael Traugott of the University of Michigan, and the continuing terrorist threat is contributing to the sustained anxiety.
The return of the public's sense of personal security is very difficult given the Bush administration's dual chores, Traugott said.
"They're trying to help Americans feel better and they are continually talking about the need for vigilance and staying on alert," he said. "This is a confusing and confounding message for the American people."
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Researchers looked at the effects of the attacks from many different angles during the meeting of the American Association for Public Opinion Research.
"This is a lifetime marker for an entire generation, the same way Pearl Harbor was in the 1940s and the assassination of President Kennedy was in the 1960s," Traugott said.
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