An Associated Press poll taken just after the big welcome-home parades for the gulf war troops found the American people intensely patriotic, with 87 percent saying they were "extremely proud" to be American.
The poll was taken June 12-16, after parades in Washington and New York gave the returning troops a flag-waving tribute.The parades struck 29 percent of those surveyed as too much of a celebration. A majority, 62 percent, considered the parades about the right amount of celebration, and 8 percent said they were not enough.
The telephone poll of 1,004 adults was taken by ICR Survey Research Group of Media, Pa. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Ninety percent said they were proud of what the United States accomplished in Operation Desert Storm, and 95 percent deemed the U.S. military effort successful.
An even greater number, 97 percent, said they were either extremely proud or somewhat proud to be American.
The 97 percent figure was unchanged from a poll the Roper Organization took 10 years ago. But the AP poll showed 87 percent "extremely proud," compared with 81 percent a decade ago.
"The fact is that patriotism is not dead," said Joseph H. Flom, co-chairman of New York's parade. "I think maybe it is telling us it is time to feel good about some things rather than just beating ourselves about the head."
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(Additional information)
Associated Press Poll
War Homecoming Hoopla
Q: What about the welcome home parades the troops are receiving? Are they too much of a celebration not enough of a celebration, or about the right amount of celebration?
Too much: 29%
Not enough: 8%
About the right amount: 62%
No answer: 1%
Source: AP poll taken June 12-16 by IRC Survey Research Group of Media, Pa.