Personally, I have no acquaintance (here in Calif.) who believes an attack on Iraq is the appropriate option. There is a phenomenon of broad acceptance that in times of conflict, showing solidarity with the government is warranted. (This is reinforced in the presence of external criticism.) Perhaps, and I'd like to naively believe, it is the same old phenomenon that we now witness in the bulk of the commercial media, unchanged in character from prior similar circumstances. It may be traditional that internal dissent in times of near crisis is voiced primarily through alternative channels. This is a much more comforting than believing we are entering a new era of MCarthyesque nationalism.

Now, if (?) the media is reporting "overwhelming support" which does not exist, the question of culpability for such misinformation is large, but amorphous. "The media" is far from monolithic. Lack of professionalism? Exacerbated by corporate control? I don't know. . . .