>Venus Williams remarked the other day that she wasn't really
>aware of what was going on in New Orleans. And there are far more of her
>than there are of those obsessed with the daily news.
<http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=255>
Iraq Overshadowed
Seven-in-ten Americans say they have paid very close attention to news of the hurricane's impact, somewhat fewer than very closely followed reports on the 9/11 terrorist attacks (74%). But another major news story has attracted as much public interest; as gas prices have shot up so has public attention to news reports on the topic (71% very closely).
The public's attentiveness to these two stories has overshadowed interest in other major events - notably the war in Iraq and the nomination of John Roberts as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Only about a third say they paid very close attention to the situation in Iraq, despite high levels of American, and especially Iraqi, casualties in recent weeks. This marks the lowest level of public attention to news from Iraq since the start of the war.
Just 18% have paid very close attention to Roberts' nomination as chief justice of the United States, and the lack of public interest shows in people's evaluations of the nominee. By a 35% to 19% margin, more say they believe Roberts should be confirmed than say he should not, but nearly half (46%) volunteer no opinion on the matter. Similarly, while 20% say they are concerned that Roberts is too conservative, 39% are not concerned about his ideology and more than a third (36%) have no opinion on the question. Even among Democrats, more are uncertain on both of these questions than express opposition to or concern about Roberts' confirmation.