Why Does Half the Country STILL Support Bush?

The nuns told us in grade school that when we die all the great mysteries of life will become apparent to us -- well, I've got quite a list! Currently at the top of my list is why, given all that's happened in the past 4 years would ANYONE much less half the country still support Bush? I can't understand how he even fills a stump speach site much less polls as high as he does.

Check out the above link -- the University of Maryland today released the results of their research and found:

• 75% of Bush supporters still believe Iraq had WMD or major program, and supported al Qaeda AND believe that support was found.
• Bush supporters also misperceive World Public as Not opposed to Iraq War.

But it gets worse: Majorities incorrectly assume that Bush supports multilateral approaches to various international issues--

• the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (69%),
• the treaty banning land mines (72%)--and
• for addressing the problem of global warming: 51% incorrectly assume he favors US participation in the Kyoto treaty.
• After he denounced the International Criminal Court in the debates, the perception that he favored it dropped from 66%, but still 53% continue to believe that he favors it.
• An overwhelming 74% incorrectly assumes that he favors including labor and environmental standards in trade agreements.

In all these cases, majorities of Bush supporters favor the positions they impute to Bush. In other words they believe in the same things Democrats do and are projecting these beliefs onto Bush -- even through the evidence is irrefutable that they are wrong.

This wasn't an old study -- they did their research in October and September! This is scary stuff.