The polls weren't so fickle in the Second World War, despite Tony Snow's comparison. Of course, that could be because less of the brutality was reported by a treacherous MSM; but it seems to me that that might be counterbalanced by the fact that far more Americans had loved ones directly in the line of fire then than do now. It could also be that Americans respond to steady, competent, candid leadership in wartime. And they also respond to its opposite.