Obama Defends Closing Gitmo

President Obama said today he's sticking with his decision to close the Guantanamo Bay prison in a year, although he's meeting resistance from both Republicans and some members of his own party. Surveys show that while about half the public is consistently in favor of keeping Gitmo operating, this issue is not the top priority for the public right now.

In an April CBS/New York Times survey, fifty percent said the prison should stay open, a number that's essentially held steady since 2006. The number who say it should close has increased, however, from 34 percent in 2006 to 41 percent now. In January, when President Obama first announced his decision, Gallup found similar numbers: 45 percent said the prison should continue while 35 percent said it should close.

U.S. Navy guards escort a detainee through Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

But Gallup pollsters also found a considerable 20 percent who said they didn't know, when asked this question: Do you think the U.S. should, or should not, close the prison at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba? Survey results about the prison historically show big shifts based on question wording, which is always a warning sign that public attitudes may be unsettled.

In this case, there are big-picture considerations that may heavily shape how the public thinks about this problem.

First, not everything can be on the front burner for the public at the same time. Right now, the economy is the public's overwhelming concern, and terrorism has become relatively less important in surveys. In last month's CBS/Times survey, six in 10 Americans said the economy and jobs were the most important problems facing the nation, compared to only 2 percent who said terrorism. Other surveys consistently find the same pattern.

This doesn't mean that people don't care about terrorism as a threat, or that they're unaffected by the debate in Washington. And another attack might change the whole picture. But it does mean that the economy concerns Americans much more right now, and that means they are likely less interested in Guantanamo.

That's going to affect how people engage in this issue, particularly since the public still doesn't seem to have reached firm conclusions about many of the key questions involved in terrorism and civil liberties. Surveys show contradictions in public thinking and signs that people haven't "worked through" the implications on a range of related problems. That means the real responsibility lies with leaders to engage the public in the debate over what keeps us secure, what's fair, and what strikes the right balance.