New Jerseyans less worried about terrorism than are NYC residents

When it comes to terrorism, a river makes a difference. Residents of northern New Jersey are less worried about terrorists attacking the area where they live than people in New York City and a more favorable opinion of how President Bush handled the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to an AP-Ipsos poll. Half of those surveyed in the northern 12 counties approved of Bush’s performance, including Thomas Martin, a retired police officer in Washington Township, Bergen County, compared to about 30 percent of New Yorkers, and nearly 60 percent of respondents around the country. ``I think he’s doing the best he can, considering the circumstances,’’ said Martin, 61, an independent voter. ``It seems like it’s his fault for everything. I’m surprised they’re not blaming this hurricane in Florida on him.’’ The attitudes of the New Jersey residents are similar to those of people surveyed around the nation, but differ on a number of issues with their neighbors across the Hudson River in New York, the poll found. Two-thirds of New Yorkers surveyed said they were concerned that terrorists might attack where they live, a view shared by only 40 percent of those in New Jersey and about 30 percent of the nation. ``I’m a little more frightened for my grandchildren’s safety than I would have been years ago,’’ said Harriett Steinberg, 78, whose two teen grandchildren both live in New Jersey. At the same time, the retired school teacher is among New Jerseyans who disapprove of Bush’s actions after the attacks. ``I think he lied. Lied about weapons of mass destruction being there. They were never there,’’ said Steinberg, of Union Township, Union County. ``I truly believe it was all about oil and economics and dominance and the region.’’ As a result, ``We’re much more of a target,’’ she said. ``I think we are viewed as a greedy society without concern for the world.’’ Considering Bush’s overall approval rating in New Jersey - 35 percent - his 50 percent approval rating for post-Sept. 11 actions illustrates that the president can still appeal to some Democrats in the state, which has a Democratic governor and U.S. senators. Those include Debbie Sunyak, who said she is generally pleased with his performance. ``He went out on a limb as far as security, trying to take security measures to another level, and that was good,’’ said Sunyak, 44, of Budd Lake, Morris County, a married mother of two. Her concerns about terror have ebbed in the five years since the Sept. 11 attacks, although the arrests for an airliner bomb plot in London brought them again to the fore. ``It’s not that we forget, it’s just that it’s not as fresh,’’ Sunyak said. Nearly half of those surveyed in New Jersey said they have thought about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the past few months, about the same as those polled nationally, but far fewer than New York City, where it has been on the minds of two-thirds of the residents. ``I think about it more often than I used to, and more often than I prefer,’’ said Michael McClain, the president of a software company. ``I fly a lot, and it’s a constant reminder wherever you travel.’’ McClain, 57, of Basking Ridge, Somerset County, said he has concerns that future attacks would affect New Jersey. ``Our area would be engulfed,’’ because of strategic sites in New York and Philadelphia, he said. ``I can’t imagine that we would not be impacted by that in a very significant way.’’