Molly Ivins is beside herself that Americans would think for themselves and not go along with what the papers report.

According to a poll conducted by The New York Times and CBS, 42 percent of Americans believe that Saddam Hussein of Iraq was personally responsible for the attacks on the World Trade Center, something that has never even been claimed by the Bush administration.

According to a poll conducted by ABC, 55 percent believe that Saddam gives direct support to al Qaeda, a claim that has been made by the administration but for which no evidence has ever been presented. President Bush has lately modified the claim to "al Qaeda-type" organizations.

This is how well journalism has done its job in the months leading up to this war. A disgraceful performance.

People don't need reporters to tell them what to think. Ivins and Dowd are notorious for this type of voice of the nation drivel.

Among other things, these monster misimpressions have poisoned the public's debate, which is not now and has not been for many months whether to "do something" or "do nothing" about Saddam. The debate is over whether containment will work better than invasion, given the enormous cost (both monetarily and diplomatically) of invasion and then occupation.

The people who are for Iraq liberation have been poisoned and must be uninformed. The rest is not worth commenting on except the Helen Thomas angle which upset Miss Ivins:

A final note on matters journalistic: At his news conference last week, George W. Bush broke a 43-year tradition by failing to call on Helen Thomas, now of the Hearst Syndicate, who has been asking questions at presidential news conferences since 1960. Thomas is openly critical of this administration, and particularly of this war.

Afraid to take a question from an 82-year-old woman? Bush has no class. Equally disgusting was the White house press corps' failure to respond to the insult. What makes that bunch of smug chumps think it won't be done to any one of them?

Bush was not afraid to take the question. He probably did Ms. Thomas an enormous favor by stopping her from making a fool of herself in front of millions of people.