… While both Republicans and Democrats in Congress have labeled Mr. Snowden a traitor, the American public apparently disagrees. In a national poll from Quinnipiac University released Wednesday, voters said by 55 percent to 34 percent that he was a whistle-blower, not a traitor.
The poll showed that the view of Mr. Snowden as a whistle-blower predominated among nearly every subgroup, regardless of political party, gender, income, education or age. The concerns about privacy and government power raised by the N.S.A. disclosures do not break down along conventional ideological lines, with libertarian-leaning Republicans and Democrats alike questioning the surveillance. …
Peter D. Feaver, a political-science professor at Duke who studies public opinion and foreign policy, said that “it would be a mistake to say that the public has a settled and coherent view” on the surveillance programs a month after they were disclosed. But he said that sympathy for Mr. Snowden appeared to be growing. [cont.]
Scott Shane, New York Times
Recent polls: Counter-terrorism and surveillance