I rarely get this impression that such a large percentage of the population have these feelings, but then I don't always read the newspapers, nor do I watch television.

What I get the impression of is that the media in general has a tendancy to blow these things out of proportion. I know there are numbers and equations which define the poll as "60%" of Albertans, but was it 60% of people asked, or 60% of Albertans.

Which Albertans were called. Was it a certain subdivision? Area code? City or rural? Were the numbers from a specific call list, and whose?

Another thing which bothers me is why this is being brought out? Was the poll published and then mentioned? Was the poll requested by the media and the results publicised because they fit their needs? Were there other questions and answres which came out of the poll?

All these questions which would help define the legitimacy of the question and results. For now, personally, this sounds like a story which is being published for a reason, and the reason itself may be a bit suspect.

(I've answered many questions from the media personnel in Edmonton, largely due to where I live and how much I walk around. They rarely have my responses unless it matches their intended results. It's interesting to watch and listen to their interviews and then see the slant they portray when the story is aired.)

With all the changes in the political strata of both Canada and Alberta (or changes to come over the next while) bringing a general feeling of disatisfaction up in the paper seems to be a bit of... well, 'fearmongering' is the closest I can come up with right now.