SACRAMENTO, CA - While protesters clog the streets of San Francisco and a group calling itself Direct Action to Stop the War tries to block supply shipments to our troops, a full 76 percent of Californians support the war, according to an April 7 Field Poll. In the San Francisco Bay Area, 66 percent support the war. These figures challenge some media stereotypes.

Protesters have been portrayed as mainstream folks, soccer moms, and the like. That they are nothing of the kind could easily be verified by a trip to San Francisco, but the poll numbers further dispel the notion. The protesters, by and large, are people of the left and there is good reason why they are making a lot of noise.

It's not quite right to call them "anti-war" demonstrators. Conflicts abound, nuclear saber-rattling between India and Pakistan, for example, but these fail to draw the anti-war crowd into the streets. That is because the players count more than the conflict. For the more vocal types, the key is a conflict through which the United States can be denounced.

By continuing to allow private acts of capitalism between consenting adults, and by not having a command economy, government medical care, universal pre-school, tax rates of 75 percent, and eternal welfare programs, the U.S. fails to conform to the wish list of the left. Since, by the left's standard, the nation lacks "social justice," whenever the United States acts in the world it cannot possibly be legitimate. The left, therefore, reaches for a bullhorn and leaps to the barricades.

Denouncing the United States and proclaiming opposition to war may make one feel more righteous than others but the actual contribution to peace remains an open question. As Vietnam confirms, mass demonstrations can easily encourage the other side to fight even harder.

On the other hand, the war has been great for the local bumper sticker industry, most of them in the genre of NO WAR IN IRAQ, now somewhat dated, and NO BLOOD FOR OIL. This more classic piece of ignorance reflects the belief that whenever something bad happens, anywhere in the world, a nefarious American corporation must be behind it, perhaps in league with the CIA.

Some journalistic scout could find out who manufactures these bumper stickers and what kind of profits the companies are turning. Likewise, when demonstrations take place, a reporter could find out exactly what these people do for a living. How many are on unemployment or welfare? How many, like one San Francisco reporter, called in sick in order to block an intersection?

Even in an age of high-tech weapons, war remains destructive and costly. All wars, including the one in Iraq, must be open to criticism. That criticism should be informed, nuanced, and morally responsible. Those qualities are seldom captured in a bumper sticker or by enraged demonstrators blocking intersections in San Francisco.