Exactly how stupid are Americans? Very, very stupid. By now you've seen the recent poll which finds that a third of Americans mistakenly believe that WMDs were found in Iraq, and about 22 percent think Iraq actually used WMDs during the war.
Sounds bad, right? But to put these figures into some perspective, courtesy a quick visit over to PollingReport.com, below are a few numbers, all pulled from recent major polls:
Of American adults, at least 18 years of age...
65% couldn't describe the basic facts about Watergate 56% think in war, the media should support the government over questioning it 48% say the news media acted responsibly during the Clinton Wars 45% characterized Watergate was "just politics" 43% attended religious services in the previous 7 days 40% believe the media was biased in favor of Bill Clinton 35% say the government should not fund stem cell research 34% think Rock and Roll has had an overall negative impact on America 33% believe a wife should "submit herself graciously" to a husband 30% say the Bible is the "actual word of God" to be taken literally 29% think people will be "more likely" to afford college for their kids in 2020 28% disapprove of labor unions on principle 28% say the government should have the right to control news reports 27% believe divorce is "morally wrong" 26% thought various disasters in 1999 might "foreshadow the wrath of God" 26% think grade-school teachers should be allowed to spank their kids 24% describe themselves as interested in what celebrities think 21% told a pollster they'd never met that they had cheated in a relationship 21% say justice was served in the O.J. Simpson case 20% approve of the how the Catholic Church handles pedophilia 20% believe that the killing of civilians in Vietnam was "relatively rare" 15% were upset at Diana Spencer's death like "someone you knew" 12% think the United States should have a British-style royal family 11% stockpiled food and water in advance of Y2K 11% think "Titanic" was the best American movie of the 20th century 11% would like "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" as their personal physician 10% would eat a rat or an insect on a "reality" TV show 10% think it's advantageous to be a woman in American society 10% believe Oswald acted alone 10% say they are "very likely" to become rich someday 8% could not name a single TV network 8% fear they are "very likely" to be shot or badly hurt by a stranger 7% think Elvis is possibly still alive 6% say Garth Brooks is the best male singer of the 20th century 5% are "very afraid" of thunder and lightning 5% would be "more likely" to buy food labeled as genetically modified 3% wanted to see the questions on "Millionaire" become less difficult
So... what to make of all this?
1) Americans will say pretty much any/every damn thing anyone can imagine. A measurable percentage of people will always choose every one of the possible answers in any survey.
2) Looking at all the other opinions floating around 20 percent, the extent of lunatic public perceptions of WMDs is surprisingly low, given the constant drumbeat of bullshit coming out of the White House and megaphoned by Fox and the rest of the press over the past year.
3) About the same number of people who think it's an advantage to be a woman in America would also eat a rat on live TV. Clearly, the ladies have more work to do with the whole gender-equality thing.
4) Speaking of social progress, there sure seems to be a remarkably consistent hardcore of about 25-30 percent who seem to be living in an alternate reality or maybe frozen in time back in the late 19th century. Beatings by teachers as a form of education? Wives submitting for sex graciously? Vengeful gods screwing around with the weather? Approval of the way the Catholic Church handles Pedophiles?
Did these responses come from a fairly large cross-section of the people surveyed, or did just 25-30 percent of the people give mostly all of the above responses? Gallup really ought to quiz these people in a little more detail.
So one-third of Americans mistakenly think we found WMDs? Great. We can work with that. After looking at these numbers, I'm just relieved 30 percent don't think Saddam's guardian angel is looming in some vengeful stormfront, ready to deflower the womenfolk, lead our children into Satan's bosom, and force the menfolk to read poetry books and study the Koran.
