Obamadummies...

(Thanks Steve M. for send via email!)

This is from Jack Kelly's column in last Sunday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It makes some critical points, and I hope you'll forward it widely. (http://post-gazette.com/forum/)

A Zogby poll released last week casts doubt on the notion it's conservatives who reflect stupidity and ignorance. Mr. Zogby asked a dozen questions of 512 Obama supporters, 55 percent of whom have college degrees.

.• 94 percent correctly identified Sarah Palin as the candidate with a pregnant teenage daughter;
• 87 percent identified Ms. Palin as the candidate who said she "could see Russia from her house;"

• 86 percent identified Ms. Palin as the candidate associated with a $150,000 wardrobe purchased by her political party;

• 81 percent chose John McCain as the candidate who was unable to identify the number of houses he owned;

• 81 percent knew it was Barack Obama who said the government should redistribute the wealth;

• 53 percent knew it was Joe Biden who predicted that Mr. Obama would be tested by a generated international crisis during his first six months as president;

• 44 percent knew that it was Mr. Obama who started his political career in the home of two former members of the Weather Underground;

• 43 percent knew that Democrats controlled both the House and Senate

;• 28 percent knew it was Mr. Biden who had to quit an earlier campaign for president because he plagiarized a speech;

• 23 percent knew it was Mr. Obama who claimed to have campaigned in 57 states;

• 17 percent knew that it was Mr. Obama who won his first election by getting all of his opponents removed from the ballot

;• 12 percent knew it was Mr. Obama who said his energy policies likely would bankrupt the coal industry.

Only 46 percent of the Obama supporters were able to answer half or more of the questions correctly.

Apart from the appallingly low percentage of Obama supporters who could answer the basic civics question of which party controls Congress, the results reflect more what the news media chose to emphasize in their reporting than the awareness of respondents.

What the news media chose to emphasize was trivia, slanted against the Republicans in general, Ms. Palin in particular, not all of which was true. (Ms. Palin never said she "could see Russia from her house." That quote came from Tina Fey, who impersonated her on "Saturday Night Live.")

That Sen. Obama said his energy policy would bankrupt the coal industry is rather more important than Ms. Palin's wardrobe, but if the news media chose not to report it (and most did not), then the Obama supporters polled can't be blamed for not knowing it.

The poll was commissioned by conservative documentary filmmaker John Ziegler ("The Path to 9/11"). Random post-election interviews he'd done with a dozen Obama supporters indicated a deplorable lack of knowledge, and he wanted to see how widespread it was.

Liberals assert that if McCain-Palin supporters were asked the same questions, they'd display a comparable level of ignorance. Mr. Ziegler has a wager for them. If a liberal commissions the same poll of McCain supporters and they do not score significantly better than the Obama supporters did, then Mr. Ziegler will pay the cost of the poll.

But if McCain-Palin supporters do significantly better, then the liberal must reimburse Mr. Ziegler for the cost of the original poll. I doubt Mr. Ziegler will get any takers.

Jack Kelly is a columnist for the Post-Gazette (jkelly@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1476).

A walk with a friend and a talk about politics

I was walking with a friend yesterday trying to jiggle off a few stubborn pounds. The discussion turned to politics, which is not surprising if I'm walking and talking. Usually I'm the one who weaves it into a conversation, but this time my friend brought it up by saying things were looking bad for John McCain.

As the conversation progressed I realized she was a lightweight, typical voter. She only knew what she saw in the headlines and on the news. She was a surface skimmer.

It is scary to think about how many people across the country are thinking they know enough to vote based on what is spoon-fed to them by the main stream media. Very scary.

How do you get the word out when the media is blocking your every move? How do you reach people who only care about where they're going for dinner tonight or which show they'll watch on TV?

I talked with her at length about things, but I could tell she just thought I was a wonk. She didn't buy into some of the things I said, which is OK as I do understand that when you start talking about the media blocking and turning the news that it starts to sound like your a conspiracy theorist or going over the edge.

The good news is that she is voting for John McCain despite it all. I hope there are lots like her who will overlook the brainwashing and stand on principle.