A July 4th Poll: the Politics of Americans
During the week of June 22-29, 2008, the GJBJ conducted a poll via the Internet. The GJBJ asked a series of questions regarding politics and history in questionnaire form. Most of the questions were of the fill in the blank variety. Some were multiple choice. If a respondent did not know the answer, he/she was instructed to write, “Don’t know.” Some ten thousand Americans responded. Here are the findings:
When asked to name the longest serving president of the United States, over 50 percent of Americans named George W. Bush. Over twenty percent named Bill Clinton. Twelve percent named Ronald Reagan. Five percent named George Washington. Five percent named Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
When asked to name the three nations originally listed on President Bush’s “Axis of Evil” list, 14 percent accurately named North Korea, Iran and Iraq. Over 40 percent of Americans included Russia on the list. Thirty-five percent of Americans included China on the list.
As a follow up: When given the three countries on President Bush’s “Axis of Evil” list and asked to name what country remains on the list to this day, 60 percent named Iraq (even after the fall of Saddam Hussein). Two percent named North Korea (to be fair, this poll took place as President Bush removed North Korea from the list). The remaining 38 percent named Iran.
When asked to identify Karl Rove, and given four choices (a current pundit at the Fox network, a track star who won four gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, election campaign manager for President George W. Bush and others, a past boyfriend of Angelina Jolie), 16 percent chose a “current pundit” at Fox. Fifteen percent chose the “track star” from the Los Angeles Olympics. Four percent chose “election campaign manager.” Sixty-five percent chose “past boyfriend of Angelina Jolie.”
As a follow up: The 65 percent who chose Karl Rove as a past boyfriend of Angelina Jolie were asked to identify Ms. Jolie. With one exception, every respondent named Ms. Jolie as a movie star, or a celebrity. One person even wrote, “The next Elizabeth Taylor.” The one exception: One person named Angelina Jolie as “the Chancellor of Germany.”
When asked to name one head of state in Europe, 6 percent of Americans named Nicolas Sarkozy. Four percent named Vladimir Putin. Two percent named Tony Blair. Prime Minister Gordon Brown received .5 percent. Eighty-five percent of Americans checked, “Don’t know.”
When asked to name on what continent (not what country) Robert Mugabe’s dictatorship reigned, 39 percent of Americans chose Asia. Thirty percent chose South America. Twenty-seven percent chose Africa. Three percent chose North America.
As a follow up: The 3 percent who chose North America as the continent of Robert Mugabe’s dictatorship were asked what country he led. One percent chose Jamaica. Two percent chose Haiti. Three percent chose Panama. Four percent chose Nicaragua. Five percent chose Cuba. Zero percent chose the United States. Zero percent chose Greenland. Eight-five percent checked, “Don’t know.”
When asked to name the most successful secretary of state in this nation’s history, 60 percent of Americans answered, “Don’t know.” Twenty-five percent of Americans named Condoleezza Rice. Five percent of Americans named Thomas Jefferson. Five percent named Henry Kissinger. Two percent named George Marshall. One percent named Dean Acheson. One percent named John Hay. One percent named Donald Rumsfeld.
When asked to identify Scalia, and given four choices (a disease of the esophagus, a Hollywood producer, a Supreme Court Justice, the Pope during World War II), 68 percent of Americans chose “a disease of the esophagus.” Twenty percent chose a “Hollywood producer.” Four percent chose the Pope option. Eight percent chose Scalia as a Supreme Court Justice.
When asked to name a political leader slain within the last year, over 80 percent checked, “Don’t know.” Ten percent named Tim Russert. Four percent named Benazir Bhutto.
When asked to name the president of Iran, 81 percent checked, “Don’t know.” Fourteen percent named Ayatollah Khomeini. Four percent named Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. One percent named Salman Rushdie.
When asked to name the president of Afghanistan, 85 percent checked, “Don’t know.” Ten percent named Ayatollah Khomeini. Two percent named Hamid Karzai. Two percent named Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. One percent named Khaled Hosseini.
When asked to name one (of six) country that borders Iran, 65 percent of Americans wrote, “Don’t know.” Seventeen percent wrote, “Saudi Arabia.” Two percent wrote, “Israel.”
When asked to name one (of six) country that borders Afghanistan, 74 percent of Americans wrote, “Don’t know.” Ten percent named China.
When asked to identify the Taliban, and given four choices (a British punk rock band from the 1970s, the last name of the quarterback-turned-criminal for the Atlanta Falcons, a Sunni Islamic movement that ruled Afghanistan, a nation of all-female warriors from Greek mythology), 72 percent of Americans chose “a British punk rock band.” Sixteen percent chose a “nation of all-female warriors.” Twelve percent chose a “Sunni Islamic movement that ruled Afghanistan.” Zero percent chose the “quarterback-turned-criminal for the Atlanta Falcons.”
As a follow up: When asked to name the quarterback-turned-criminal for the Atlanta Falcons, nearly 95 percent chose Michael Vick.
When asked the skin color of senator and presidential aspirant Barack Obama, 38 percent said, “African-American.” Thirty-eight percent said, “Black.” Twelve percent said, “Other.” Ten percent said, “Don’t know.” Two percent said, “Kenyan.”
When asked the skin color of senator and presidential aspirant John McCain, 69 percent said, “White.” Twenty-four percent said, “Caucasian.” Five percent said, “Other.” Two percent said, “Vietnamese.”
When asked to name the current governor of California, 70 percent of Americans checked, “Don’t know.” Nineteen percent named John McCain. Eleven percent named Arnold Schwarzenegger.
When asked to name the actor who played the terminator, 100 percent of Americans named Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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