Large Swaths of the American Public Are Ignoramuses
Liberal blogosphere has already jump all over the fact that 39% of the American public believe the government should stay out of the beloved government agency Medicare. My concern is that only 90% believe the fiftieth state admitted to the Union believes Hawaii is part of the United States.
6% of the respondents deny that Hawaii is part of the United States, while another 4% taking the Hamlet route and are unsure of the state's being... well a state. 4% and 6% seem like far too small of numbers to be concerned about, but 10% either denying or unsure about 1.2 Million U.S. citizens status as citizens is disconcerting. 10% of Americans is 30 Million people, not a population you could really ignore. 39% being ignorant of the fact that Medicare should also bring shame to our national pride (especially since those 39% respondents are likely the ones that are quick to claim we are smartest, richest, best in everything country in the world), but confusing a government agency with private insurance is a little more understandable since Medicare pays private service providers and it is the private service providers are in direct contact with the public while Medicare exists several degrees of separation away from the end user. 30 million Americans not knowing enough about their own country shocks me.
With this response I would have like to seen the same poll have asked whether Alaska is part of America? The Hawaii question was the first of a string of questions leading to ferret out how many 'birthers' really are out there, and where do the 'birthers' believe President Obama was born. My question far any of these 30 million or any 'birther' conspiracy theorists, do they believe that Panama is part of the U.S.? Why would I ask that non-sequitur question? Well because that is where 2008 GOP nominee for president John McCain was born. Panama being one of the rare examples of former U.S. territory being handed back.
If birthers can't believe Hawaii is a state, or that the state's department of health issued a certificate of live birth for Barack Hussein Obama, or that 2 newspapers in Hawaii independently issued birth notices contemporary to the president's birth; how would they contain the possibility that John McCain was constitutionally eligible for the office of the president but not Barack Obama who was born in a state that is still part of the U.S.?
6% of the respondents deny that Hawaii is part of the United States, while another 4% taking the Hamlet route and are unsure of the state's being... well a state. 4% and 6% seem like far too small of numbers to be concerned about, but 10% either denying or unsure about 1.2 Million U.S. citizens status as citizens is disconcerting. 10% of Americans is 30 Million people, not a population you could really ignore. 39% being ignorant of the fact that Medicare should also bring shame to our national pride (especially since those 39% respondents are likely the ones that are quick to claim we are smartest, richest, best in everything country in the world), but confusing a government agency with private insurance is a little more understandable since Medicare pays private service providers and it is the private service providers are in direct contact with the public while Medicare exists several degrees of separation away from the end user. 30 million Americans not knowing enough about their own country shocks me.With this response I would have like to seen the same poll have asked whether Alaska is part of America? The Hawaii question was the first of a string of questions leading to ferret out how many 'birthers' really are out there, and where do the 'birthers' believe President Obama was born. My question far any of these 30 million or any 'birther' conspiracy theorists, do they believe that Panama is part of the U.S.? Why would I ask that non-sequitur question? Well because that is where 2008 GOP nominee for president John McCain was born. Panama being one of the rare examples of former U.S. territory being handed back.
If birthers can't believe Hawaii is a state, or that the state's department of health issued a certificate of live birth for Barack Hussein Obama, or that 2 newspapers in Hawaii independently issued birth notices contemporary to the president's birth; how would they contain the possibility that John McCain was constitutionally eligible for the office of the president but not Barack Obama who was born in a state that is still part of the U.S.?
Labels: Barack Obama, birther movement, Hawaii, ignorance, John McCain, Medicare, polling
posted by Finnerty at
8/20/2009 09:53:00 AM
|
0 comments
