Another diary entry by Kim.
Americans love polls. And polls love politics. Here are some polling Q&A that made my head hurt:
• Over one-third of Americans believe that America is 'not ready' for a woman president. (CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll, December 2006) Is there something wrong with women that I don't know about?
• 41% of Americans would not vote for a presidential candidate if s/he were homosexual, even if s/he were well-qualified (Gallup Poll, December 2007). According to a 2006 Gallup Poll, 91% of Americans say that they believe that America is 'not ready' for a gay or lesbian president. (Incidentally, another poll [CNN/ORC Poll, May 2007] found that 71% of Americans feel that policies towards gays and lesbians are either "Moderately Important" [30%] or "Not That Important" [41%]!)
• 48% of Americans would not vote for an atheist. (Gallup Poll, December 2007)
• 45% of Americans say they would be 'less likely' to vote for a presidential candidate if they were Muslim. (Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, and pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, August, 2007)
• Americans are 'less likely' to vote for a Mormon (29%) than someone who's been divorced twice (26%). (ABC News/Washington Post Poll, February 2007).
• 14% of Americans say that political lobbyists have 'too little' power and influence in Washington D.C. 18% think nonprofit organizations have 'too much' power and influence. (Harris Poll, February, 2007)
• 58% of Americans feel that corruption is 'widespread' in Washington. (CBS News/New York Times Poll, October 2006)
• When asked "How much of what is said in commercials for or against a political candidate do you believe?", 69% of Americans answered with 'not much' or 'nothing at all'.
• A CBS news poll (January 2008) asked the question: "Which one is more important to you in a presidential candidate: having the right experience, or having fresh ideas?" Most Democrats favored 'fresh ideas' while most Republicans favored "right experience". I don't think this is a good poll because it did not provide alternative choices such as "stale ideas" or "wrong experience", or even various permutations of the above - for example, "the right experience with wrong ideas", which is what I would have selected had I been polled.
Okay, I lie down now. ~kk.