Saturday, January 14, 2012

The public knows little about the Republican field and the nominating process

This continues is an ongoing theme on this blog. Do people have the knowledge necessary to make the decisions necessary to sustain a democratic republic? What do we know and what do we not know?

More bad news from the Pew Research Center - via the Washington Post:

A new Pew Research Center poll suggests that most voters have little idea about even the most basic facts regarding the backgrounds of the men seeking the Republican presidential nomination this year.

Pretty basic stuff right? Um, no.

Just 43 percent of all registered voters — these people are actually registered to vote — got at least three of those questions right.


Upcoming students ought to be prepared to discuss whether this presents a real problem.

Here's a chart from the Pew report: