Survey - Race Is Close B/C Most People May Not Know Difference Between McCain and Obama

[Median Democrat]

I am sure as McCain's lies continue to be exposed, people will eventually ask, "Why is Obama not ahead?" I also bet people will ask, "Why does McCain keep on stealing Obama's lines? Doesn't that make McCain look stupid?"

Well, the answer is that the McCain's campaign knows its audience and it is doing its best to create confusion regarding the candidates, the parties, and the positions they stand for. This is why McCain lies shamelessly; because he knows he can probably get away with it, particularly with a relatively docile news media that is afraid to be branded sexist or biased.

http://people-press.org/report/319/public-knowledge-of-current-affairs-little-changed-by-news-and-information-revolutions

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Since the late 1980s, the emergence of 24-hour cable news as a dominant news source and the explosive growth of the internet have led to major changes in the American public's news habits. But a new nationwide survey finds that the coaxial and digital revolutions and attendant changes in news audience behaviors have had little impact on how much Americans know about national and international affairs.

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On average, today's citizens are about as able to name their leaders, and are about as aware of major news events, as was the public nearly 20 years ago. The new survey includes nine questions that are either identical or roughly comparable to questions asked in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 2007, somewhat fewer were able to name their governor, the vice president, and the president of Russia, but more respondents than in the earlier era gave correct answers to questions pertaining to national politics.

In 1989, for example, 74% could come up with Dan Quayle's name when asked who the vice president is. Today, somewhat fewer (69%) are able to recall Dick Cheney. However, more Americans now know that the chief justice of the Supreme Court is generally considered a conservative and that Democrats control Congress than knew these things in 1989. Some of the largest knowledge differences between the two time periods may reflect differences in the amount of press coverage of a particular issue or public figure at the time the surveys were taken. But taken as a whole the findings suggest little change in overall levels of public knowledge.

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Thus, when many of you ask, "How can McCain be ahead?" Perhaps the answer is that after watching the Republican National Convention when speaker after speaker railed against a liberal Washington, many Americans simply do not know that George Bush and John McCain are in the same party, are both conservatives, and that McCain voted in support of Bush 95% of the time in 2007.

This is also why McCain so quickly copies Obama lines regarding change and "enough is enough." McCain is trying to create confusion such that voters who identify with Obama's message think the message comes from McCain, and the survey above shows that this strategy is entirely possible.

[Thrill]

1. This has to be the dumbest country in the world

[central scrutinizer]

2. who else would be proud that they couldn't master the metric system

[RichGirl]

4. No kidding...it boggles the mind.

To clear up the confusion:
Obama is the gorgeous, highly intelligent black guy who will change our country for the better.
McCain is the dried up old fart who will give us four more years of hell.

[tbyg52]

3. Talk about "low-information voters"....! nt

[Median Democrat]

5. With Those Stats, McCain's Strategy and the Closeness Of The Race Makes Complete Sense

The goal is to sew confusion in the electorate. Repeatedly lie and misrepresent your positions, and shamelessly steal the lines and catch phrases of the opponent. Heck, McCain/Palin can even bash Republicans because most people do not know that they are Republicans. The result of this misinformation campaign is to create confusion regarding the identity of the candidates so that no candidate stands out with respect to their position on anything, because McCain is essentially parroting Obama without making any substantive statements.

What I would like to see is a current strategy asking Americans:

1. Who is in the same party as George Bush? McCain or Obama?

2. Who is in favor of making George Bush's tax cuts permanent? McCain or Obama?

3. Who has a record consistently in support of government deregulation? McCain or Obama?

4. Who at one time supported private savings accounts as part of social security?

The last one may be too complicated.

[BeyondGeography]

6. The world hates us for our dipshithood

[RC]

7. The race is "Close" because the polls are not honest.

The polls are brought to you by the same people that bring you the voting machines.