Look away, Jesusland
Well, it was fun while it lasted. The whole "Jesusland" meme was built on a very thin reed -- early exit poll reports that some 20% of voters listed moral issues as the biggest factor in their decision (and yes, these were the same exit polls that showed Kerry winning in a romp.)
But the myth persisted, as the left comforted themselves with the belief that Kerry lost because large segments of the country are bible-thumping morons for whom ignorant superstition trumps reason and logic. Maybe I'm overly optimistic, but a recent Gallup poll could sound the death knell for this libelous fairy tale.
Asked what they consider the most important problem facing this country today the issue of values was tied for fourth place with unemployment/jobs, with only one in ten of the Gallup sample choosing it. Far ahead, with 23%, was the war in Iraq, followed by terrorism and the economy in general, both at 12%, only then followed by unemployment and values.The modest vote for values is all the more surprising because it was broadly define to include a wide range of concerns including ethics, moral, religious/family decline, dishonesty, and lack of integrity.
This 10% total could also be compared to the 29% who named some aspect of the economy as the top issue, along with the 35% who mentioned Iraq or terrorism.
In other words, the big issues this year were the economy and the war.
Duh.
Comments
What makes that interesting for me is which war was more important to voters? Because I think of the war on terror and the war in Iraq as two separate and distinct issues. And all the polling (because it's so very reliable) I heard leading up to the election was that I was not alone in that, and that while the president did well with those that considered the war on terror to be the most important issue, he did decidedly worse for those that thought the war in Iraq was the biggest issue.
Personally, I've decided that all polling is dumb, except of course the informal ones I conduct among my own family, friends and acquaintances here in Yankeeland. :-P
Posted by: Katherine | December 16, 2004 09:19 AM
The poll's right. Values are for losers.
Posted by: Roger | December 16, 2004 12:12 PM