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Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Duh!

Comes as no surprise. Heck, even my eyes glaze over regarding the details of other countries' politics.

Nevertheless, some foreigners do pay acute attention to our political system, since it impacts them quite acutely. I believe John once told the story of how he was in Ireland, round-about 1980, and a random stranger he met at a train station went on a disquisition about how the various American states voted in the Electoral College in the 1976 Ford/Carter election, and was even able to enumerate New Mexico's vote for Ford (notable, because it was the first time NM had not voted for the election winner since statehood in 1912). Freaked John out! I mean, how many people here know the details of even the most recent Irish election?
Two-thirds of US adults admit to being in the dark about political issues outside the United States, and only a third are well-versed in US politics, the results of a poll published Tuesday showed.

Candidates in the US presidential primaries "may have their work cut out for them as they work to get people interested in the election," wrote the Harris Poll group, which surveyed 2,225 adults between July 6 and 13 for the poll.

...Global political knowledge was miniscule, with just three percent of women and 14 percent of men saying they are extremely knowledgeable on world politics.

One reason for the knowledge gap is lack of interest, according to the poll.

"Well over half (57 percent) say they do not like learning about political issues in other countries," and 32 percent expressed a lack of interest for homespun politics, the Harris Poll group said.

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