|
I think part of the reason for these mistaken beliefs is the current political polarization of the country. Polls show that Americans are split down the middle on just about all the core issues relating to the effectiveness and success of the current administration.
So if a particular question appears to have partisan implications (i.e. one answer is "good" for Bush and the other answer is "bad" for Bush), then the answers to the question will also tend to fall along partisan lines. Even if one of the answers is clearly wrong. I suspect in many cases the answerer in reality knows the answer is wrong, but in giving it he/she is being aggressively partisan rather than completely honest.
That at least is the most positive spin that I think I'm able to put on these depressing numbers.
|