It was actually about six months of regular debate but yeah, I wouldn't expect to find him on the mensa roster in any case.

Ha- I just remembered one of our earlier discussions when I realized that he didn't know the difference between Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt. If it weren't for the long hours of being stuck at work with this guy I would have given up right then. He fit the clear pattern that I've observed of people who hold right-wing beliefs they are almost always woefully ignorant when it comes to history, civics, and philosophy.

I'm not sure why you feel the need for people to explain their votes to you host.

it's their decision.

I had the opposite experience. Everyone I worked with was a screaming liberal, while I was the hardcore conservative. I just kept my mouth shut. Nothing good can come about at work.

Really? Because I find that here in New Jersey most left wing democrat voters tend to have less than a high school education, and are also ghetto dwellers. Care to explain why that is? While the right wingers live in $500k + homes, they didnt get there being ignorant, now did they?

I have no idea why you think that. Would you care to describe some of the civil and enlightened discussions you've had with people who hold left-wing beliefs?

This thread seems to be going nowhere fast. Right wing people are ignorant when it comes to history, civics, and philosophy and left-wing people are uneducated and ghetto dwellers?

Back to the OP: I don't talk about politics in the workplace. If someone else brings up a political issue, I don't comment. It seems like political discussions might be necessary in a field like journalism. Is the "steer clear of political discussion" strategy at all feasible in such a field?

Well, I happen to find remarkable ignorance or indifference to basic economics on the left and remarkable ignorance or indifference to personal autonomy issues among the "socially conservative" right. So mainly I keep my mouth shut, whether I'm at home in NY or down in GA or TX.

It's nearly impossible to avoid discussin politics in a newsroom. I think the best you could do is claim to be apathetic ...

Let me guess... a William Randolph Hearst institution? (you don't have to answer that)