Health care debate has been polite for some, survey says

Posted at 3:42 PM on September 17, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Politics, Surveys and trivia

We love surveys. We love to give them attention they don't deserve and this week, two surveys from the same organization caught our attention.

The first, which I won't belabor, was a Pew survey that said "the public's assessment of the accuracy of news stories is now at its lowest level in more than two decades of Pew Research surveys, and Americans' views of media bias and independence now match previous lows." Sounds interesting, but I posit that it doesn't necessarily mean stories are (or aren't) more inaccurate these days. It only means that people think so.

But perhaps it's more a reflection on people who turn increasingly to news sources that they think will report stories the way they want to hear them (Let me save you the trouble of posting the predictable comment: Yes, I know some people think this is why liberals tend to listen to Public Radio).

The other day we got an e-mail from someone who claimed we were covering up the story that global warming was created in a conspiracy between the liberal media and the United Nations in order to effect a redistribution of wealth. To prove it, he noted that he read about it on the Internet, not in the liberal media.

Well, OK, that's one for the power of the Internet.

Today's survey is even more puzzling. The headline:

Health Care Debate Seen as "Rude and Disrespectful"

So far, so good. According to Pew, 53% of those surveyed said the health care debate has been rude and disrespectful. Sixteen percent said they didn't know how to characterize it.

Thirty-one percent said the debate has been polite and respectful. That should be the takeaway. It's true, those most likely to be accused of being rude and disrespectful -- in this case, Republicans -- are also the most likely to disagree. And the survey showed that, indeed, 44 percent of them said the debate has been polite and respectful. But 24% of Democrats agreed with the assessment.

Democrats, however, are much more likely to put the blame for the lack of civility on opponents of health care legislation. Forty-five percent of Republicans say they're at fault.

Who are these people? Pew doesn't say. But we can deduce that 17% of those surveyed weren't paying any attention to what was going on. Only eighty-three percent said they'd heard "a little or a lot" about Rep. Joe Wilson's "you lie" moment, a news story that was nearly impossible to miss.

(Photo: A driver shows his polite side on Robert St. in West St. Paul on Wednesday. Click the image for a larger view).

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Comments (5)

In regard to the stickers on that truck:

1- What has Obama done that would warrant an impeachment trial?
2- Obama is not from Kenya. Enough with the "birthers" or whatever they're called.

Posted by Kim V | September 17, 2009 4:20 PM

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I think the stickers are great.

I wonder if you did a poll how many people would still think that Obama was born in Kenya? I bet it would be surprising high.

Posted by Bobbydole | September 17, 2009 4:25 PM

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(Photo: A driver shows his polite side on Robert St. in West St. Paul on Wednesday. Click the image for a larger view).

If that's the polite side of his truck, what bumper stickers did he have on the front?

Posted by Tyler | September 17, 2009 4:26 PM

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My personal trust in the news matches the survey. Here's why: I group most broadcast journalists into two camps.

One camp does very little homework and simply reads press releases. Very cost and labor effective if counting time per word, but ver susceptible to bias.

The other camp does research, but carries an obvious political bias. Many of these people/programs provide political commentary which gives them license to editorialize. I see plenty of individuals representing either side of the liberal/conservative fence.

There is precious little in-depth unbiased news coverage. In the end, we the viewers bear much of the blame for encouraging the current system. True journalism is expensive to provide and doesn't get our blood flowing like a good diatribe from our favorite commentator. Please keep up the good work, Bob.

Posted by kennedy | September 18, 2009 9:44 AM

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Bob, will you be a clearing house for the pickup's (bumper) stickers?

I think orders could be in the 1000s, maybe even the tens of thousands.

Just charge $2.00 for s&h, spend 82 cents (or whatever) and a few cents for the envelopes.

It'll make up for the lack of a pay raise this year.

Jim H.

Posted by jfh | September 18, 2009 2:54 PM

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