About Rationally Speaking


Rationally Speaking is a blog maintained by Prof. Massimo Pigliucci, a philosopher at the City University of New York. The blog reflects the Enlightenment figure Marquis de Condorcet's idea of what a public intellectual (yes, we know, that's such a bad word) ought to be: someone who devotes himself to "the tracking down of prejudices in the hiding places where priests, the schools, the government, and all long-established institutions had gathered and protected them." You're welcome. Please notice that the contents of this blog can be reprinted under the standard Creative Commons license.

Friday, October 21, 2005

Americans ain't stupid, just slow

The latest opinion poll concerning George W. isn't good news for either the President or the GOP, but it does show that Americans aren't stupid, only very slow at learning. While some of us could tell that Bush was going to be an inept leader -- getting this country into trouble on both the national and international scene – at least since his stint as a Governor in Texas, it took the rest of the country almost six years, a war, and a stolen election to catch up. Better late than never.

The latest poll indicates that the overall approval rate for George W. is down to an abysmal 39% (it was 57% when he was sworn in for the second time). Even more interestingly, much of the slippage is attributable to a change in the suburban voter population, from 51% in September to 41% this month. His approval among rural and urban populations (respectively 44% and 34%) hasn't changed since last month. Besides confirming my earlier point that urban voters tend to be smarter (probably because more educated), this is not good news for the Republicans in anticipation of the upcoming mid-term elections of 2006. Indeed, I think I've heard in passing the other day on National Public Radio that for the first time in years a majority of Americans favors a return of the Democrats to power, though it may have been an auditory hallucination caused by intense wishful thinking.

Now, if we could only wait until the end of 2006 before having to approve another Supreme Court nominee...

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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 21, 2005 6:42 PM

    That means that my fellow Utahans are the slowest of the slow. That explains a lot...

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousOctober 21, 2005 7:37 PM

    A couple of positive steps toward returning to a modern (as opposed to a medieval) form of government: 1 hold a fire drill at the White House, 2. Change all the locks.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousOctober 24, 2005 11:57 AM

    MP: "for the first time in years a majority of Americans favors a return of the Democrats to power"

    Just goes to show that Americans ain't so smart afterall. Sort of an "out of the frying pan, into the fire" situation. I fear the democrats just as much as I fear the republicans. On the other hand, it is heartening that more people are dropping their support for GWB. That in itself is a bright note.

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